Mr. A.K. Mittal

 

He is part of the management committee at Raheja Classique 5. He, along with fellow members, has had an integral role to play in waste management at his society. Mr. Mittal is an elderly gentleman who commands respect. If one must learn about cutting through chaos and creation of succinct and strategic plans, one should learn from him.

 

GCF Team:

Tell us about yourself.

Mr.M

I am a chemical engineer from IIT Kanpur. I spent the first 10 years on my career at Union Carbide and subsequently with Hindustan Unilever for 28 years. At HUL I was primarily responsible for production and factories. In about 1997 I got the opportunity to head Unilever’s Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) section. I flitted between the productions department and the SHE department. In 2003 I was given charge of Regional Director for Safety, Health and Environment for three quarters of Unilever worldwide! My purview encompassed the Western tip of Africa to Japan and Russia to Australia.

Post retirement I moved to DuPont and am consulting with them in the same area of Safety, Health and Environment. I got an opportunity to work in a variety of industries post retirement such as Cement, Automobiles, Pharmaceuticals, Petrochemicals, etc.

On a personal note, I got married in 1975 and my wife has worked as a teacher for the last 20-25 years in various places but primarily in Bhakti Vidanta, the Iskon School. I have a daughter and a month old granddaughter in Sydney, Australia.

 

GCF Team:

Have you ever noticed the issue of waste any time before in your career or personal life?

Mr.M

Considering my background the concept of composting has been within the scope of my work. At HUL we have vermicomposting in every factory but the company has downsized from a 110 factories to about 45 today. But during my time all factories were green and were water positive in India, in other words HUL Unilever does ample ground water recharging. Our factory in the Vidarbha belt was completely arid! We set up a watershed plant as a pilot and today that area is equivalent to a forest! No external water was supplied only rainfall was collected to make the area self-sustainable. After this success, we took over 100 hectares of the village area helped them convert to multi-cropping. We mapped water tables and saw them rising over time. There was a lake around that area that would last only 3 months earlier and now its perennial.

 

GCF Team:

Do you think different generations have different perspectives about waste management?

Mr.M

Older generations do not see the need only because life was very simple for them. As a part of that generation, we did not generate so much waste 40 years ago. We need to go back to our traditional practices such as carry your bottle, bag and more. We have put a lot of load on the environment for convenience and we need to start looking at things differently. The younger generation is much more aware but given the fact that they haven’t seen the earlier life, they have no idea what is possible.

 

GCF Team:

Do different generations have different patterns of consumption?

Mr.M

India as a country is a leader in recycling! However, it is done in an unhygienic manner and formal recycling is still done at a very small scale as compared to other countries. The kind of awareness among the citizens is lacking. In India, the younger school going children are aware but young adults have a complacent attitude. India is following the West and is increasing its consumption more and more with each generation going up the disposable income ladder.

Now that takeaway food and online deliveries have come into the picture, the packaging industry has a lot to answer for!

 

GCF Team:

Projects or anything you have taken up other than career?

Mr.M

As a society at RC Building 5, we have installed solar panels and composting equipment within the society.

 

GCF Team:

Any certain social causes or issues you strongly believe in or stand for?

Mr.M

Safety comes first for me and it is one of my biggest concerns. The casual worker on the street in India does not have the right kind of protective gear but the situation is improving slowly. The environment is something I work towards as well. Another personal issue I feel for is that our government has become divisive in its approach and that cannot be the way to govern India.

 

GCF Team:

Can you comment on your habits?

Mr.M

I am probably the most conscious in my house when it comes to the Environment or Safety. However, I could say that my family as a whole is conscious than most others. Of course, we are not perfect. For example, wearing seat belts in the front and rear is an essential part of our lifestyle.

 

GCF Team:

Any routine or habit you do every day and chose it for a specific reason?

Mr.M

Since I was busy with my career I could never develop too many hobbies except for watching TV and reading, travelling too since my job let me travel to over 50 countries so far! While working I used to be out of the country 30 weeks a year for 8 years.

I wake up at 5:30 and go for a walk from 6:30-8:00 everyday. I walk 7.5 km in the morning and 3.5 km at night. I have tea in my balcony and read the newspaper. I work in the society for 2 hours and have lunch by 13:30 followed by Netflix and an afternoon nap. The evening is relaxed and we have dinner by 21:00. During my working days I never really got time to do much but my walking routine has been like clockwork. I used to weigh 98kg and now have come down to 83kg and aim to maintain that!

 

GCF Team:

Do you consider yourself organised and how do you do that?

Mr.M

My routines are identical and it is a very organised lifestyle. Work-wise people would consider my desk messy and unorganised because I just cannot handle papers. However, I knew exactly what was where and it was surely organised in my head. My computer however is organised all the time!

 

GCF Team:

Do you read and would want to recommend any book?

Mr.M

Since I love watching TV, it gets difficult to dedicate time to reading. I would recommend Dan Brown, Chetan Bhagat, etc. I am into novels and light books for a fun read and it’s even better if they’re cheap like the Chetan Bhagat books.

 

GCF Team:

What would your friends or partner describe you?

Mr.M

They would say I am like a coconut! A person with a hard exterior but a soft interior. I come across as a stern person and people generally get afraid. I don’t say or do anything but I guess my demeanour comes across as stern and as a disciplinarian. I wouldn’t say I am not strict but I do have an emotional core which helps in team work. They would surely call me a team man because I believe in teams, love working in teams and believe that you can only succeed with a good team!

 

GCF Team:

If you have a platform to send a short message to 1 million people, what would it be?

Mr.M

First would be – Be safe!

Second would be – Leave the Earth habitable for your progeny.

 

GCF Team:

Is there anything you purchased Rs1000 or below that impacted your life?

Mr.M

My sister once gifted me a small book called STOP. It helped me stop smoking and I gave up smoking in 1981. It was certainly not more than Rs.150 or so and I didn’t buy it myself but it had a huge impact on me for sure!