Raising Awareness about Sustainability

Being a community for sustainability and environment enthusiasts, Green Drinks presents everyone with an opportunity to learn more about the topic and make an impact on the environment. As the founder of Green Drinks Jakarta, Dhawal Doshi shares his journey behind the creation of Green Drinks to The Public Book.

1. Can you introduce yourself?

DD: Sure. I’m Dhawal, I’m originally from India and I’ve been here in Indonesia since December 2015. I used to live in Shanghai for about 5 years before I moved to Jakarta. I moved here for NWP Property and I’ve been with NWP Property since I arrived in Indonesia. It’s a real estate development group. We do shopping malls, and we are the fastest growing shopping mall developer in the country, now launching logistics. I’m head of research and PSG at the company.

2. How is your experience in Indonesia?

DD: I had never imagined living in Indonesia before I moved here, and I have never been to Indonesia. I would say it took a bit of time to get used to Indonesia because I came from Shanghai, China, and they’re very, very different countries. 

I think the best part about Indonesia would be the people. The people here are very welcoming. I’ve never felt unsafe, never felt insulted, and people have always been respectful. Now I’m married and my wife from India is here, my son is also here, my wife’s family is here. Everyone loves Indonesia. 

3. Can you tell us about Green Drinks and how you started it?

DD: Okay, so Green Drinks is actually a global movement, and I started the Indonesia chapter for it.

Jakarta is a big city. I knew the energy existed and the people existed. I knew the solutions and inspiration existed. But I just thought there’s a lack of formal grouping. I think the city lacked that kind of group, so I thought, I might as well try to create one and see where it goes. That’s why I started Green Drinks.

4. How did you get into sustainability? What makes you interested in it?

DD: I got interested in sustainability from Green Drinks in Shanghai, from the speakers I met there, and from the audience I met there. 

Every time you go there, you realize that there are so many more issues in the world than your own job and your own life. And the more you get exposed to these issues, the more you start thinking about them. Slowly, you start to think that maybe there’s something I can do, maybe there’s something which I can find other people to meet and collaborate with. So that’s how I got interested, and the interest kept on growing.

5. Who do you think should join Green Drinks?

DD: Anyone! Anyone with interest in sustainability, anyone who wants to make an impact in their life, in the workplace, to know what’s out there, what they can do, you should come. I think most people want to do something about the climate, about global warming. Sustainability is a big term, there’s no formal definition to what it means, but I think people sometimes are short of ideas on where to start or whether they can create an impact or not. I think that’s where Green Drinks comes in. 

“It’s a very positive story because we are doing real things and we are doing it without the expectation or need for any credentials.”

As shared with Suksan Yosela.

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