Three years after registering EcoHQ and eight-and-a-half years after starting it, I’m reflecting on climate ecosystems, accidental brand-building, and why the most valuable work often happens between industries rather than inside them.
World Environment Day has always felt a little personal.
Three years ago today, I formally registered EcoHQ as a company.
The amusing part is that EcoHQ had already been around for more than five years by then.
Long before the paperwork, there were articles, interviews, research rabbit holes, collaborations, community experiments, event partnerships, startup conversations, and countless attempts to understand where climate and sustainability intersect with business, technology, policy, capital, and society.
One of my favourite moments still happens at events.
Someone recognises the EcoHQ name.
They tell me they have read an article, seen a feature, attended something we partnered on, or come across the platform somewhere along the way.
Then comes the inevitable question.
“Wait… you’re the person behind EcoHQ?”
A surprising number of people assumed I was an employee.
I’ve always found that funny.
Somewhere along the journey, EcoHQ became bigger than the individual running it.
That was never intentional, but in hindsight, it feels like a good outcome.
The climate and sustainability ecosystem does not need more noise.
It needs more connective tissue.
People who can spot patterns across industries. Translate complexity into something useful. Bring together founders, investors, researchers, corporates, policymakers, nonprofits, and communities that are often working on adjacent problems without knowing it.
After hundreds of conversations, countless events, and years spent documenting emerging industries and ecosystem shifts, I have a much clearer sense of where I contribute best.
EcoHQ today sits at the intersection of industry intelligence, ecosystem building, strategic advisory/mentorship, and visibility.
Much of the work involves helping people see what is changing, what is emerging, who is building, and where opportunities for collaboration exist.
The official theme for World Environment Day 2026 is Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.
The campaign hashtag is #NowForClimate.
For many of us, “now” began a long time ago.
I was already working on environmental issues during my undergraduate and postgraduate years in the mid-2000s. Back then, climate conversations occupied a fraction of the space they do today.
Today, we are navigating a far more complex reality. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, resource pressures, social inequity, technological disruption, and geopolitical instability increasingly overlap and reinforce one another.
Perhaps that is why I appreciate ecosystems more than ever.
Real ecosystems are messy.
They evolve.
They adapt.
They create value through relationships.
The same is true of the communities, organisations, and movements working toward a more sustainable future.
Eight and a half years ago, I started asking questions.
Three years ago, I registered a company.
The questions have become more sophisticated.
The curiosity remains exactly the same.
Happy World Environment Day.
Deepa Sai 
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