SheLeads: Nayyara Mandjee

Nayyara Mandjee graduated from McGill University with a degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently at the forefront of environmental sustainability. She was born in France and moved to different countries throughout her life, and developed her passion for addressing environmental issues early on. As Team Lead in Environmental and Property Solutions at Imperial Oil, she works on remediation and reclamation projects to innovatively transform unoccupied industrial sites back into productive spaces, such as community gardens and residential areas. Her passion for environmental and social betterment drives her to inspire her colleagues to align with her vision. “When you work on a team towards a common goal, you can accomplish so much more,” she replied after being asked how she felt about leading a group at Imperial Oil to participate in the World Partnership Walk and raising $11,000 to help end global poverty through long-term sustainable solutions.

She was also part of the team who initiated the Go Paperless challenge at Imperial Oil, which reached over 8,000 employees across Canada and encouraged them to reduce their use of paper at the office. Creatively, they implemented this challenge using a gaming methodology, whereby participants acquired points and advanced through different levels as they adopted sustainable behaviours. This incentive resulted in a 50% decrease in paper printing which remained consistent even after the challenge expired. “People really bought into it,” Nayyara said, “so that was a big win and it was really fun!” In recognition of her impact on people in her company and beyond, she received the 2019 Young Women in Energy award.

When Nayyara is not working on her environmental projects, she is dedicating her time towards empowering other women . One such project is the Women Mentorship program for girls in the Ismaili community. “I thought I could teach them all about life and being successful in their careers,” she explained, “but I ended up learning more from them than they did from me.” In Nayyara’s view, mentorship is a two-way supportive relationship, where both sides contribute towards enabling each other to achieve their goals. In 2018, Nayyara compiled a video montage to share the diverse cultures, experiences and personalities of her local colleagues. After her video was broadcasted across different office sites, she was recognized as a Diversity and Inclusion Champion by the Global Vice-President.

Nayyara is motivated to continue making a positive impact and inspiring others to follow in her passion. She is determined to create opportunities for productive discussions within her growing networks by connecting people. She believes that even the smallest of actions can lead to great results towards a sustainable future, and encourages all of us “as individuals, to think about what we can do on our day-to-day work to start making an impact.”