In the pursuit of sustainable and environmentally conscious construction practices, certain individuals stand out as pioneers, reshaping the industry with innovative approaches. Selected as World’s Best Emerging Leader, Raghava Rao, Managing Partner at NSR Ventures, embodies a commitment to eco-friendly green construction, strategic insights, and transformative leadership in the construction sector.
Championing Sustainable Construction
Raghava Rao, armed with a wealth of experience and a visionary mindset, plays a pivotal role in steering NSR Ventures towards redefining construction methodologies with a focus on environmental sustainability. His journey is marked by a passion for eco-conscious solutions, adopting green technologies, and fostering sustainable building practices.
Under Rao’s leadership, NSR Ventures has emerged as a key player in the realm of eco-friendly construction. The company, founded on the principles of environmental sustainability and a commitment to providing eco-conscious construction, has positioned itself as a leader in delivering innovative and sustainable building solutions.
Rao’s tenure is characterized by a dedication to pioneering sustainable construction practices. His guidance and strategic acumen have led to the establishment of eco-friendly projects that challenge traditional construction paradigms, embracing renewable energy, recycled materials, and sustainable design principles.
Environmental Impact and Future Trajectory
Rao’s expertise extends across the construction sector, leaving an indelible mark in industries focused on environmentally sustainable building. His insights and strategies have elevated standards and redefined the construction experience, setting a trajectory for the company’s future success.
Raghava Rao’s impact in the eco-friendly construction domain continues to resonate. With a steadfast commitment to innovation, environmental sustainability, and pioneering strategies, he stands poised to drive the company’s future, inspiring the industry to embrace eco-conscious practices.
Raghava Rao’s journey epitomises the essence of transformative leadership and a dedication to innovative eco-friendly construction. His initiatives, environmentally sustainable focus, and groundbreaking endeavour’s position him as a trailblazer, inspiring the construction sector to reimagine their strategies and navigate the ever-evolving industry landscape.
In conversation with Raghava Rao, Managing Partner, NSR Ventures
What makes a strong leader? What are your key leadership strengths that are the strongest attributes of success?
A strong leader is one who thinks of the growth and satisfaction of everyone connected with the process. A strong leader possesses vision, effective communication, and emotional intelligence. A leader should be able to make sound decisions, adapt to change, and empower the team.
As an entrepreneur, my key leadership strengths lie in my passion for nature and self-sustainability. I believe that traits like honesty, integrity, perseverance, clarity of thought, and purpose can help any individual who is committed to his/her passion. The same traits have helped me bring positive change into people’s lives by going back to our roots.
I was committed to my dreams and never thought of giving up, even after facing plenty of hurdles. To bring back the good old days that I and many people like me have spent in the village, I never compromised with my efforts. My passion, dreams, uninterrupted efforts, and will to do something different and better for people have helped me to be here today.
An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career? What challenges did you face to reach success?
When it comes to achieving success or fulfilling a dream, we first need to step out of our comfort zone. The same happened to me, and it was never easy for me to leave a cushy job and spend all my time and effort on a real estate project. Besides, there was a constant fear of failure.
NSR Green Woods, or VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM, is not only a typical real estate project; it is my passion that turned into a reality. Thanks to my family for their great support and encouragement. With their constant support, I started to believe in my abilities and started my entrepreneurial journey.
With no prior experience in real estate, I had to learn quickly and adapt. Securing enough capital for the capital-intensive project was another challenge. But we took the risk, and our savings and support from trusted connections helped us accomplish it.
Gaining trust and credibility in the industry isn’t easy for a newcomer. Our honesty, transparency, and strong relationships with stakeholders have helped us pave the way for success. However, it took more than 3 years to show the outcome on the ground and broaden the trusted circle.
What is the role of a leader in these challenging times? List 5 in order of priority.
The first and foremost important thing is that, as leaders, we have to keep trusting our passion and showing people our potential. Also, it’s crucial for leaders to guide their teams through uncertainty and achieve success.
- Vision
- Direction
- Relationship Building
- Quick Adaptability
- And Confidence
Our strong conviction about self-sustained living and eco-friendly practices helped me and the entire team stay on track and keep pouring effort until satisfaction.
What is your vision and how do you share that with your shareholders, employees, and others?
I believe in creating self-sustaining communities that can thrive on locally sourced resources, including water, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. The entire team aims to reduce dependence on external sources and government support, fostering a more sustainable and independent way of life for our residents.
In order to share our vision and goals with our shareholders, employees, and others, we communicate openly while maintaining true transparency. Our team conducts regular meetings and discussions to outline our long-term goals and the steps we can take to achieve them.
We value the importance of self-sustainability, environmental consciousness, and close community living. Our passion for living close to nature and self-sufficiency resonates with our team members, investors, and stakeholders. Through constant efforts aligned with our vision, like using eco-friendly materials and promoting sustainable practises, we demonstrate our dedication to building self-sustaining communities. By cultivating a culture of collaboration, we ensure that everyone involved feels valued and engaged in bringing our vision to life.
