Alternative Action Plans

Alternative Action Plans for SDGs

Volunteer with NGOs that work for SDG 1 which seeks to eradicate poverty in all forms
Donate your time and resources to organisations working toward this in your locality
Assist your househelp, pay them even when they can’t come to work- inform them about government policies and schemes that will benefit them
Find scholarships, incentives, resources etc that aim to aid those who need financial aid and help spread awareness

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about the prevalence of poverty and the need for people to use their privilege and time to work towards uplifting the underprivileged!

Don’t hoard food. Buy only what you need.
Open a credit line at local grocery stores for household staff
Donate dry rations
Start a kitchen garden and donate the produce to the impoverished
Celebrate special occasions by distributing food and rations among the needy
Buy local and in-season food. Don’t let it rot.
Buy Funny Fruit—many fruits and vegetables are thrown out because of “abnormal” shapes, colour or sizes. But they are perfectly okay for consumption and should be consumed as opposed to increased wastage.
Make nutrition a priority for you as well as your children starting from the first 1000 days
Consume less meat. Eat only vegetarian food for certain days of the week.

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Have conversations about respecting food with those around you

Educate yourself and others around you about the importance of good personal hygiene through mediums such as social media and personal dialogues.
Eat well to immunise. Teach children about the importance of immunisation.
Don’t drink and/smoke. Work towards quitting if you practice these habits.
Create a healthy exercise regimen for yourself
Shift to e-newspapers and books to lessen your paper consumption.
Vaccinate yourself and your kids
Visit the doctor regularly for checkups
Place yourself on the organ and tissue donors’ registry
Donate your blood
Take care of your mental health. Meditate, talk to friends and family, and seek professional help

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about the importance of physical well-being and taking care of mental health! Don’t let your friends and family neglect themselves!

Support the education of children in rural areas or the children of your household staff.
Tutor a needy child in your locality- teach them how to use technology and communication mediums such as Whatsapp
Don’t throw away old textbooks, instead pass them onto someone who might not be able to afford them.
Enrich your own self and learn through free online courses.
Educate the children around you about SDGs
Ensure that the children of your household staff go to school

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about the importance of education and how you can help people access education!

Educate yourself about the issues faced by women and girls and help create awareness about the pervasiveness of stereotypes and gender roles.
Share the workload at home. Learn how to/ start doing activities that are typically assumed to be female duties such as cooking, cleaning, child rearing etc
Report Domestic Violence in neighbourhood.
Stand up against harassment.
Find female mentors/leaders in your workplace
Provide/ request anti bias training at your workplace
Support the female run establishments and business around you
Let your parenting reflect equality. Teach your sons about gender roles, respect and consent from a young age.

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Help create awareness about the pervasiveness of stereotypes and gender roles! Respect women, not just because you have mothers and sisters but because they are human too.

Consume clean drinking water
Maintain personal hygiene and educate others
Take short showers/use bucket
Operate washing machines on full load
Close taps when not in use
Use the extra water from your RO filtration device or AC to water the plants or wash your dishes
Avoid dish wash/ soaps that contain toxins pollute water supply. Switch to eco friendly products.
Practice and encourage the usage of toilets

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Every drop counts- more so when it’s a clean and consumable drop. Have conversations about the need to practice hygiene and sustainable usage of water!

Air dry your hair
Use lids while cooking
Switch to LEDs
Avoid using lights during day time
Turn off the extra lights, fans, ACs and coolers
Switch off your appliances at the socket.
Buy rechargeable electronics. Don’t buy or use one-use batteries.
Don’t use multiple devices at the same time.

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Emphasise the need for sustainable usage of energy!

Be a conscious consumer – if something is cheap it is likely to be hurting people or the planet in some way.
Buy from local producers.
Make sure your household staff is of age. End child labour.
Treat your employees kindly. They are human too.
Be aware and spread awareness about your rights at the workplace
Speak up about Sexual Harassment at the workplace
Mentor your junior colleagues

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Have dialogues with your local vegetable vendors and household staff. Help them by giving them opportunities they might not otherwise receive.

