Innovation

Replenish Earth runs on a kind business model whose core lies in replenishing the earth. It believes in taking preventive measures that are in the best interest of our environment. The environmental advisory firm takes pride in the eco-alignment of the services that it extends to its clients. Their innovation stems from the thought process of the Chief Executing Officer, Tia Kansara whose tryst with the environment started long ago in her childhood. Having realized the crucial role that the environment plays as the primary provider for all business needs, it became of utmost importance for her to re-integrate its role into our existing economic models.

In today’s world where sustainability is used as a buzzword and enacted upon for the sake of formality, Replenish Earth is trying to build a foundation for a better future. It is provoking thoughtfulness in corporations and other such organizations, guiding them in the right direction, towards more aware business practices that care about giving back to their environmental sources. What makes this organization more special is that apart from its core business area of environmental consultancy, Replenish Earth aims to innovate the mindsets, lifestyles, and consumption patterns of each one of us in lieu of protecting our dear planet Earth.

Replenish

Inspiration

“Replenish Earth is the philosophy of living in harmony with nature; it is a cause and a collective action to protect the global commons - the natural resources we all share.” People tend to live in their own realities which they believe are true to them. But people need to go beyond their truth to have empathy for each other. This will help us appreciate the fact that transformation is in the hands of the people and in their daily lives, where the smallest of actions have a big impact and thus help in replenishing the earth. “I feel Replenish Earth started in my childhood, with the litter busting we did at school, to keep Britain tidy, a campaign the government ran to encourage the clearing-up of our streets and common places that were littered. It started with my mother, born and raised in a village in India, who taught us to recycle before the word became known, using all items beyond their first use and reincarnating them into incredible forms. It started with my father switching the TV from cartoons to David Attenborough’s nature programs. A highpoint for me was when I realized, this has been a cause I’ve championed since I can remember.” These words by Tia Kansara, the CEO, highlight the initial inspiration for the company. Replenish Earth is based on a movement that is about giving back more than we take from planet earth. Replenish Earth follows ISO 14001 guidelines and champions B-Corps. The Replenish ecosystem is founded on the principles of the World Replenish Index, a marketplace that believes in including all aspects of waste into GDP to 100% compostable products to have better accountability on their environmental impact. Replenish Earth investigates the impact of waste disposal habits beyond national borders and positively reinforces behaviors and businesses that are aligned with this.

Overall impact

Replenish supports and facilitates environmental, social businesses and invests towards a green, circular economy. Net positive is naturally amongst their themes of Replenishment, as are Green Impact Investment and infrastructure that is in harmony with nature. The projects that are being handled by RE have created a huge positive impact on society, corporate, and the environment. RE has been involved in advising the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Bio Trade initiative for 3 years exploring how the largest and most prestigious fashion houses, like Prada, Burberry, Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna could lead the transformation of their industry and replenish the earth. ‘Who does the sea belong to?’ -an exhibition that was created by RE in collaboration with NID, Mudita Pasari has had over a million students visiting and learning about ocean protection, and climate action. Thus, they pioneer citizen awareness on their responsibilities towards nature. The impact they are able to create is primarily due to how purpose-driven each employee at Replenish Earth is. As Mr. Bhavyajeet Singh Gehlot, mentions, “During my initial few weeks while talking with Tia, I realized how hollow the world has become towards our planet and how important a cause like Replenish Earth is. This realization fundamentally changed me as a person, and I now realize the importance of creating the Replenish Earth experience for the future. Recently, we revealed our new logo to the world. The response has been remarkable, seeing the variety of personal interpretations Replenishers have made of the new logo is sparking even more interest in me to share the narrative of Replenish Earth”.

Business benefit

Replenish Earth has advised more than 120 businesses and 90 governments on their strategies to transition away from fossil fuels, designing business models and products with a net positive impact on the environment. The company also organizes Courses, Speaker Series, Art Installations & Exhibitions, Urban Development Projects, Research Retreats, and its own Replenish Festival about Event Management and Design in VR. Tia, the CEO says, “Our business model is an end-to-end replenishing the earth, as a forethought, not an afterthought”. This differentiates the brand and helps create a competitive advantage which opens up an entirely new market of organizations who are looking to adopt preventative sustainability. This ensures the longevity of Replenish Earth. Replenish Earth has worked with high-profile clients like Coca-Cola, Bloomberg, and the European Commission. CEO Tia recalls an experience at the Replenish Earth Smart Cities at CEPT University, where they were recognized for their contribution by the Prime Minister of Bhutan, and invited to sit with Parliament. Furthermore sharing an audience with the Centre of Bhutan Studies, Environment Ministry, and Labour Minister. Replenish Earth has repeatedly been featured among lists of successful eco-businesses. It is easy to see that Replenish Earth is an organization that is doing well on all fronts - revenue, recognition, and impact.

Social and environmental benefit

Replenish Earth has looked into strategies to transition away from fossil fuels, designing business models and products with a positive impact on the environment for many companies. The overall impact has been very large. The company believes that “A solution that is touted without a consistent product and a reliable maintenance plan is one that will always be short-lived”. This is not just a country-specific issue. They believe that this is a global matter. It is important that companies think about switching to renewables so that they make changes in the infrastructure to make it viable for all users. An issue such as climate action requires a lot of conversation. A lot of people aren’t aware of the peril we are in and even if they do, do not see its urgency. Therefore, one of the biggest achievements of Replenish comes from the conversations they’ve initiated. They’ve spread awareness around these issues in very unique ways, online and offline. Talks such as “ A day in the life of a piece of Crap” that has initiated conversations on exploring the psychology of waste and what it tells us about ourselves, and where we think it’s ok to hide our waste. A few other initiatives such as Space-Waste which is focused on urban cities, policies, and physical spaces. They came up with initiatives like Plastic Resource and Designer Products wherein people tried to change the output from waste resource through simple and practical methods individually or in communities. Replenish Earth is working and will continue to work passionately until each individual and each business is encouraged to emerge beyond shortsightedness and be fully responsible for their actions on the planet, and not hide behind increasingly tall landfills and other externalities that we are taught will look good as GDP.

Interview

Tia Kansara, Founder and CEO