Author

Raghuram (Raghu) Dharmaraju

Passionate believer in the transformative power of cleantech and the promise of sustainable enterprise to create wealth without compromising, even enhancing, the environment and the society.

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Email: rdharmaraju (at) gmail (dot) com

Story:

I was born in southern India in a little town, Nalgonda, where summer temperatures often soared above 45ºC (113ºF) and collecting water in steel utensils was a daily morning chore before going to school.  Eight years after leaving Nalgonda, at the end of a journey that took me to Little Flower Junior College – Hyderabad, IIT- Madras, and UMass – Amherst, I found myself in Vermont, USA.  It was there that I caught the Cleantech bug, while leading a double life – as an engineer and an advertising consultant.

Attracted by the idea of reconciling my greed for worldly comforts with my prickly conscience, I pursued an MBA at Cornell University’s Johnson School. There I gained tremendously from my association with Prof. Stu Hart and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. Another powerful influence during the same time was the Cleantech Venture Network.

Having spent the last five years immersed in the world of cleantech, I am amazed at how things have changed. Few years ago seeing an article on green business in the mainstream media used to be a notable event. Now not a day goes by without most notable publications and TV channels, business or scientific,  featuring an article, program or podcast related to the broad cleantech arena.

Cleantech is here to stay for good. The next challenge is to make it accessible and useful for the majority of world’s population. I am convinced there need be no tradeoff between doing well and doing good.  World’s greatest challenges will be addressed at the intersection of technology and business.