“Women are very worried about these (extreme weather) events, and they're the ones that really worry about the impact on communities.…They want to leave a better country for their children...They will say that climate change is something that really is on my agenda more because my children talk to me about it and they listen to their children and grandchildren. That said, the urgency around climate change ebbs and flows a little bit. Many of the single issue climate change voters are also...

“During the pandemic, a lot of companies underwent digital transformations…At the same time that that was happening, sustainability was really catching wind, particularly in places like Europe.… (I)f you are a non-manufacturing company, your largest source of operational emissions is probably your IT. So…CIOs now have these mandates trickling down from their CEO or whomever that they need to reduce their energy consumption and their emissions. And they're saying, how do I do that while also...

“The link for us with (the WHO) is about universal health coverage and the sustainable development goal number three, which obviously the WHO places in the middle of the wheel of all the sustainable development goals. But on top and behind and with each other is climate action. We cannot have one without the other. And our role is to remind a lot of people that when they're making policies, they're talking about human beings.”  Emma O’Brien on Electric Ladies Podcast Climate change has a...

“Corporate America has a very important role to play in this transition. They have the resources, they have the talent, and they are being nudged by their customers, their employees, even their suppliers, their investors, and obviously regulators to do this work. They know it's the right thing to do…Just as a quick thing to think about is it used to be that the people who were in sustainability were kind of on the sidelines…Now their talent is being tapped into the C-suite because it's like,...

“The march that we have seen in businesses taking on climate commitments has been one of those forcing functions to bring the data related to buildings front and center (because buildings account for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions) ….There is a whole heck of a lot of inefficiency to cut out of those buildings. And so, as we think of the enormity of the climate challenge, buildings are that rare space that actually taking action cash flows is accretive to your bottom line because you're...

“We start to look at the advantages of the technology, and we start to really focus in on where can we go forward? What are the things we're doing and how do we get there collectively so that it is the industry, and the infrastructure side actually coming together and making those choices and implementing these safety features or implementing these (technologies)… There's no one right solution…It's collaboration and it will always have to be.” Michele Mueller on Electric Ladies Podcast ...

Mobilize, Measure, Manage ESG – Evelyn Saelens, ESG Advisory at UL Solutions “These climate events, they're impacting our everyday lives. They're making the world unsafe…Sometimes it might feel that it's hard to get to solid, tangible information. It's hard to know that what you're doing is meaningful, that it really has an impact. So the, what made it extremely interesting at being able to develop these ESG programs at UL Solutions is that the science and the standards driven angle always...

What Is 'Brave Thinking'? - Mary Morrissey, Renowned Speaker & Advisor, Author of "Brave Thinking: The Art and Science Of Creating A Life You Love" ”Brave thinkers on the other hand, developed the courage to think and live from a vision…They're not going to let circumstances win. They don't deny the circumstances or situations, but they don't let them win. And they're pulling from something that's greater than the circumstance, situation, or condition. And there's a way to hold our...

“Really think about why are you doing what you're doing, what motivates you?…(and) be extremely opportunistic and don't be afraid to take risks….(M)ost of my opportunities that I've had have come from me putting my hand up, taking a chance, doing something that feels scary and terrifying, but that is aligned to my core goal and mission of working on climate and sustainability.” Lucy Hargreaves on Electric Ladies Podcast   To kick off 2024, here is powerful career advice for women who want...

“Philanthropy generally, we consider, contributing private money for public good or community good. And climate philanthropy is simply, when we are making those private contributions in ways that are going to address the climate crisis that our country and that the world is facing today. I would expand that slightly by saying that one of the trends that I'm seeing is a real interlinking of climate and nature problems and climate and nature solutions.”  Heather Grady on Electric Ladies...

“The theme across all of this, this clean energy transition, it is private sector led, but government enabled. So, we as a government are trying to enable the private sector to move faster so we can meet our very ambitious goal, which includes a 50% reduction from 2005 levels of greenhouse gas pollution by 2030… There's a lot of clean energy technologies that are underpinning all of this and, includes things like, clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear, virtual power plants, carbon capture and...

“For me, the key to my career was being clear on what my mission is….I feel so enormously fortunate that I found a president to be able to work for who shares that goal….So I think the lesson in that is either be the leader that you want to believe in, or find that leader and attach yourself to them and see what amazing things you can do together. But, for me, it's been about being clear on what it is that I wanted to achieve.” Heather Boushey on Electric Ladies Podcast In 2023 we’ve had...

