Women entrepreneurs face growing pressures from climate change, but they are also building businesses that are helping communities and the planet become more resilient.
Key Takeaways
- New research found that 90 percent of surveyed care enterprises had already experienced climate related impacts on their operations.
- Women entrepreneurs face overlapping pressures as climate change disrupts businesses while increasing responsibilities at home and within their communities.
- Women-led businesses are developing solutions across water, clean energy, food, sustainable fashion, ecosystem restoration and other areas.
- The .earth domain tribe includes women owned and women founded businesses putting sustainability at the center of what they do.
Women, Business and a Changing Climate
The connection between women entrepreneurs and climate resilience is becoming increasingly important as extreme weather, water shortages and other climate-related disruptions affect businesses, families and communities around the world.
For women entrepreneurs, those pressures can be complex, affecting their businesses while adding to responsibilities at home and within their communities.
Research highlighted by Business Fights Poverty found that 90 percent of surveyed care enterprises had already experienced climate related impacts. Nearly three quarters had taken steps to adapt, however, almost two thirds still considered themselves only slightly prepared or unprepared for future climate shocks.
Women and girls also frequently shoulder greater responsibility for securing food, water and fuel and providing unpaid care when climate events disrupt communities. For women running businesses, these overlapping pressures make climate resilience increasingly important.
Women Are Also Building the Solutions
The story extends beyond how women are affected by climate change. Women entrepreneurs are also creating businesses that address environmental challenges and strengthen communities.
For example, CARE has documented women led micro and small enterprises working across clean energy, food, water, waste, nature-based solutions and other areas of the climate economy. Many operate within the communities experiencing climate change firsthand, giving them a close understanding of both the challenges and the solutions people need.
One example highlighted by Business Fights Poverty is Indonesia’s Komodo Water, which provides clean water to remote island communities vulnerable to climate disruptions. In communities where women once spent as much as six hours collecting water, the company’s services have reportedly reduced that time to around ten minutes.
That kind of impact demonstrates how entrepreneurship can address environmental and social challenges at the same time.
Meet the Women of the .Earth Domain Tribe
Women entrepreneurs are also building businesses across the .earth domain tribe, with sustainability, nature and community playing central roles in their work.
- Verdama.Earth is a female owned and female led enterprise developing community centered solutions for climate change and biodiversity loss. Its work combines ecosystem restoration with economic opportunities and resilient livelihoods for communities in biodiversity critical regions.
- HARA.Earth is a female founded and female owned sustainable fashion company established in 2016. HARA creates clothing designed around natural materials, longevity and a lighter environmental footprint and contributes to environmental initiatives through 1 percent for the planet.
- Togetherland.Earth is a female founded sustainable fashion company and Public Benefit Corporation. Based in Los Angeles, it emphasizes local manufacturing, workers’ rights, responsible production and reducing waste within the fashion industry.
- TheWayofWomen.Earth takes a different approach, bringing women together around community, creativity, wellbeing and a deeper connection with the natural world. Its work reflects the broader role women can play in strengthening communities and encouraging a closer relationship with the planet.
Together, these businesses show just how varied women led environmental entrepreneurship can be. Their work ranges from ecosystem restoration and climate resilience to sustainable fashion and community building, connected by an effort to create businesses and organizations that consider their impact on the planet.
Building Resilience from the Ground Up
Women-led businesses will not solve climate change on their own, but they are already contributing practical solutions in communities around the world. Greater access to financing, resources and opportunities to scale could help many of those solutions reach further.
The examples within the .earth community also show that sustainable entrepreneurship can take many forms. Restoring ecosystems, changing how clothing is produced and strengthening people’s connection with nature can all contribute to a healthier relationship between business, communities and the planet.
One Planet. One Domain.
Climate resilience depends on people willing to rethink how we live, work and do business. Across the .earth domain tribe, women entrepreneurs are doing exactly that, building companies and communities around a more sustainable future for the planet we all share.
To learn more and get started, visit Voices.Earth, and check out the latest Voices.Earth podcast series for inspiring stories from our community.
