UNEP / CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH 2025 INDIA

With a focus on cooling solutions, Supriya Sahu is recognized for her groundbreaking leadership in subnational climate action, restoring ecosystems and scaling sustainable cooling innovations across Tamil Nadu. Her work has created millions of green jobs and positioned the state as a model for science-based, community-driven climate resilience. UNEP

• Video Length: 00:06:29
• Production Date: 10 December 2025
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME - UNEP
• Subject Topical: ENVIRONMENT; CLIMATE CHANGE; PLANTS
• Geographic Subject: INDIA
• MAMS Id: 3511850
• Parent Id: 3511850
• Alternate Title: unifeed251208w

Description

STORY: UNEP / CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH 2025 INDIA
TRT: 06:29
SOURCE: UNEP
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNEP ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 DECEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

OCTOBER 2025, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

1. Various shots, Supriya Sahu in her office at the Government of Tamil Nadu, India
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Supriya Sahu, winner of Champions of the Earth 2025 for Inspiration and Action, Government of Tamil Nadu:
“it's important for us, for a state like Tamil Nadu, to be really future ready to be prepared, you know, to mitigate, to adapt as well as to mitigate the challenges of climate change. These mostly these are the ones that we are facing at this point of time.”
3. Various shots, Supriya Sahu inspecting mangrove restoration site in Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Supriya Sahu, winner of Champions of the Earth 2025 for Inspiration and Action, Government of Tamil Nadu:
“And that's the reason that in schools, we have started implementing a cool roof project when we are painting the roof of the school with the solar reflective paint, which is proved to be bringing down the temperatures from five degrees to eight degrees. And you can imagine that in hot summer, months. Then in a classroom, the temperatures can go above 40. Bringing it down by about 5 to 8 degrees can be definitely a great sense of relief.”
5. Wide shot, Green School with painted roof in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
6. Various shots, classroom with students suffering from intense heat
7. Various shots, roof of Green School in Chennai being painted with white reflective paint to avoid heating
8. Various shots, student in Green School using a meter to monitor the progress on colling in the classroom, Chennai
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Supriya Sahu, winner of Champions of the Earth 2025 for Inspiration and Action, Government of Tamil Nadu:
“So cooling, which also includes the Cool Roof initiative, includes planting initiative, which is under the Green Tamil Nadu mission where we have planted more than 100 million trees already and we are going ahead with full force with that planting initiatives. Second one we are very proud of is about, mangrove initiative, the mangrove mission of Tamil Nadu.”
10. Wide shot, members of the community on boat to restore mangroves, Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu
11. Various shots, communities on boat to restore mangroves, Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu
12. Various shots, members of community planting mangrove saplings
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Supriya Sahu, winner of Champions of the Earth 2025 for Inspiration and Action, Government of Tamil Nadu:
“With the support of the local community, we have been able to plant new mangroves in about 4300 hectares and restore mangroves in about 2200 hectares. This achievement has been possible not only because you did this entire planning and the entire team did it, but we worked with the local community, got the inputs from them, involve them in the creation of nurseries”
14. Wide drone shots, exterior, conserved and restored mangroves with birds nesting in Ennore Creek, against the backdrop of Chennai city, Tamil Nadu
15. Wide drone shots, exterior, big scale restored mangroves in Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Supriya Sahu, winner of Champions of the Earth 2025 for Inspiration and Action, Government of Tamil Nadu:
“My inspiration comes from people who stood by me from the local village, working with me to clean up the mangroves as their own. My inspiration also comes from those children who look up to you with the blink in their eyes.”
17. Various shots, various community members of Tamil Nadu restoring ecosystems and benefitting from it

Storyline

With a focus on cooling solutions, Supriya Sahu is recognized for her groundbreaking leadership in subnational climate action, restoring ecosystems and scaling sustainable cooling innovations across Tamil Nadu. Her work has created millions of green jobs and positioned the state as a model for science-based, community-driven climate resilience.

Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has brought visibility and validation to some of the world’s most dynamic environmental leaders, from pioneering scientists and captains of industry to heads of state and community activists. The awards celebrate inspirational and motivational examples of the potential of individual and collective action to change the world.