Clean Air Everyday

Air pollution has increased drastically over the years, especially in India, with 21 of the top 30 cities in the world with the worst air pollution in our country. It is clear that we need to take urgent steps to fix the situation. But what can an ordinary person do against a threat so large?

This was the central question we asked ourselves at Star while designing the #CleanAirEveryday campaign. Air pollution is caused by many sources from industrial emissions to construction, but in Indian cities there’s one significant contributor that we, as individuals, can control to actually make a difference: transportation. In Mumbai, for example, transportation accounts for 26% of the PM 2.5 pollution. In Delhi, that figure is more than 30%.

Through a combination of high-impact visuals and emotionally resonant short films, this ongoing campaign urges viewers to take a pledge to drive their car one day less a week. We decided to focus equally on sharing precise and hard-hitting information about air pollution (such as the fact that every trip in a car is 14 times more polluting than a bus) and striking an emotional chord with our large audience.

A key component of this campaign is an emphasis on asking what kind of world we are creating for those who are the most vulnerable among us—children. According to the WHO, 93% of the world’s children breathe air so polluted that it puts their health and development at risk. In order to communicate this effectively and memorably, we honed in on how air pollution can cause premature ageing among children. In one striking image, we showed half of a child’s face, seen through a car’s side mirror, demonstrating the devastating effects of air pollution. In another moving and heartbreaking short film, we showcased a couple realising how their actions have caused their young daughter to age before her time, no longer able to remember things as well as she used to. With piercing clarity, these visuals ask us: are we not able to make just one small change that can have a huge impact on the lives of those who come after us?