“We are only doing our bit to create a safe and sustainable future for our loved ones – that’s our selfish agenda!
In doing so, it is humbling to have inspired millions to embrace sustainability.”
Dr Roys
The selfish changemakers™
Dubbed as the ‘selfish changemakers’™, the spirited duo passionately strives to secure a sustainable future for themselves and their loved ones, and in the grander scheme of things are ensuring a sustainable planet for everyone.
Dr Ragini G Roy and Dr Sourav Roy are a sustainability power couple; leading sustainability thought leaders, advocates, educators, keynote speakers, authors and broadcasters. As trailblazers, they’ve featured on 200+ prestigious media outlets, including the BBC, Metro, Channel 4, The Times, The Guardian, The Economist, Reuters, as well as on key sustainability platforms such as the COPs, Climate action, Economist Impact, Reuters roundtables, to name a few.
“I really cherish moments like these [Big Syn Film Fest Awards]. Big Syn Film Fest is spreading awareness about sustainability and the UN’s Global Goals to inspire positive action.”
DEBORAH MEADEN
Green investor, Dragon’s Den, BBC.
Who are the Roys? A family of changemakers
The Roys epitomise a unique synergy of creativity, enterprise, and purpose, with 360-degree sustainability as their driving force.
As first generation immigrants in the UK, the Roys have had a roller coaster of experiences in their journey over the last 2 decades. They have witnessed unconscious biases as well as rampant discrimination and exploitation in many walks of life. They have fought their way through all those and have risen above the ‘noise’ to focus on the wider welfare of society at large. Through their sustainability advocacy and thought leadership, their messages are reaching millions in the UK and the world, inspiring them to act together to create a safe and sustainable world.
In 2018, they founded Centre for Big Synergy (CBS), a not for profit civil society organisation of the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, that furthers the UN Global Goals across the world. As a facilitator, CBS engages with governments, businesses and the civil society to support a wide array of sustainability initiatives. The initiatives of CBS have been supported by leaders from sustainability, business, policy and media, from across the world. Notable names include Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury; Oliver Dowden, Deputy PM, UK; Howard Gutman (Barrack Obama’s ambassador (rtd)); Jemima Khan (Screenwriter), Tom Szaky (Founder, CEO Terracycle); Cat Fletcher (Founder, Freegle); Baroness Prashar (House of Lords); Prof. Kevin Willmott (OSCAR, BAFTA and Cannes Grand-Prix-winning filmmaker); Deborah Meaden (Dragon’s Den, BBC), to name few.
While Ragini had been a leading cancer expert at University College London, with multiple cancer therapeutics (in trials) to her credit; Sourav, a neuroscientist, discovered lead molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease at King’s College London. As a member of the ethnic minority in the UK, Ragini stands as a role model for ‘Women in Sustainability’, while Sourav stands as an embodiment of ‘a man who dares to care’ for the planet and its people, challenging the forces of toxic masculinity that stand against sustainability.
The Roys, transitioned from award-winning scientists to savvy entrepreneurs, seasoned investors and business pros. Their dynamic journey weaves a narrative, rich with experiences and accomplishments spanning areas such as human health, education, technology, commerce, the natural world, chemicals and materials, diseases, food and agriculture, and the arts. Their scientific expertise, commercial acumen and understanding of wider societal needs give them the ability to spot problems and suggest actionable solutions that are circular and sustainable. Their multi-disciplinary expertise and experiences have helped them emerge as sustainability advocates, facilitating the synergy of actions and resources, working with governments, business and the civil society.
Uniquely, they walk the walk and talk the talk as well. At the forefront of the global sustainability revolution, the Roys set the pace as a family. They preach what they practice. The couple are the proud parents of the world’s youngest sustainability advocate, Moksha Roy BCyA, who began championing sustainability at age 3. Moksha’s sustainability advocacy has earned her the British Prime Minister’s Points of Lights Award and the British Citizen Youth Award- inspiring millions globally to #actnow.
Why sustainability? It’s in their DNA
Standing up to the need of the hour has been in the DNA of the Roys for centuries – and surely there is nothing more urgent and indispensable to human existence at this very moment, but 360-degree sustainability.
Over 600 years ago, to save the families of hundreds and thousands of farmers during prolonged droughts and famines in his kingdom, Sourav’s forefather, His Highness Raja Kalyan Roy Choudhury selflessly passed on his wealth to his subjects. His family’s motto, preach-protect-prosper, has not changed in centuries despite its dwindled fortunes. For centuries, till date, his family goes above and beyond its means to ensure the livelihood and welfare of communities who are in desperate need. Having grown up with these family values and being involved in its efforts from a young age, it is no surprise that Sourav leads with the same flair and purpose, challenging the status quo and flipping the script to create a more sustainable future for all.
When a young man in his twenties joined an army of patriots to take on the mighty British Empire to end injustice, inhuman atrocities and brutal exploitations in colonial British India, a hero was born. This was Ragini’s grandfather, Mr. Shyma Charan Ghosh – a brilliant scholar and a radio engineer; a soldier who fought for the independence of India. He was a well-decorated freedom fighter, national leader and successful tech-entrepreneur who was later honoured with the prestigious President’s Award of India. His bravery and indomitable spirit of fighting injustice and inequality lives on in Ragini; her leadership and selfless dedication to creating a fair and equal world for everyone, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity or abilities stand testimony to it.
So, Ragini and Sourav did not have a tough choice to answer their calling and decide if they wanted to pursue a life of so-called, conventional ‘success, prosperity and respect’ which they very well could have continued on, given their professional standing, or take the road not taken to champion a safe and sustainable world for everyone. They surely chose the latter.
How are they championing sustainability? Their unique edge
The Roys are championing sustainability through their personal and professional initiatives.
They engage with a very wide range of stakeholders; from unemployed women in rural villages to multi-billion pound global corporations; from disadvantaged children in the biggest cities to government ministers in the UK; from disabled artists in London to landless farmers in rural Asia, amongst many. The Roys lead a variety of programs, from employability programs, education camps, awareness workshops to policy consultations, seminars as well as fundraising campaigns and public advocacy.
Not many sustainability thought leaders and sustainability advocates have the benefit of sharing actionable insights gleaned from wide-ranging lived experiences, and direct engagements with key stakeholders, like the Roys. Through their speeches and other engagements, the Roys share their disruptive journey of becoming “selfish changemakers”, evolving from as a young family to dedicating their lives to championing sustainability. They share their pearls of sense and sensibility picked up in their personal and professional journeys, which at times otherwise go unnoticed in the everyday ‘rush to be rushed’ to demonstrate that there is no greater need of the hour, other than achieving sustainability for our communal existence.
The global population has exceeded 8 billion, but over 85% of the world population is still unaware of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), let alone act on those. The Roys relentlessly work to fill this awareness gap. They inform, inspire and engage governments, business and civil society to act on the SDGs and combat global issues, starting from climate change, poverty, hunger to gender inequality, injustice and all other major challenges faced by us.