GREENVASA

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "There is enough for everybody's need but not for everybody's greed". Inspired by this sustainability message, the management, faculty, and the students of the School of Business and Management, MBA, CHRIST(Deemed-to-be-University), Pune Lavasa Campus launched the sustainability initiative called GREENVASA. It is a way of living sustainably in the picturesque town of LAVASA, Pune. It is a small step at the University to conserve resources and a small step in the direction to reduce our carbon footprint. The concept, very simply put, is to buy and sell quality second-hand goods within the University to avoid wasteful spending and reduce future waste. Our proprietary technology can sell things that have an extended life to your fellow students or staff. It’s a platform built by the students, for the students. The simple mantra is Let’s REDUCE, REUSE, and then RECYCLE.

The website was launched on 29th September at 11 am by the faculty in charge – Prof. Stanny Dias, who was the brains behind the initiative, and the faculty and students of the Data Science department (Christ InfoTech) developed the website. The promo video was played to highlight the project and the student volunteers. Next, the Emcees, Faizan and Sabari, briefly explained how to use the website. General rules and regulations were explained to the audience. The whole objective of this initiative was to make a platform where students of Lavasa Campus get the opportunity to buy and sell their second-hand products at the right price and stop wasteful spending on new goods.  

Below is the message of the Director and Dean of CHRIST(Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus, on the initiative shared with the students.

‘Tied to the core value of service that the university stands for, Greenvasa is a novel initiative that will facilitate the mindful use and exchange of materials in Lavasa. Sustainability has a special place in higher education because it induces thoughtfulness. To be able to think about the environment when we buy, exchange and discard our possessions can go a long way in creating a community-first mindset. We constantly try to integrate social responsibility into education; however, putting it to practice in this manner will involve students completely in the process. After a year of conservation and energy-saving initiatives by the students of CHRIST Lavasa, I am certain that this project will see its merits soon and will benefit all who participate. Since Lavasa is built on the concept of new urbanism, it is structured to encourage community living and a responsible lifestyle. Greenvasa fits well with the synergy of the township and the socially driven efforts of the CHRIST Lavasa campus. I invite everyone to be a part of this endeavour, form a wonderful community, and take a step towards making our city more sustainable and responsible’. The takeaways from the launch were: how to live a sustainable life by contributing to the environment by reusing products and helping reduce carbon footprint. Also, while planning this initiative, team members learned how to plan efficiently and work on different tasks as a team to achieve the same goal.