About Us

SZW is an Integrated Management Systems Certified social enterprise, one of the few to receive this certificate in the Waste Management sector. Our Quality, Environmental, Occupational Health & Safety Management System is certified according to ISO 9001:2015,ISO 14001:2015 & ISO 45001:2018 from TUV -SUD.

We are an environmental and social enterprise with +20 years of experience in waste management, resource recovery and social impact.

Saahas Zero Waste was registered as a Pvt Ltd Company in 2013. We are grateful for all the learning from our mother organisation, NGO Saahas that was established in 2001.

The founder of NGO Saahas and our founder & CEO, Wilma Rodrigues, was a journalist who actively advocated the importance of sustainable and holistic management of waste.

State Bank of India, previously worked with NGO Saahas and subsequently became our first customer.

We have 3 business verticals- The Zero Waste Programme, Extended Producer Responsibility and Circle Up.

With the expansion of our clientele and scope of our operations, we introduced our first Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Bangalore in 2017.

Our goal is to manage +500 tonnes of waste per day by 2026.

We are a 21st century social enterprise that puts planet and people ahead of profits.

We closely measure our environmental and social impact in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and ESG frameworks (Environmental, Social Governance)

We live by our RIIIHT core values where R means Resilience, I stands for Integrity, I for Impact, I for Innovation, H for Humility and T stands for Team.

We work together with nature, people and technology to enable maximum recovery of resources. We believe that landfill diversion alone is not enough. We need to transition to systems that will enable a regenerative and circular economy

OUR MISSION

We bring together nature, people and technology to enable maximum resource recovery

OUR VISION

To create a zero-waste world through circular economy

Our team

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Wilma Rodrigues
founder & CEO
Believes in persistence and practicality. She has had a diverse career path – from being a tour guide and German language translator in the eighties, to a business journalist in the nineties, and for the past 19 years a pioneer in the waste management Industry. When not at work, Wilma likes to spend her time planting and nurturing trees, making compost and being around family.
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Shobha Raghavan
Chief Operating Officer
Strategizes overall operations to ensure growth. She’s been associated with SZW for 6 years, and has been constantly evolving various business models as per market demand. An Electrical engineer with over 15 years of experience, she’s worked in the IT industry with a strong focus on Business, Engineering and Technology. She’s also been instrumental in building neighbourhood waste champions and responsible citizens, and has spearheaded her apartment's RRR program through in-house composting.
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Gopal
Business Coach & Mentor
PK Gopalakrishnan is a business management professional with three decades of leadership experience in the corporate sector. He is currently an active angel investor with multiple angel networks and helps startups in the early stages with business mentoring. He also works with CII, in assessing organisations to achieve high standards of business excellence and customer satisfaction. He is an alumni of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
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Arun
Regional Director
Always on the lookout for new opportunities and solutions for Waste Management. Arun is trained as a Product Designer and has past experience in working this role for a Waste Management company. His interests include playing squash, football and cooking
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kannika
Lead - Finance
Working to keep the company on target while maintaining profitability. She has worked in the developmental sector for over 15 years, focusing on finance, accounting and administration. When not at work, she enjoys gardening, cooking, visiting hill stations and spending time with family.
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Tanuja
Lead - Products
An achievement driven professional with extensive experience and a successful record in sales and business development, general management and administration. Honest, committed, friendly and approachable, she always treats people how she would like to be treated. Listening to music, spending quality time with family and being around children are her “mantra to unwind”. She likes to volunteer for social causes and organise events in her apartment complex.
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Sivakumar
Lead - Operations
SK graduated from Madras university with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked in Operations, Project Management, Production Planning & Control in large Manufacturing and MEP companies in the past. He now wants to dedicate his time to fix environmental issues. He also likes spending time with family, playing table tennis, cricket & reading.
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Annie
Lead - Policy & Regulatory Compliance
Graduate from National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 2009, Annie, worked in large corporate law firms until 2017. In 2018, she decided to follow her passion for the environment and joined Saahas Zero Waste to do her bit for the only home that we will have in the universe. When she is not working, she can found planning her next travels or reading. She is happiest in and around water and firmly believes that "vitamin sea" cures most if not all problems
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Nimmi
Lead - EHS
An Engineering graduate from BMSCE Bangalore , She is a passionate compliance professional who has worked with leading MNC’s over the past 25 years. Areas managed includes  merchandising, product quality and compliance across various sectors. Keen to work on standards and safe practices to address social and environmental concerns, she believes that sustainable practices should start from home & is every individual's responsibility. Likes to spend quality time with family, loves animals & enjoys cooking.
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Bhagyashree
Financial Analyst
Chartered Accountant by profession, she has 9 years of experience in total. She has worked in large consulting firm as a corporate tax consultant. She realized the growing disconnect of human beings from the eco system which is very integral to their existence and this lead her to join Saahas Zero Waste in 2019 as a Financial Analyst. When she is not working, she can be found talking to her plants, reading or planning her next travel.

Awards

testimonials

In 2016, we at RMZ took a conscious decision to implement the best practices in waste management. We’ve introduced on-site composting and dry waste management systems in each of our tech-parks. We are proud of our waste management systems and for having been able to divert 95% of our solid waste away from landfills. We are also deeply grateful to Saahas Zero Waste for their efficient and holistic on-site services, and for being with us in this journey right from when we started out with an idea. Apart from segregation and collection, they work closely on the ground to manage our on-site facilities and also track the waste that goes out right up to the point that it gets recycled. Their attention to detail brought down our proportion of Reject waste from 60% to just 6%.

We have 250 stores across Bangalore. Together with our waste management partner SZW, we trained our internal teams to understand the different waste types and introduce segregation at source. All packaging material together with other waste is now managed efficiently by SZW, for the entire network of stores. Through their MIS system we also have real time data on the quantity and quality of waste which is recovered and recycled. We are now working towards expanding this system to our stores all across the country.

When it comes to sustainability we are clear that our waste is our responsibility and we need to comply with regulations so our waste goes through a recovery process. We are happy to find a partner like Saahas Zero Waste that is committed to a Circular Economy. They manage our waste through hassle-free off-site solutions, and provide recommendations on how waste can first be reduced. We did away with plastic liners in our dustbins and are happy with the bin-to-bin system proposed by them. Their approach and implementation is very aligned to our needs and has exceeded our expectations.

In an effort to contribute positively to the environment, Roots Academy has chosen to have our school diaries made from recycled paper. The team from SZW was quick to understand our ideas and customize the same. This has been a huge success with the students who are always excited to receive their copy of the eco-friendly school diary, and parents who’ve been appreciative of the initiative.

our Investors

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