Nurturing Gaia: Yash Premchandani’s Lifecycle Blueprint for Climate Impact in India

In India’s fast growing climate tech space, founders promise net zero goals but often lack hard data to prove it. Yash Prem Chandani started Nurturing Gaia to change that, mapping every product’s full environmental footprint from raw materials to end use. His story spans Himalayan trash trails to Swedish labs, showing how lifecycle assessment turns sustainability talk into real results.

From Mountain Trails to Global Labs

Yash found his calling young, hiking the Himalayas at age 10 and joining Green Trails programs by 2014 to collect and upcycle waste. Village kids learned to turn plastic into compost bins and pillows. A mechanical engineering grad, he skipped corporate jobs after interning at Consolidated Energy Consultants on wind assessments and solar wind battery hybrids.

Sweden’s Linköping University gave him a master’s in sustainability engineering, where the region aims to be the world’s greenest. Yash specialized in lifecycle assessment (LCA), analyzing products cradle to grave across nine impacts like acidification and resource depletion, not just carbon. Working with Volvo OEMs and WWF on biodiversity via Operation GreenThere, he launched Nurturing Gaia in November 2023 after Climate Collective.

Real Wins: 17 Percent Emission Cuts

Clients usually approach post product launch for regulatory carbon checks, but Yash pushes LCA at design stage for smarter resources and longer life. His team does site visits, operator chats, process maps, and chemical breakdowns. They benchmark against standards and hire sector experts for tough cases.

For Clean Water, they measured methane cuts from water treatment, carbon footprints, and social gains. Other clients hit 17 percent lower emissions and 40 percent better energy use. Startup LCAs cost ₹1.5 lakhs (2 to 8 months); carbon consulting scales to ₹8 to 10 lakhs.

Scaling with IoT Sensors for MSMEs

Now productizing, Yash teams with IoT firms to fit 300 to 400 RFID sensors on MSME machines, targeting 100 plus units. These track real time load, efficiency, materials, and emissions per product, enabling Scope 3 fixes for big buyers. Owners get custom tweaks in six months without quality loss.

AI powered backend will deliver decarbonization plans, ESG reports, and partner marketplaces. On carbon credits, Yash consults native species planting for future climates using CDM, ISO 14067, and IPCC methods, planning novel water and urban approaches.

Gamified Learning for All

Yash teaches three groups. Organizations get ESG quizzes like Ludo with role-based points for vacations, driving bottom up top down change. Public events in Indore mix workshops, panels with Priyanshu and carbon experts, sustainable living talks, and eco film screenings.

Students love the Gaia Climate Game, a role play as investors, politicians, or NGOs racing to net zero amid disasters. Mumbai schools and IIT Indore MUN pilots wowed; Sweden exchanges next. Cash positive soon via deals, Yash eyes EIA mandates and water subsidies.

Nurturing Gaia equips climate startups with lifecycle assessment data investors demand and helps MSMEs go green profitably. Reach out for LCA audits, sensor pilots, or climate workshops in India