Ashwini Thakar
Independent Consultant
Mumbai,Maharashtra
Summary
Ashwini is a sustainability strategy, climate policy, and urban systems leader whose career spans almost two decades across the spectrum of sustainable development—from grassroots community initiatives to international climate partnerships and institutional transformation. She helps governments, cities, multilateral organisations, and mission-driven institutions translate ambitious sustainability commitments into practical, measurable impact.
Her work brings together climate strategy, resilient urban development, programme design, stakeholder and donor engagement, institutional partnerships, and strategic communications to deliver complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives. She has worked extensively across India, the European Union, and the Global South, building collaborations between governments, development agencies, industry, academia, and civil society to accelerate climate action and sustainable urban transitions.
Most recently, as Manager – Green Ports & Shipping at C40 Cities, She contributed to advancing climate leadership in the maritime sector by leading strategic partnerships and convening global stakeholders around sustainable port transitions. Her work included managing and delivering the Green Ports & Shipping annual workshop leading up to the proposed Global South Working Group—a collaborative platform designed to strengthen knowledge exchange, institutional partnerships, and financing opportunities for climate-resilient port infrastructure.
What distinguishes her work is her ability to bridge worlds that often operate in isolation. She translates community realities into policy conversations, technical complexity into strategic communication, and institutional ambition into programmes that can be implemented on the ground. This ability to connect people, policy, finance, and implementation has become the defining thread throughout her career.
Based in Mumbai, working globally, open to consulting and freelance mandates.
Overview
1
1
Certification
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager, Green Ports & Shipping - India
C40 Cities for Climate Leadership
05.2025 - 05.2026
- Managed and delivered the Green Ports Forum (GPF) Programme within C40's global climate leadership network, working across multilingual, multi-stakeholder environments with partners including Arup, IFC, and the Port of Barcelona.
- Successfully delivered the program and logistics of GPF Workshop in Barcelona - navigating complex logistical, linguistic, geographical and coordination challenges with strategic composure and adaptability.
- Led end-to-end Programme management: stakeholder engagement, partner coordination, workshop design, facilitation, and post-event reporting across global forum cycles.
- Facilitated knowledge exchange on green port transitions, maritime decarbonization, and port-city climate resilience - connecting city ports with global best practices and finance pathways.
- Launched and coordinated the C40 Global South Working Group (GSWG, March 2026) - a dedicated platform for equitable maritime transition across Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific; designed governance structure, Terms of Reference, and 12-month workplan.
- Convened 12 founding port cities (Mumbai, Durban, Lagos, Manila, Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta, Colombo and others) alongside IFC, ARUP, Lloyd's Register, UCL, and the African Union Commission - supporting a $1 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan initiative for green port infrastructure.
- Championed an equity-first approach: just transition principles, IMO-level advocacy on carbon pricing, and ensuring Global South communities are active shapers of decarbonization policy.
Consultant
C40 Cities and GCOM
Delhi
02.2025 - 04.2025
- Stakeholder mapping and engagement, Curating program content, liaising with city, state and central governments, providing logistic support and event management/logistics support.
- Documentation and report on the waste landscape in Indian cities, key learnings and practical recommendations for overcoming the challenges of financing waste for Indian cities.
Consultant
GiZ and INTEGRATION International Management Consultants GmbH
07.2023 - 03.2025
- As one of the Key Expert contributing to the research and documentation of the Knowledge Product for Communities Of Practice on Municipal Finance & Urban Governance, Coordinating state-level workshops on the following:
- Moving Towards Circular Economy - Coimbatore- Sept '23
- Localized Actions for Urban Resilience - Mangalore - August'23
- National Urban Conference on the Communities of Practice under SUDC II Project: Resilient Infrastructure / Digital Transformation / Municipal Finance - Mysore - November'23
- Digital Interventions in Solid Waste Management - Kochi - Feb 2024
Director • Operations & Programs
Mumbai First
Mumbai
07.2008 - 06.2023
- Played a pivotal role in building the organisation and multiple sectoral teams and ensuring seamless operations.
- Successfully institutionalised five core verticals/missions at Mumbai First, enhancing the organisational structure and mission alignment.
- Instrumental in representing the organisation on international platforms, fostering international relations, conceptualising, and delivering international conferences, thus significantly expanding the organisation's global footprint and impact.
- Liaising with Central and State Governments, Corporates and Media for sustainable urbanisation & Climate Change initiatives.
- Led the Mumbai-EU Partnership Programs in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai on Sustainable Urbanisation, Metropolitan Planning, Climate Change & Energy Management, Solid Waste & Water Waste Management, Integrated Transport Systems, Etc.
- Organizing and managing international summits, such as BRICS, Mumbai Partnership events, World Cities, Climate Crisis Conferences, Air Quality, Waste and Water Management, etc.
