Mindspace Business Parks REIT has launched 'Mindspace Leaves A Mark', a
sustainability-led campaign at its Mindspace Airoli campus to raise awareness about Navi Mumbai's mangrove ecosystem and the impact of plastic waste on wetland habitats. Undertaken in partnership with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and NGO Project Mumbai as part of the Navi Mumbai Plastic & E-Waste Recyclothon, the initiative mobilised more than 2,400 participants on World Environment Day.
Ahead of the occasion, a 32x48 ft canvas was installed outside a cafeteria, inviting employees, tenants and visitors to walk across it. Through their footprints, participants transformed the blank canvas into a depiction of a mangrove ecosystem, with green footprints forming the canopy and blue footprints representing waterways. The initiative sought to highlight how plastic trapped within mangrove roots breaks down into microplastics, affecting these critical ecosystems over time.
The campaign collected nearly 40 kg of plastic waste, including more than 2,400 discarded bottles and containers. Based on peer-reviewed field data, this volume of diverted plastic is estimated to reduce plastic stress on around 280 mangrove trees in the Thane Creek ecosystem. The collected plastic has been handed over to Project Mumbai under NMMC's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and will be upcycled into benches for children at municipal schools across Navi Mumbai. Upcycled sponges and eco-solvent materials were also used in the installation.
Dr. Kailas Shinde, Commissioner, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation said, "The Navi Mumbai Plastic and E-Waste Recyclothon is built on the belief that lasting environmental change requires every stakeholder - public, people, and private - at the table, and the partnership between NMMC, Project Mumbai, and Mindspace REIT is exactly that model in action. When civic bodies, NGOs, and corporate neighbours work together through a structured, city-wide programme, the impact multiplies well beyond a single event. Mindspace Leaves a Mark is a strong example of what this collaboration can achieve, and of what happens when a corporate takes genuine ownership of the ecosystem right beside it."
"We've always believed that a business district and its natural surroundings should thrive together, not despite each other. Mindspace Leaves a Mark was built on that belief. What surprised us was how little convincing people needed, as the community just showed up, and walked for a shared purpose," said Ramesh Nair, CEO & MD, Mindspace Business Parks REIT.
“Project Mumbai’s work across Navi Mumbai’s schools, housing societies, and now corporate campuses is all part of the same mission - making plastic responsibility feel personal and actionable for every citizen. Mindspace Leaves a Mark brought that mission into a new arena, while also drawing attention to the urgent need to protect the mangrove ecosystems that safeguard our coastline, biodiversity, and local environment. More than 2,400 people walked for the cause in a single day, learning how plastic waste and microplastics threaten these fragile ecosystems and how simple actions can help prevent that damage. The plastic they helped collect will now become benches in municipal school classrooms. That chain, from a footstep to a cleaner mangrove ecosystem to a child’s classroom - is exactly what the Recyclothon partnership was designed to create," said Shishir Joshi, Chief Executive & Founder-Trustee, Project Mumbai.
Denver Magdol Nogueiro, Consultant – Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS), EY, said, “This impactful initiative effectively sensitized business professionals about the vital role mangroves play in protecting Navi Mumbai and preserving our local ecosystems. As regular office commuters like myself were actively encouraged to walk across the blank canvas, the footprints gradually transformed it into a vivid and striking representation of mangrove trees and clean waters. The experience prompted people to stop, take notice, and converse with a renewed sense on the importance of mangrove restoration.”
The campaign forms part of a broader sustainability outreach programme that has been running across schools, colleges and residential societies in Navi Mumbai since September 2025. Earlier this year, the Airoli campus hosted a basketball-themed plastic collection drive that diverted more than 150 kg of plastic waste, alongside guided flamingo and mangrove trail walks. Upcoming activities include mangrove clean-up drives and the creation of a community garden using upcycled plastic waste.
