All Things Sustainable (formerly ESG Insider)

Unpacking the intersection of gender and climate solutions

Feb 28, 2025

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This week, the All Things Sustainable podcast delves into the intersection of climate change and gender equality with Rachel Vestergaard, Founder and CEO of Empower Co.

Empower Co. is a brokerage firm that is building a global voluntary market for women’s empowerment as measured by the W+ Standard, which is hosted by the S&P Global Commodity Insights Environmental Registry.

Studies have showed that the climate crisis is not gender neutral, with women and girls experiencing the greatest impacts of climate change. As we approach International Women's Day on March 8, Rachel discusses how her company is creating a global voluntary market for women's empowerment using the W+ Standard, which measures six domains critical for women’s empowerment: Time Savings, Income & Assets, Health, Leadership, Education & Knowledge, and Food Security.

Rachel emphasizes that women are also crucial to finding solutions. “Without that, we are completely fighting this climate crisis issue with one hand behind our back,” she says.

This episode highlights the importance of integrating gender equity into climate solutions and the role businesses can play in supporting this mission, especially as we look ahead to the UN’s COP30 climate change conference in Brazil this November.

Listen to a previous episode that explores the topic of climate change and gender here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/intersection-of-gender-and-climate-in-focus-ahead-of-cop28

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

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