- Researching, shortlisting, communicating and managing high-profile speakers end to end.
- Leading and coordinating the Missions: Education / Health/ Environment & Climate/ Art, Culture & Heritage /International Collaborations/ etc.
- Curating and implementing Metropolitan Studio Labs in cities across India.
- Managing Programs & Large-scale, high-profile Int. Events.
- Outreach, Networking, and Communications on the environment, urbanisation, education, and health with Local Governments, organisations, and Government Agencies.
- Experience in production logistics for in-person, virtual and hybrid events, including but not limited to the run of the show, screen assets, AV requirements.
- Tangible experience in event logistics, including but not limited to research, procurement, bookings and payments for venues and hotels, management of catering, interpretation, ground transportation and any other operations suppliers.
- Mumbai First is a not-for-profit, policy-influencing think tank that works towards making Mumbai a better place to live, work and invest in by catalysing the efforts of the government, corporates, civic societies, and citizens. India's industry leaders set up its unique public-private participation model 25 years ago. The Tata's, Mahindra's, Godrej, ICICI, Asian Paints, and HDFC are a few of the patrons of this organization, which has worked with the Union, State, and Municipal governments as a nonpartisan body to engage ordinary citizens, urban experts, and captains of industry. (www.mumbaifirst.org)
Project Manager / Consultant
Multiple Institutions/Programs
05.2000 - 05.2019
- GIZ/ACCIONA/ EU/UNEP/AETS / BRICS/ World Bank/ CEPT/ NIUA/IITB/ WRI/ NEERI/ TISS/TERI/various Consulates/McKinsey/ORF/CDRI.
- GCOM (Global Covenant of Mayors) Asia / India - EU Urban Partnership / International Urban Cooperation.
- Kshamata
- Nimaya Foundation.
- Muktangan Education.
- Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi - Served in International Conference on UN's Millennium Development Goals.
- SP Jain Institute of Management and Research - Managed UNICEF's project in State Resource Institute Network.
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences - Contributed to micro-planning initiatives in education, housing & health services.
- GET Foundation - Managing Networking & Communications.
- Rotary Foundation for Education and Learning - Initiated and coordinated the Executive MBA course through networking.
- Indian Society for Community Education.
Education
Master's - development management
SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
01.2016
Bachelor's - commerce
Gujarat University
01.2002
300 Hrs YTTC - Certified Yoga Instructor
07.2026
Skills
- Organizing & Managing high-profile International events
- Donor Management & Communications
- Strategic Communication & Partnerships
- Leadership & Team building
- Creative & Content Writing
- Documentation & Report Writing
- CSR & Fund Raising
- Government & Public Relations
- Managing tender and procurement processes
- Vendor Management
- Social Media Management
- Project Management & Governance
- Organizational skills
- Urban Policy & Climate resilient development
- Bridging Communities, Institutions and policy implementation
- Ability to work with diverse and multi-disciplinary teams and time zones
- Efficient with multi-tasking and time management
Certification
- Certified Trainer - Personal Counselling, Heart-to-Heart Foundation, Mumbai
- Project Management, International Youth Center, Delhi
- Web 2.0 & Online Journalism, organised by School of Journalism and New Media Studies (SOJNMS), IGNOU, conducted by DW Akademie of Deutsche Welle, Germany
- Project Monitoring & Evaluation, IRFT Bangalore
- Training for Counsellors on TB/HIV Coordination by Central TB Division & NACO
- NGO Management, International Youth Center, Delhi
- Participatory Assessment & Sustainable Livelihoods, National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad
Personal Information
Gender: Female
References
- Juvarya Vetklemp, Senior Advisor, C40 Green Ports & Shipping
- Mr Narinder Nayar, Chairman, Mumbai First
- Mr. Sanjay Ubale, Retd. IAS, Mumbai First
- Mr Shishir Joshi, CEO, Project Mumbai
- Ms Henriette Faergemann, First Counsellor - Environment, Climate Action, ICT, Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam
- Nirja Mattoo, Chairperson, DOCC (Development of Corporate Citizenship) SPJIMR
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Hobbies and Interests
- Watching movies
- Music
- Travelling
- Trekking
- Yoga
- Photography
- Writing
- Badminton
- Wildlife
Timeline
Manager, Green Ports & Shipping - India
C40 Cities for Climate Leadership
05.2025 - 05.2026
Consultant
C40 Cities and GCOM
02.2025 - 04.2025
Consultant
GiZ and INTEGRATION International Management Consultants GmbH
07.2023 - 03.2025
Director • Operations & Programs
Mumbai First
07.2008 - 06.2023
Project Manager / Consultant
Multiple Institutions/Programs
05.2000 - 05.2019
300 Hrs YTTC - Certified Yoga Instructor
Bachelor's - commerce
Gujarat University
Master's - development management
SP Jain Institute of Management & Research