It's the third year of the Conscious Collective, a three-day festival in Mumbai that focuses on sustainability, conscious living, collective responsibility towards the environment, and climate-change resilient business. It’s a gathering of architects, urban planners, artists, conservationists, and communities to re-envision our environment with climate intelligence, cultural sensitivity, and planetary care, and champion this year’s festival theme – Reclaiming cool.
At the helm of this action-focused event is Nyrika Holkar, the fourth-generation scion of Godrej & Boyce, also its executive director, steering the 128-year-old company towards the future. “The idea of the collective is to balance conservation and progress and not have them at polar ends of the spectrum,” says Holkar.
“The aim is to introduce newer ways of thinking about how to prioritise green infrastructure, have it in continuum with blue and grey infrastructure, and not as an afterthought,” she adds. The collective has been conceptualised on three pillars – built environment, material circulation, and biodiversity.
The programming of the fest this year, from December 12 to 14, focuses on how to build more resilience in built and natural environments. “The world is warming, how do we then find ways to cool it?” adds Holkar. This year’s collective, as Godrej Design Lab’s website says, is a movement for heat-resilient design, equitable futures, and climate-responsive living. As temperatures rise and cities become heat traps, 'cool' is no longer a comfort; it’s a right, and ensuring that this right is enjoyed by everyone, equally, and responsibly is at the core of the one-of-a-kind collective.
In the background of this crucial initiative, Robb Report quizzes Nyrika Holkar about her ideas of design, luxury, and sustainability.
RR: You have worked with some of the best architects and designers from around the world. What do you think makes for a great design?
Nyrika Holkar: Great design starts with problem-solving. It’s not just about the aesthetics, but must address and solve a problem, and look at the wider ambit of a programme or a space and its uses. Good design thinking can and must open up possibilities of collaboration and knowledge sharing for everybody.
RR: Can luxury ever be sustainable?
NH: That’s a great question. Luxury can be sustainable if we can revive our heritage, keep it alive, and honour our artists. If all our fashion labels get their work done from our weavers instead of cheap, machine manufacturers in China, ensure our artisans get at least the minimum wages, even offer them a premium for their work, it can not just revive the dying weaving tradition but also energise.
RR: People believe that sustainable is expensive. How can one counter that narrative?
NH: For us at Godrej, sustainability is not an afterthought. It’s the core operative model. We are constantly trying to process the same quantity and quality of products with lesser resources and become more energy efficient. Being green reduces your operating costs too.
My uncle (Jamshyd Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej & Boyce) is always asking us the same question -- why must sustainable be more expensive? So, we challenge ourselves to bring down the costs. But finally, it all comes down to the supply chain. We need to make it robust enough to pass down the cost effectiveness at the manufacturing level to the consumers.
RR: Lastly, what’s luxury to you?
NH: I am a nature buff. I love being in nature. To just have that opportunity to enjoy it, all of it, the flora and fauna everywhere I travel is a luxury to me.
