Women Entrepreneurs are Advancing Sustainability: Reflecting on the Results of the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge
Women Entrepreneurs are Advancing Sustainability: Reflecting on the Results of the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge
General Counsel and Executive Committee Lead for Sustainability at BMO Financial Group
Sharon Haward-Laird is General Counsel of BMO Financial Group and leads the bank’s legal and regulatory compliance groups. She is responsible for corporate go…
Sharon Haward-Laird is General Counsel of BMO Financial Group and leads the bank’s legal and regulatory compliance groups. She is responsible for corporate go…
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This year, BMO for Women was proud to once again participate as a sponsor and lead partner organization of the WE Empower UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge. Since 2018, WE Empower has supported women-founded and -owned businesses committed to sustainability and social progress for the underrepresented. BMO's involvement in the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge reflects our commitment to the empowerment of women entrepreneurs as well as the advancement of businesses driving sustainability across the globe. Our partnership with WE Empower is strongly aligned to the three pillars of our commitment to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life – in pursuit of a thriving economy, sustainable future and inclusive society.
Each year, WE Empower UN SDG Challenge Awardees attend Climate Week in New York City, where they can gain grant funding, meet industry leaders, and join an ever-growing community of global sustainability changemakers. Each Awardee represents a different world region with a business that is tackling a UN Sustainable Development Goal. This year's Awardees are:
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Tatiana Estevez, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Permalution (United Arab Emirates), Middle East and North Africa Awardee
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Edda Aradottir, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Carbfix (Iceland), Europe, North America, and Other Awardee
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Teresa Njoroge, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Clean Start Africa (Kenya), Sub-Saharan Africa Awardee
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Lachmi Baniya, Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Icarus Media Group (Myanmar), Asia and the Pacific Awardee
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Lina Maria Useche Kempf, Co-Founder & Head of Institutional Relations, Aliança Empreendedora (Brazil), Latin America and the Caribbean Awardee
At BMO, we understand that climate is an increasingly significant topic for our clients, so we’d like to highlight two of this year's Awardees who focus specifically on climate adaptation and recovery.
Tatiana Estevez, the Middle East and North Africa region Awardee, is the Founder and CEO of Permalution. Tatiana’s company is developing innovative technology to address water security issues and promote sustainable climate adaptation in response to water scarcity in the Middle East. Permalution’s technology analyzes clouds and fog to estimate water yield, assesses water quality, and gathers water droplets from the air. Permalution has also developed models to identify optimal project location based on fog and cloud patterns.
Dr. Edda Aradottir, the Europe, North America, and Other Awardee, is Co-Founder and CEO of Carbfix. CarbFix contributes to climate recovery with its proprietary technology that speeds up natural processes to permanently turn captured carbon into stone underground, a process that already stores over 99% of the carbon that exists on Earth. The technology provides a complete carbon capture and injection solution, where CO2 is dissolved in water and is then injected into the subsurface where it reacts with favorable rock formations to form solid carbonate minerals. This natural process takes about two years to complete.
While Permalution and CarbFix are both focused on climate action, they address different – but equally important – facets of the climate challenge. We are inspired by the progress and accomplishments both organizations have made and are excited to see how they continue to build on these successes.