Intern in your free time! Gain work experience
Do research about the companies you buy from. Make sure they promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation.
Shop from local, small enterprises
Encourage your children to expand their thinking and innovate from a young age.
If you are a business owner, generate employment for local citizens as opposed to cheap foreign alternatives.
Favour domestic products as opposed to foreign trade offs
Promote and use products of local businesses

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Speak about the need to foster the growth of Industry, Infrastructure and Innovation!

Find out what your rights are to work. Fight against inequality.
Favor companies that are inclusive. Check the lists of the companies that are inclusive for different minorities through employment there or their products.
Contribute to Programs for the disabled
Learn about the difficulties faced by those who are disabled. Spread awareness.
Participate in gender sensitisation drives and programs
Promote female/ minority run local businesses as opposed to huge conglomerates

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Speak about the prevalence of inequalities in modern society and the need for change in our behaviours and mindsets!

Take care of public spaces.
Commute in a sustainable way – bike, walk or take public transport
Shop, eat and drink locally
Follow traffic rules
Take care of the elderly and children around you
Make sure your building is earthquake proof!
Reduce your carbon footprint
Be kind: practice empathy and teach people about the importance of being nice to each other

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Speak about shared responsibilities towards each other and your fellow citizens! Emphasise the need for safe, sustainable cities!

Reduce packaging waste. Choose options that require the least amount of packaging.
Buy second hand products whenever you can
Invest in thrift shopping as opposed to fast fashion
Shop, eat and drink locally. Supporting neighbourhood businesses keeps people employed and circulates money back into your community.
Cook more at home
Use cloth napkins as opposed to paper napkins
Avoid dish wash/ soaps that contain toxins pollute water supply. Switch to eco friendly products.

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Have conversations about your responsibility as a consumer/ producer!

Reduce your use of plastic
Reduce your waste- learn the 5 Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle
Consume less meat!
Bike, walk, use public transport. Carpool as often as possible.
Buy eco friendly products.
Use the extra water from your RO filtration device or AC to water the plants or wash your dishes
Compost your food scraps

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about climate change and the reality we live in and how even a single change in our lives can be step forward for the world!

Don’t buy bottled water. Carry your own reusable water bottle!
Stop using plastic bags and single use straws!
Avoid ocean-harming products like cosmetics that contain shark squalene, jewellery made of coral, conch shells etc
Don’t pollute your local rivers-be mindful.
Don’t drain oil into the sink or waste detergent- it finds its way back into the rivers
Reduce your energy usage! Burning fossil fuels makes the oceans more acidic.
Clean up after yourself when you’re at the beach! Your vacation is not an excuse to litter
Properly dispose of items that contain hazardous materials especially batteries and electronic gadgets.

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about what’s going on with the world’s oceans and how you can create a change. Educate yourself and others!

Reduce your use of paper
Don’t buy products tested on animals!
Recycle paper, glass, plastic, metal and old electronics
Feed the stray dogs around your home. If possible, get in touch with organisations that can take proper care of them
Don’t litter- clean up after yourself in public places and parks.
Compost your food scraps
Plant a sapling and grow your own houseplants!
Keep a water bowl in your balcony for birds

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk to people around you about how their habits affect the lives of all living organisms on Earth.

Get to know your rights- at work and otherwise. Spread awareness among those who don’t have the resources to inform themselves
Vote during elections and make an informed choice
Speak up about corruption and other illegal practices
Share verified information only
Do not fan/be swayed by rumours
Do not share angry, vicious posts

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about the importance of just, peaceful and inclusive societies. Read and verify the information you share.

Educate yourself about the SDGs! Read and create changes in your own life.
Spread awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals- have conversations with those around you.
Spread harmony in your communities, practice being kind and empathise
Volunteer your time for charities working towards the achievement of the goals
Donate to charities that support these cause as much as possible

DIALOGUE FOR ACTION

Talk about the need to donate to charities and taking concrete action at individual levels!

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