Our Climate Journey with Rashmi Choudary
“Sustainability is all about being thoughtful, and putting best practices in place, even if the impact is small.”
Rashmi Choudary
Senior Data Analyst
Rashmi is a Senior Data Analyst at Zum, where she’s been contributing valuable insights since 2019. At Zum, Rashmi works closely with cross-functional teams to identify and define business obstacles that can be addressed and overcome through data-driven insights and solutions. Outside work, she enjoys staying active through exercise, exploring healthy cooking options and travel destinations, and cherishing quality time with family.
At Zum, we’re revolutionizing student transportation in order to build a green, sustainable future. What does sustainability mean to you?
To me, sustainability is about recognizing the impact we all have on the planet, and meeting our present needs without compromising the needs of future generations.
Here’s an example. When I first moved to California, I visited a friend and her husband at their home. I was amazed to see that they didn’t have a single trash can in their house. Instead, they consciously separated organics, recyclables, and regular trash each day, setting trash and recyclables into the large collectible bins outside, and disposing of organic compostable material in their backyard. Owning a trash can, they told me, is a convenience that makes it easier to not pay attention to how we dispose of waste. By removing their inside trash bins, they could be more mindful of proper disposal practices.
Hearing about this taught me a valuable lesson: if we’re going to properly dispose of waste, we need to create systems that will actually encourage us to do so, not just throw things in an inside trash can because it’s convenient. Seeing my friend’s system has inspired me to make small changes in my own life, like making sure I rinse food and liquid out of containers before recycling them, and minimizing water usage.
Sustainability is all about being thoughtful, and putting best practices in place, even if the impact is small.
Climate change is the single greatest threat to our way of life, but it can sometimes feel abstract, far away, a problem for another time. How has climate change affected you personally?
Earlier this year, I visited Switzerland. As I explored the region, I marveled at the beauty of the Alps, but was disheartened to learn about the rapid decline of the country’s glaciers. 75% of them are projected to disappear by 2050. This weighed heavily on me. I saw places that, five years prior, had been glaciers. Instead, I was looking at mountains. This transformation is a stark reminder of the ongoing effects of climate change.
Seeing the glaciers melting reinforced my existing belief that the responsibility to fight climate change falls on the shoulders of the privileged. Not everyone can afford to buy recycled products, which are oftentimes more expensive, or constantly be thinking about how environmentally friendly an item is. Some people are just trying to survive. That’s why it’s critical that those of us who are privileged enough must always make sustainable choices. Personally, I’m continuing to try and limit hot water consumption, minimize purchases, and regulate heat/air conditioning.
What can Zum do to be a leader in sustainability, to spearhead the charge in the fight against climate change?
Zum is already driving a significant amount of change. The student transportation industry, rooted in tradition, has long relied on paper-based systems for route planning and driver tracking. Zum has been a trailblazer by steering districts away from these antiquated methods, eliminating the need for paper and helping districts nationwide reduce their carbon footprint. We’re also transitioning from diesel to electric bus fleets, and by using data—my job—we’re optimizing routes, which means less fuel, fewer buses, and more efficient vehicle loading. All of that helps.
On top of that, I’d like to see Zum go even further. I’m a data scientist, so I’d like to see Zum publicly share our carbon emissions data, alongside goals for reducing those emissions and updates on how we’re tracking compared to those goals. Let’s be proactive—it will solidify our commitment to building a truly sustainable, environmentally responsible transportation system.