How do you drive active business renovations, and how does that impact your subordinates?
It was entirely about making my dream a reality. As a newcomer, I didn’t know much about this industry. However, I was sure about one thing: I have to do everything required for developing an eco-friendly and self-sustainable community. I have implemented active business renovations through unique practices like ecosystem restoration, green cover creation, 360-degree water management, solar power adoption, herbal life promotion, and organic farming. Emphasising community living can unite people. This approach has positively impacted subordinates by instilling purpose, pride, and responsibility, driving environmental preservation and community well-being.
How do you integrate corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility as a part of your business strategies?
In order to integrate corporate philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, our business strategies focus on creating sustainable communities. We envision supporting residents with locally sourced resources like water, homegrown vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Apart from our NSR Green Woods, we also offer serviced homes for senior citizens under the name “VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM”, ideal for single parents or senior couples with facilities like a centralised kitchen, 24 x 7 medical emergency services, an Ayurveda hospital, a wellness centre, a physiotherapy centre, etc., and an ample opportunity to live at the lap of mother nature.
With the help of self-sufficiency, our communities can become less reliant on government support and logistics. People will have fewer worries about sourcing and managing essential things. If such self-sustained communities grow and spread their footprints across the country, without any doubt, the outcome will be far-reaching and transformational.
What has been your driving force or philosophy in life
My driving force or passion has been staying close to nature and developing self-sustainability. Just like many other people, I moved to the corporate sector, but my memories of childhood in my native village pulled at my heartstrings. Back then, everything we needed to live happily was sourced locally and perfectly aligned with natural forces, and we were so self-sufficient. Globalization has many benefits, but it has also disconnected us from local resources, leading to an unsustainable lifestyle. In order to recreate the harmony of my childhood, I chose the path of entrepreneurship, and my first achievement is the NSR Green Woods project (built on the philosophy of Nature, Self-Sustainability, and the 3R – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). This is an eco-friendly and self-sustaining residential community where everyone can live happily without depending on external resources. With the constant support of my family and the grace of the almighty, the project has gained reputation, and many people have started to believe in my vision, but there is still a long way to go to fulfil my dream completely.
How do you plan to drive your business on a global level?
We will leverage the experience gained from establishing self-sustaining communities. We can showcase the viability and benefits of such models to attract partners and stakeholders on an international scale. Also, by collaborating with local organisations and governments, we can strategically expand our footprint to various countries, adapting our approach to meet diverse cultural and environmental contexts. Implementing effective marketing and communication strategies can raise awareness about our sustainable initiatives and help us gain global recognition and support.
Today, lots of leading countries are talking about the negative effects of globalization and looking for ways to improve the overall scenario. In such a situation, our idea of building self-sustained communities can help, as it reduces the dependency on resources that the government is bound to provide irrespective of the situation. We hope many people will come forward to develop self-sustainable communities and contribute positively to the world’s ecological and social well-being.
How do you define success, and how do you measure up to your own definition?
Success can have a variety of definitions. For me, it is achieving a transformative impact on society and the environment through the development of self-sustaining communities. My idea of success revolves around fostering a sustainable green lifestyle, restoring ecosystems, promoting herbal life, and efficient water management while still providing modern comforts. By making a meaningful difference and inspiring others, we can exemplify success in creating a better, more empowered world.
In your opinion, what is the most significant aspect of leadership?
The most significant aspect of leadership is staying committed to your passion and dreams. The greatness of leadership lies in driving positive change and inspiring others towards a great purpose. All should follow their hearts instead of just following others. As a leader, it is also important to build relationships with all stakeholders; it’s the best investment. Relationship building with stakeholders isn’t a one-click thing. You have to invest solid time and effort in that while maintaining honesty and transparency.
Your perception of an empowered society—how far your industry has/can contribute to the same?
In my perception, an empowered society is one where individuals and communities are self-sufficient and live harmoniously with nature. In order to achieve this, we have adopted many unique features that other real estate projects do not have. Some of them are 360-degree water management, restored eco-systems, serviced homes for senior people, integrated organic farms, eco-friendly construction, toxic material replacement, structures for community living, solar power, and so on. Our aim is to create a sustainable, green lifestyle for our residents and reduce their dependency on external resources. Both our projects, NSR Green Woods and VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM, are based on this philosophy.
Esprit de corps: How do bring fairies and equality to all?
In order to ensure fairness and equality for all, we at NSR Green Ventures committed to creating an inclusive and sustainable community based on our philosophy (Nature, Self-Sustainability, and 3R – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). We create environmentally responsible and non-toxic living spaces accessible to everyone, especially serviced homes for seniors.