“Companies are not just being more strategic about corporate social impact, but are taking on the role of activists themselves. Consumers and employees now expect companies to be vocal and to protect the rights of our people and our planet. CEOs are the voices of companies and can no longer remain neutral and silent as our world grapples with serious challenges.” Susan McPherson, McPherson Memo  Company leaders are in a quandary. They want their organizations to be seen as good corporate...

“The first lesson was do not pretend somebody here know that that was the one when I was trying to dress up like a business woman. But the second one was, which was a really hard one for me, was to understand that we communicate, we have different communication styles, which is, it seems very easy and simple, like everybody communicates somehow, and we are different. But the thing was that if you understand that you have in your team, you have at least four different p four different styles...

“We are at a tipping point when businesses need to reinvent themselves for a better future. In fact, I believe that they need to reinvent the model and even demonstrate the contribution to society. I believe. in fact, that only companies with a positive impact will thrive. Why? Because they will be chosen by people, by employees, as you said, by investors, by partners, by clients. This is what is happening right now. And the question is not anymore about the why, the question has become...

“What surprised me was actually how profound, how deep I managed to have this relationship with carbon. Like, because in the end, I found, through the writing and embodying carbon for so long, I found the connections, the  entanglement of carbon across so many aspects of all our lives so illuminating, so surprising. Sometimes I just felt so moved by the wonder of it all, and I still do. Just thinking about it now makes me think, God, it's so wondrous.” Daniella Ortega on Electric Ladies...

War & The Hidden Power of ESG - Natalie Jaresko, fmr Finance Minister of Ukraine   “The global business community must understand that nurturing, upholding and protecting freedom and democracy is part of their ESG responsibility. It's not only in their best interest, but also in, in those of their increasingly noisy and numerous stakeholders…Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, not all chief executives have had the courage to take actions which would be consistent with their...

“When we're searching for projects to invest in and support, we're really trying to make sure that it's a story that has kind of a balanced narrative. It's not about just talking about what we can do and how we're, how we're winning. It's really making sure that we understand what's at stake and what the impacts are and who the impacts are hitting, and also seeing people in action addressing and dealing with the situation at hand. And I think that's where it’s very hard, increasingly hard.” ...

“Much of our infrastructure isn't built to withstand certain kinds of flooding or certain levels of heat. And yet, as the climate changes, so many of the things… that we did know in a world with a stable climate, those are now being upended. And all of that affects costs fundamentally… So, we need to transition to net zero…The three pieces of (federal) legislation are all about investing in America and making sure that from the innovation to commercialization pipeline, we are helping those...

This is our next in the series – requested by our loyal Electric Ladies Podcast listeners – for a collection of career advice from a handful of our various guests. The last question I ask in every interview is for career advice for midcareer women who want to make a difference.  Is that you? If you want to make a difference with your career, and especially if you work in energy, climate, sustainability corporate responsibility or ESG (environment, social governance), or want to work in...

“People who have been to space really do speak about it with great reverence. And it is for that reason that we want to take people to space in our car. Neutral zero emission spaceship, spaceship vacuum, which as you saw is not a rocket. Enormous balloons. It's a very gentle flight. We want to take leaders to space. We want to take artists to space. We want to have teachers go to space.” Jane Poynter at Earth Day Network’s Climate Leadership Gala As Virgin Galactic takes another set of...

“We're in this moment right now where we have a very short window to drive the type of transformative change that's necessary to solve a climate crisis. And we believe at One Earth that philanthropy can play a really, really critical role in actually making this transformation possible….But less than 2% of all philanthropic capital goes to climate and environment issues, and just a fraction of that actually reaches efforts on the ground efforts” Justin Winters on Electric Ladies Podcast ...

“For anything to happen on a grand scale, we need to have culture supported… Artists are good at planting these seeds, putting the stories out there and for anybody. The key is repetition. So, if you encounter a certain story, certain type of story in the music you listen to, in the articles that you read, in the billboard that you see or the murals that you see when you walk down the street at some point, it creates a frame that you can start to live in and the changes become something that...

“72% of CEOs say that innovation is one of their top three priorities. And close to 70% of them say they have a hard time driving innovation in their organization. I would posit, having been in there and been an intrapreneur myself, that the problem is they hire the wrong people. They hire for what I call mediocrity, they hire based on fit. And they hire based on past experience doing exactly what they want that person to do. And that's not where you get innovation. Innovation comes from...

“What I'm hearing is, how do we go faster? How do we transform the key industries that are driving emissions now? And, that can be the solutions to our climate crisis, to our biodiversity crisis. They're really seeking what are the strategies, where should they be going strategically to shift capital, to shift their operations?...I'm seeing is a great eagerness to learn to act, uh, far ahead of the global targets by governments. So working with companies, working with, uh, local and regional...