Deepa Sai

Awards

→Recognised as a Sustainability Warrior by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Indian Women Network (CII IWN) Tamil Nadu at the EntreprenHer: She Builds. She Leads. She Rises. 2025 event, for advancing sustainability leadership through strategy, communication, and ecosystem enablement via EcoHQ.

→Honoured with The Impactor Award 2025 at the prestigious Climate-impact awards, celebrating 5 years of Climate innovation at AIC RAISE for my work at EcoHQ.

Media

→Featured in The Hindu’s Frontline (2025) as a Climate blogger covering The Climate Party®, an informal meetup for climate industry stakeholders on Nuggets for Neophiles. 

→Featured in Pushstart (2023) as one of the inspiring women founders and on the Substack Professional Failures (2024) and on Good Market.

→Featured on The Good Loop (2023) as one of the women leaders taking Sustainability conversations mainstream.

Thought Leadership

→Featured my in-depth review of Backstage Climate: The Science and Politics Behind Climate Change, a book that connects science, politics, psychology, and justice through a systemic, intersectional lens. The review was widely shared across platforms during COP30, blending personal reflection with commentary on the Anthropocene and climate communication. It celebrates the book’s ability to make climate science accessible, urgent, and deeply human.

→My articles are featured on Global South Policy Review

→Served as a startup jury member at Marabanu Fundr 1.0 (Dec 2025), evaluating 25 purpose-driven startups across agritech, biotech, and climate tech. Additionally, delivered a focused address on building defensible startups — helping founders understand how to tailor pitches for different audiences and clearly communicate go-to-market thinking across idea, MVP, and revenue stages.

→Co-curated AndPurpose Forum, Mumbai (Dec 2025) as a Network Partner, and moderated a fireside chat with the CEO of WRI India on India’s policy and investment pathways for clean-energy development post-COP30.

→Invited as Chief Guest by the Department of Economics, Stella Maris College, for EcoArena’25 (Nov 2025), the department’s flagship academic forum, and delivered a keynote on Climate, Sustainability, and Economics—examining climate choices, global supply chains, power politics, and India’s pathways toward self-reliance and sustainable development.

→Serving as a Mentor, Ecosystem Partner, and Startup Advisor for the Women in Climate Entrepreneurship – Climate Fellowship for Women 2025, supporting and guiding women founders building climate and sustainability ventures (Oct 2025 – Jan 2026).

→Invited as Guest of Honour and Startup Jury at Dreamovation 2025 (Oct 2025), hosted by Rajalakshmi Engineering College, to evaluate emerging student startups and address students on the future of entrepreneurship, AI-driven innovation, and SDG-aligned impact.

→Served as Mentor during the Women-on-Women Mentoring Session hosted by TN W.O.M.E.N at the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit 2025 (Oct 2025), mentoring both women- and men-led startups on product–market fit, go-to-market strategies, and SDG-aligned innovation.

→Special Guest Speaker at KCG College of Technology’s AI Hackathon on AI & Sustainability, representing ecoHQ and Zha VC (Sep 2025). Shared both sides of AI: its energy, water, and mining costs — and its life-saving power in floods, droughts, and health. My message was clear: AI will shape your jobs, but you will shape the AI the world steps into. Build not just for profit, but for resilient communities — that’s real leadership.

→Panelist at Start-up Summit 1.0, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (Sep 2025). Joined a panel on green disruption and building sustainable start-ups, and shared insights on embedding community-centric innovation into climate and emerging tech. I was also invited to tour the Centre of Electric Mobility led by Dr. Bharathi Raja, showcasing SRM’s cutting-edge EV and battery research.

→Panelist & Jury — TechnoSummit 2k25, Sathyabama Institute of Technology (Sep 2025). Joined a panel on startups, sustainability, and market entry strategies. Shared insights on what mentors and investors look for in founders. Served as jury evaluating 50+ student and early-stage startup pitches.

→Co-organiser and Panelist at CircularNXT2025 – The Circularity Summit, a UNEP-registered World Environment Day event (June 5, 2025). Spoke on the panel (representing ecoHQ) on‘Plastics Reimagined‘, sharing what founders need to know to build in the plastic and solid waste management space — with insights on business defensibility, becoming investor-ready, and navigating the powerful value chains that shape the Indian landscape.

→Webinar speaker for EcoConnect 2025 – Reimagining a Plastic-Free Future, hosted by the Nature Club of H.R. College, Mumbai, as part of their World Environment Day 2025 celebrations (June 2025). Delivered an engaging session to college students, covering key themes such as sustainable and circular economy, green engineering and green chemistry, and solutions to plastic pollution through real-world case studies of Indian startups. The session aimed to equip youth with practical knowledge and systems thinking to reimagine a future beyond plastic.

→Invited by Gateway International School, Padur, for Earth Day 2025 to lead an interactive webinar–workshop titled ‘Your Generation, Your Planet: What’s Next?‘ (April 2025). I introduced students to the planetary polycrisis, explained how climate change stems from breaching planetary boundaries, and guided them to link their personal interests—like music, gaming, fashion, or science—to climate action and green careers. The session concluded with a group activity where students co-created ‘planet-positive’ project plans rooted in their passions.

→Addressed students at SSN College, sharing my journey into the climate and startup ecosystem through ecoHQ and RecycleNXT (March 2025). I spoke about how my academic background and prior work across diverse sectors shaped my beliefs and approach to climate action. The session covered the interventions I lead today—from circular economy strategies to ecosystem-building efforts that support climate startups and sustainable innovation.

→Invited as a speaker to Saint-Gobain Research India (March 2025). I delivered a session on key sustainability concepts—covering regenerative impacts, social life cycle assessment (LCA), green engineering, green chemistry, and circular economy models—and explored how these approaches can reshape business strategy for a truly sustainable future. The visit also offered insight into Saint-Gobain’s standout ESG efforts, including their model of personalised sustainability goals that empower each employee as a change agent. From spotless labs to net-zero milestone dashboards, their facility reflected both intent and execution. The audience—comprising researchers, engineers, and sustainability associates—was deeply engaged, asking sharp questions and showing strong climate awareness.

→Served as a jury member for Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council (CIIC)’s Mega Demo Day Celebrations, evaluating high-potential startups across sectors, including climate-tech and sustainability-tech (October 2024). Representing TN W.O.M.E.N, I had the privilege of engaging with visionary founders and learning alongside an esteemed jury panel. The event also marked memorable in-person meetings with mentors, ecosystem leaders, and fellow jurors, making it a rewarding experience in both learning and ecosystem-building.

→Contributed my insights to the Climate Career Standards white paper published by Voiz Academy. (August 2024). The project was developed to empower career pivoters by helping them identify their transferable skills,
enable Employers by encouraging a more diverse and inclusive talent pool, and guide educators to assist in the creation of certification standards that align with real-world needs.

→Served as a mentor for Startup Ashoka ’21, a 24-hour ideation-to-pitching competition hosted by the InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University (September 2021). I guided student teams through the process of shaping ideas into viable business models, offering them a hands-on introduction to the world of entrepreneurship in a fun, power-packed environment.