When IAS officer Supriya Sahu walked onto the global stage in Nairobi to receive the United Nations’ ‘Champions of the Earth’ award, she carried with her stories rooted far away from conference halls — in overheated classrooms, plastic-strewn forests, and vulnerable coastlines of Tamil Nadu.
This was not a victory born in boardrooms. It began where climate change had already entered daily life.
Where Climate Change Was No Longer Abstract
In government schools across Tamil Nadu, summer temperatures made classrooms unbearable. Children struggled to concentrate as heat trapped itself inside concrete rooms. In the Nilgiris, wildlife fed on plastic waste discarded by tourists and locals alike. Along the coast, mangroves and wetlands — natural shields against floods and cyclones — were shrinking.
For Supriya Sahu, these were not statistics. They were lived realities she encountered across decades of public service.
From Concern to Ground-Level Action
A 1991-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Sahu’s relationship with nature began early. Her childhood, spent moving across India due to her father’s transferable job, exposed her to forests, wildlife and diverse landscapes. That bond deepened when she served as District Collector of the Nilgiris, where seeing animals consume plastic waste became a turning point.
In 2000, long before plastic bans became policy headlines, she launched ‘Operation Blue Mountain’, one of India’s earliest efforts to curb single-use plastic in an ecologically sensitive zone.
Years later, as Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forests, she expanded that thinking statewide — embedding climate solutions into public spaces.
Cooling Schools, Empowering Students
One of her most visible interventions came through the Cool Roof Project. By painting rooftops of government schools white, indoor temperatures dropped significantly, easing heat stress for thousands of students.
But the vision went further. Schools became living laboratories of sustainability — solar panels, rainwater harvesting, shaded spaces, and vegetable gardens turned climate education into daily practice. These models are now being adapted for housing and public infrastructure across Tamil Nadu.
Restoring Nature With People at the Centre
Under Sahu’s leadership, mangrove cover doubled, strengthening coastal resilience. Wetlands expanded from just one to 20, reviving ecosystems that protect cities from floods while supporting biodiversity. Over 100 million trees were planted, and 65 new reserve forests were created — not by isolating people from nature, but by involving them.
Her approach rests on a simple belief: conservation works best when it fits into how people live and earn. “We cannot separate nature from people,” she often says, pointing to thriving mangroves even within industrial zones of Chennai.
Impact That Reached Millions
According to the UN Environment Programme, Sahu’s initiatives have helped nearly 12 million people adapt better to climate stress and created 2.5 million green jobs across the state — proving that environmental action can also drive livelihoods and economic resilience.
A Model for Climate Leadership
Supriya Sahu’s story is not about heroic individualism. It is about what happens when governance listens to lived realities — and responds with solutions rooted in empathy, science, and community participation.
From classrooms to coastlines, her work shows that climate action does not have to be distant or abstract. Sometimes, it begins with a paintbrush on a school roof — and ends with global recognition.
