Projjal K. Dutta is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s first ever Director of Sustainability. He has two primary responsibilities: 1) To reduce the environmental footprint of the MTA and 2) to verifiably measure the carbon benefits that accrue to the region, due to the MTA. In a carbon-constrained future, this could generate resources.
Projjal was instrumental in the measurement and verification of MTA’s carbon footprint, and its registration with the Climate Registry. He has played a leadership role in the transit industry’s effort to quantify its carbon benefits. He has lectured and written extensively on the subject of ‘carbon avoidance’; including at Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities. He is a published author and a regular contributor to publications, both physical and digital, focused on the environment. His work has been cited in the New York Times, NPR and other outlets. He blogs at takingthecaroutofcarbon.tumblr.com and tweets @projjal
Projjal has more than twenty years of experience in projects ranging in scale from urban to residential, with a particular emphasis on sustainable design. Before joining the MTA, he worked as a sustainable architecture consultant. He was one of the first 100 LEED Accredited Professionals. His graduate work at MIT, which explored the construction of low-cost housing from waste packaging, was awarded the “Best Thesis”. His built projects have been featured in publications in the U.S. and abroad.
Projjal is also a partner at a contemporary south-Asian gallery based in NY. Due to his sustainability commitments and time zones, his role at the gallery has revolved around artist-relations – curating shows, helping place works in institutions.
Projjal takes volunteering very seriously. He has volunteered in a range of roles from post-lunch clean-up guy at his child’s school, to serving as the Chair of a National Academy of Sciences panel. Most recently he has become a proud new addition to ioby’s Board of Directors.