Moumita Das Roy

For Moumita Das Roy, sustainability is like a marigold — bright, resilient, and self-seeding. “It grows wherever it’s planted,” she says. “It doesn’t wait for perfect conditions; it just blooms. That’s how I see sustainability — as a mindset of curiosity, humility, and community.”

A communications professional, social impact advocate, and LinkedIn Top Voice based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Moumita has built her career across advertising, media, and construction. Arriving in Aotearoa meant starting again, navigating new norms and networks. “I learned that belonging isn’t granted,” she reflects. “It’s built through shared values, not shared accents.”

In her work, Moumita helps businesses and communities tell stories that connect logic with empathy and purpose with people. “People don’t change because they’re told to,” she says. “They change when they see themselves in the story.”

For Moumita, sustainability isn’t a corporate goal — it’s a personal practice of repair, respect, and resourcefulness. Her guiding principle comes from the whakataukī He iti te kōpara ka rērere i te puhi o te kahika — even the small bellbird can reach the top of the tallest tree. “Do the small things well,” she adds. “They add up to the big shifts.”

Her approach is rooted in kaitiakitanga— the Māori concept of guardianship — and a belief that sustainability should be everyone’s responsibility, not the job of a “green team.” Recently, her curiosity has turned to circular design and clean energy innovation, particularly thermal energy storage. “It’s a beautiful metaphor — capturing warmth and holding it until it’s needed.”

If Moumita could plant one seed of change, it would be for sustainability storytelling to move from virtue-signalling to showing real progress. “We don’t need perfection,” she says. “We just need proof that change is possible.”

Read Moumita’s full reflections in Blooming Sustainability - on resilience, storytelling, and the power of belonging to shape change.

BLOOMING  Sustainability Questionnaire

Name: Moumita Das Roy

Company & Title: Marketer & Social Impact Advocate | LinkedIn Top Voice

Website & LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moumitadasroy/

* Guiding Values | Kaupapa

If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?

A marigold. Bright, stubborn, and self-seeding. It grows wherever it’s planted, nourished by curiosity, humility, and community. It also reminds me of my rooted culture and where I come from. Sustainability isn’t a corporate pillar for me; it's a personal choice. With a mindset of repair, respect, and resourcefulness. Lessons learned the hard way when you build a life twice over.

A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:

"Do the small things well; they add up to the big shifts.”

Or in Te Reo Māori: He iti te kōpara ka rērere i te puhi o te kahika.

(Even the small bellbird can make it to the top of the tallest tree.)

If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?

Don’t wait for a title or a ‘sustainability’ role to start leading change. I didn't wait for one. I do what I can, from where I am. And then tell the story well enough for others if they wanted to follow.

* Leading Change | Arataki

A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:

Rebuilding a career from scratch in a new country taught me humility and resilience. Professional titles don’t always travel well, more so for a person of colour. I had to translate not just my résumé but my voice. It also revealed the power of truly listening. That made me a better storyteller. I realised storytelling isn’t just about persuasion; it’s about connection, especially across cultures.

What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?

The myth that sustainability is someone else’s job, the “green team”. In truth, it’s everyone’s job, but it needs to be communicated in a language people actually relate to. That’s the gap I try to close.

An area you need more support with:

Making sustainability measurable beyond compliance. It’s easy to count outputs, harder to track genuine mindset change. For example, I want to learn more from clean energy leaders who are designing for circularity, not just efficiency. The social impact that is created, not just emissions saved.

An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:

Kaitiakitanga, the guardianship for the environment. It reframes the planet not as property, but as whakapapa, something we belong to, not own. When I was given the responsibility to co-lead the sustainability project at Dulux, I brought in this philosophy to guide us in our initiatives. Communicating about our sustainable sourcing to responsible product end-of-life disposal, while caring for communities all along.

Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:
Translating complexity into clarity. Meeting them where they are, not where I wish they were. Turning data into stories and stories into action. People don’t change because they’re told to. They change when they see themselves in the story.

* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki

A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:

The future of renewables isn’t about capturing more energy; it's about storing better. This is where the ClimateTech startup TesAcha Limited is focusing. Instead of pushing energy through inverters and lithium batteries, there’s another approach: storing the heat itself. Think of it like a thermos. Sunlight is captured, the heat is banked, and it is stored until it is used. With controlled dissipation. These heat batteries can power entire systems, with less complexity than conventional storage. I have been reading a lot about thermal energy storage recently.

If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?

I wish sustainability storytelling would be less of virtue-signalling and more about showing progress. We don’t need perfection; we need proof that change is possible.

The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability: So many amazing leaders!

Maurice Dubey, Founder of TesAcha Limited.

* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:

Pause before you purchase. Repair before you replace. Reuse before you refuse. Tell one story about what you’re doing, even if it’s imperfect. Progress grows from transparency, not perfection.

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