The transition towards protecting the world’s natural environment and ecological health, to stop compromising the future generations’ ability to co-exist encompasses the concept of Sustainability.
Countries have been getting together to set up funds for helping their poor counterparts battle climate change, under COP27’s Sustainable Goal plan.
The highly sought-after core skill of an individual trying to implement sustainability in the modern world is balancing the fine line between reducing carbon emissions drastically while developing technologies for the future and progress in renewable energy to protect the delicate ecosystems of our planet.
The pursuit of a prosperous future is a promise that every individual must fulfill, regardless of the socio-economic norms of gender, status, and qualification.
The fifth goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for 17 SDG Goals (Sustainable Development Goals) is Gender equality – because despite being disproportionately impacted by climate change and conflict, Women are a key fundamental force, driven to uplift the world from nearly all man-made problems.
According to the World Bank, $15 – $30 trillion is lost in unrealised lifetime productivity and earnings, because of toxic work cultures, shrouded under a gender pay gap.
Women In Sustainability:
Industry Leaders celebrate the achievements of Women who are challenged by gender-biased systems, pay disparity, oppression, and constant underestimation, and yet encourage people to embrace equity. 2023’s International Women’s Day was themed beyond gender equality to acknowledge that the demand for equal opportunities can’t manifest in a world that is fundamentally unequal. Here’s a feature on 5 Women in sustainability, challenging and changing the world in five sectors: Social Sustainability, Resilience, Circular Economies, Ecosystems, and Energy.
Social Sustainability: Mika Tosca
80 percent of people displaced by climate change identify as women, according to The Economist. The impact of climate change fueled by unsustainable development is not experienced equally by communities. Poverty is a factor of this phenomenon, and to ensure a healthier world, accountability, fair distribution of economic power, and inclusivity is a given.
In addition to pushing boundaries of investigating the link between climate change and wildfires, Dr Mika Tosca is vociferous about addressing the climate crisis, with dire urgency. As a proud transgender climate scientist and associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Tosca has written about the emerging synthesis and sync of art and science, environmental aesthetics, and design principles.
She believes that in an extraordinary fashion, Art can elucidate the perspectives of inclusion and accessibility and create a platform for women to engage with each other on the climate crisis – an issue that has had a disproportionate effect.
“We must remake our economy to work for all of us, including the global biosphere and all of its non-human inhabitants.”
Tosca believes that people are often presented with ‘corporate sustainability’ as a need to purchase sustainable products without thinking if the solution makes sense. The capitalist mentality of “Grow and Consume” needs to change, as climate change will not end with more consumption and that organizations must have a collective responsibility to transition our global economy to a more equitable and sustainable one.
Resilience: Kotchakorn Voraakhom
Before environmental degradation reaches a point impossible to reverse, investing in resilient infrastructure, capable warning systems and nature-based solutions are the keys to helping people adapt and manage rising instances of extremities. To adapt to the changing climate, a staggering $500 billion is required annually, by 2050.
Kotchakorn Voraakhom is a Thai landscape architect, hailed as the ‘Architect helping sinking cities fight flooding’. After the 2011 worst flooding disaster in five decades, families were left stranded in Thailand, including Voraakhom.
Voraakhom’s accolades include TIME Magazine’s 2019 100 Next, BBC’s 100 Women, Bloomberg’s Green 30, and UN Global Climate Action award winner. Apart from building climate-resilient green spaces as buffers, Voraakhom won a contract to build Chulalongkorn Centenary Park, Bangkok’s first public park in 30 years, which was designed in a way to absorb 1 million gallons of water – an 11-acre ‘thirsty’ plot.
“When it comes to resilient and inclusive urban design, you need to make sure that whatever you do is human-centric.”
Voraakhom has led projects that build productive green public spaces to tackle climate change in vulnerable communities and dense urban areas. She believes that people need to reshape narratives – design resilient cities from the perspective of green infrastructure and not from the traditional viewpoint of productivity and economic growth. Decision-making needs to shift to inclusivity and gender-responsive resilience.
