World Environment Month: The Green Tuesday Initiative Launches #LetsTalkAboutIt Campaign to Spotlight the Overlooked Link Between Food and Sustainability

Media Room

[New Delhi, June 6] – The Green Tuesday Initiative, a food sustainability program working with institutions across India and Vietnam, has released its 2024 Impact Report and launched a new campaign urging organizations to confront a long-ignored environmental issue: food.

Timed with World Environment Month, the #LetsTalkAboutIt campaign calls attention to the environmental toll of animal agriculture, an issue often left out of climate and ESG strategies. Despite its significant footprint on land, water, and emissions, food rarely features in corporate sustainability plans.

That silence, says the Green Tuesday Initiative, needs to change.

In 2024, Green Tuesday partner institutions removed over 1.39 million pounds of meat, eggs, and dairy products from their menus. This shift led to measurable environmental benefits: an estimated 51.6 million pounds of CO₂e emissions avoided and 69.8 billion gallons of water saved, a critical statistic for a country facing worsening water scarcity.

The initiative, active in both India and Vietnam, now partners with over 60 institutions, including Tech Mahindra, SRM Institute of Hotel Management, and Tata Power. These organizations have adopted weekly plant-forward menus or reduced high-impact animal products in a structured way, contributing to environmental gains without disruptive operational changes.

“This is one of the most practical environmental interventions available to institutions,” said Bhavya Vatrapu, Senior Campaign Manager for India and Vietnam at the Green Tuesday Initiative. “With the #LetsTalkAboutIt campaign, we are highlighting how the environmental impact of animal agriculture is too big to ignore. No construction, no massive investment, just small, consistent food policy shifts that make a measurable difference.”

The 2024 report also notes that the initiative reached nearly 84,000 employees and students. In the process, it helped prevent the suffering of an estimated 2.6 million animals, according to internal reduction data.

The initiative focuses on sustainability and environmental outcomes, especially for companies seeking low-cost, high-impact solutions to meet their ESG goals. With the launch of the #LetsTalkAboutIt campaign, the Green Tuesday Initiative is asking a bold question this World Environment Month:

If animal agriculture has such a high environmental impact, why aren’t more institutions talking about it?

The 2024 Impact Report is available on the Green Tuesday Initiative website, detailing how institutions have used simple food policy changes to achieve real, measurable results.

About the Green Tuesday Initiative:
The Green Tuesday Initiative is a sustainability campaign that supports institutions and corporations to introduce plant-based food options to reduce their carbon and water footprints. The initiative has 64 partner organizations and institutions across India and Vietnam.