Beyond Spotlight : Jonita Doda’s Commitment to a Greener Future

Jonita Doda: Planet Over Profit – An Actor, Entrepreneur & Environmentalist’s Journey of Purpose

Nature Knows No Boundaries – Jonita Doda on Planet Over Profit

Actor and cultural entrepreneur Jonita Doda speaks with calm conviction about our planet’s future.
Her recent focus is clear -the environment.

Finding Purpose in Environmentalism

Jonita says success feels incomplete if the world around us suffers. “That’s when I realised I wanted my work to help the planet heal,” she shares. Her initiative Planet Over Profit began as a thought.Today, it is a growing movement inspiring colleges and young minds.

The Roots of Purpose – I J Doda Foundation

Your environmental work is powerful, but you also run the I J Doda Foundation. Tell us about it.

Jonita smiles at the mention of her father. “The foundation is my way of honouring him,” she says.
“My father taught us compassion, discipline, and the belief that we must leave the world better than we found it.” The I J Doda Foundation, created in his memory, works across multiple areas with focus on:
    •    Environmental action
    •    Women empowerment
    •    Skill development for communities

These are not separate causes, she explains. When you protect the environment, empower women, and give people skills, you build sustainable change. She believes her upbringing planted the values she carries today. “I grew up watching my parents live with integrity and responsibility. This foundation is the continuation of that legacy.” The foundation’s mission fits naturally with her Planet Over Profit philosoph, strengthening people, communities and the planet together.

From Business to the Planet

She holds a Master’s in International Business and Marketing, and has now completed, and topped- her Environmental Science programme from IIT Kharagpur. “Education always adds up,” she says.
“It sharpens your perspective and deepens your purpose.” For Jonita, this IIT achievement is more than a certification; it is a feather in her cap, and a validation of years of environmental work.
It strengthens the scientific backbone of her mission and deepens her commitment to speak about climate, pollution and sustainability with both experience and evidence. She chuckles- “it actually is an amazing feeling, i like to dive deep in everything & anything that I do. Research is a process, I enjoy and formal education validates your effort.

More Than Tree-Planting

Jonita believes environmentalism must move beyond symbolic events. “Tree planting is good, but we must understand the systems behind the crisis,” she explains. Deforestation affects rainfall. Waste affects health. Air pollution changes our children’s future. “We must not only plant but make sure they sustain,Urgency is real,” she says.

India’s Air Crisis in Numbers

Her talks are rich with verified data.

After Diwali 2025, Delhi’s PM2.5 averaged 488 µg/m³.
Some stations touched an AQI close to 1000, levels considered hazardous even for healthy adults.That is 30 times the safe WHO limit. “People say one night won’t matter,” Jonita notes.
“But those hours make millions breathe toxic air for days.” She proposes city-level centralised firework zones and laser-light shows, fixed windows with stricter measures – celebrations that reduce pollution without removing joy.

Nature Without Borders

Jonita’s environmental voice blends science and empathy. “The world needs healing,” she says softly. She believes nature transcends identity. “Air doesn’t need a passport. Nature knows no boundaries.” Her goal is to build awareness that feels personal yet universal.

Teaching and Mentoring Change- Jonita now works closely with educators, Institutes, Corporates across India.
She helps them measure, report and act. “When students track air or tree survival, they begin to care,” she says.
“Data turns awareness into emotion and Movies are a strong medium to imbibe this emotion she shares”.

At Panjab University’s EEP 2025 Orientation organised by Punjab State Science and Technology Council an initiative of MOEFCC, she urged teachers to become mentors and change-makers. She said that Earth is our shared address and equal responsibility.

The Peace of Purpose

Asked what this journey brings her, she smiles. “Peace,” she says.
Walking back to nature grounds you. She contrasts business success with environmental success.
In business, success means profit. In environmentalism, success means balance.

Planet Over Profit – The Way Forward

Jonita’s work spans clean celebrations, sustainable fashion, and green education.
Her message stays constant: planet first. Environmentalism is not guilt, she says.
It is responsibility. Move from convenience to consciousness, and we will change the story.

About Jonita Doda

Jonita Doda is an actor, cultural entrepreneur, and environmental advocate.
She holds a Master’s in International Business and Marketing and has completed – and topped – Environmental Science from IIT Kharagpur.
She leads the Planet Over Profit initiative and the I J Doda Foundation, working across environmental action, women empowerment, and skill building.