Circular Economies: Aja Barber
The circular economy encompasses reusing, repurposing, and recycling the precious and finite resources of our planet, to take pressure off consumption whilst reducing pollution and waste across supply chains. 33 percent of the food that could be consumed is wasted each year and 91 percent of plastic is not recycled. The concept of smart cities led by intelligent business leaders is quite critical for the closure of the systemic loop.
Being a writer, stylist, and consultant, Aja Barber’s work is based on the ideas of privilege, racism, feminism, and wealth inequality with the intersections of sustainability and fashion. Barber’s advice to young girls who are trying to break cycles of production-consumption-waste to adopt regenerative habits is to adjust and resist the temptations of buying things we may not need. Normalizing re-wearing clothes as opposed to peer pressure is the first step to a circular economy.
Barber emphasized her experience with key issues of inequality in terms of pay, and at a societal and corporate level, and her expertise in identifying corporate blind spots.
“Growing up with different levels of privilege makes it impossible for us to realize certain things until we screw it up.”
On how organizations should use the circular economy to address social issues like racism, gender inequality, and transphobia in the high-waste fashion industry, Barber believes that a lot of human-right violations can be solved if companies ensure that every individual in their supply chain is paid. If not, then they should reorganize the structure of their business. She strongly believes that there can’t be sustainability without fair wages for all.
Ecosystems and Resources: Lamya Essemlali
It is surprising to believe that Agriculture is a core reason for 80 percent of global deforestation. The dual challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change are disrupting the ecosystems – the foundation of existence. Since 1975, 94 percent of biodiversity loss has been experienced in the Caribbean and Latin America. Battling this issue to protect the environment by vitalising natural resources for a thriving future, is a French-Moroccan Sea Shepherd veteran, Lamya Essemlali.
Essemlali is the founder of the French branch of Sea Shepherd in 2006 and has specialized in biodiversity conservation. Since becoming the President of the organization, she has organized more than 30 International field missions.
As a firm activist in ocean conservation, Essemlali has experienced that women have to prove their mettle harder than their counterparts to fit into an area primarily dominated by men. Human interaction with the ocean is only linked to merchant ships, foraging platforms, or fishing vessels – competition, exploitation, and destruction.
“Our whole society should change the nature of the human relationship with the ocean. I believe the survival of humankind depends on our ability to do so.”
On how ocean conservation can serve the biodiversity-vulnerable communities of the coastal area, especially women, Essemlali believes that the ocean is the cradle of all life, just like women’s special role of carrying a life. Many indigenous women depend on the fish in the ocean and are vulnerable to the health of the sea.
Net Zero Energy: Glory Oguegbu
Nearly 75 percent of Greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions are linked to the usage of Energy. To realize net zero, annual clean energy investments of $4 trillion are needed by 2050, by transitioning to energy efficiency and green finance mechanisms.
Award-winning climate advocate Glory Oguegbu specializes in the renewable energy sector for economic growth. As the founder and CEO of Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute (RETTI), Oguegbu trains new solar designers and installers to improve the economic development of Nigeria, through the way of access to clean electricity. Oguegbu pioneered the sustainable energy conference of Africa Fellowship for Young Energy Leaders to promote Africa’s climate resilience.
“Women’s lack of awareness of the different STEM careers in renewable energy, is a persistent challenge.”
According to Oguegbu, women have been facing barriers to entering the renewable energy sector with the perception of gender roles. Encouraged by cultural beliefs that place women ‘below’ men, the mental barrier of a female is to do a job that is fundamentally more ‘womanly’. Without realizing the profound impact of poverty and climate change on more women’s livelihoods, opportunities must be put in place to retain women’s talent, who can drive the transition to net zero.
As global champions of small businesses, Oguegbu believes that women can reach the highest levels in the world with just smart work, determination, and grit.
