Aruna Narayanan is a sustainability enthusiast and strategic thought leader with a passion for driving prosperity through people empowerment and planet protection. Over the past 20 years she has created an impact in various fields including sustainability, circular economy, innovative waste recycling, marketing communications and corporate social responsibility. She also serves on the advisory board for various organisations enabling them to embed sustainability and ESG into various aspects of their business. She is an alumna of the Harvard Business School (USA) and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (UK).

When she joined the waste management industry 10 years back, she had no clue that it would  completely change her career focus. “The joy of keeping waste out of the landfill gave me a great sense of purpose. I realised that every effort counts – irrespective of the scale and size.” 

In the earlier years, a large part of her time was dedicated to creating awareness programmes. Through one-on-one conversations with not just residents, but mainly the house maids on the importance of source segregation, I was able to make a difference. Between 2017 and 2020, she worked on implementing four circular economy and recycling projects in the UAE. Her journey in waste management helped her transition her career into sustainability. She was named in the ESG Power list 50 2022 that recognises the most influential ESG leaders in the MENA region.

“I have never allowed gender to come in the way of how I operate.” Waste management is perceived as a male-dominated industry. Hence many women hesitate to explore careers in this field, she says, adding, “When I started my career in waste management, there were a very few women in this industry. Hence, we all formed a very strong bond and supported each other. Over the past decade, it is encouraging to see more women join this industry across various departments. When women see other women thriving in this field, it breaks the bias and gives them the confidence to join the industry.”