How women leaders are challenging conventional approaches to corporate climate action

Across corporate sustainability functions, women are not just participating in climate leadership, they are defining it. Today, women hold around 63 per cent of executive roles in sustainability across large companies and globally they occupy more than half of chief sustainability officer (CSO) positions. This marks a significant shift over the past decade and represents one of the most tangible advances in inclusive leadership across the corporate world.

Women holding these positions is not just a social milestone, it is a strategic advantage. Women leaders are challenging conventional approaches to corporate climate action, often bringing a focus on collaboration, systems thinking and long-term value creation. We know these perspectives are critical when navigating the complexity of decarbonisation across supply chains, markets, and policy landscapes. A growing body of research shows diverse leadership teams deliver stronger results across key business metrics, including both financial performance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes. Meanwhile, despite all the talk of an ESG backlash, studies show most corporates are continuing to advance sustainability efforts and many are ramping up investment in clean technologies and climate action - a trend that is only likely to accelerate as energy costs soar in the wake of the Iran War. Consequently, for businesses navigating the climate transition, diverse leadership teams is not a values statement, it's a business imperative.

But while sustainability functions have made strong progress in gender representation, gaps still exist across the wider economy, and they are particularly acute in some key industries that will ultimately deliver the green transition. Heavy industry, for one - from energy and infrastructure to steel, manufacturing, and transport - remains largely male-dominated at all levels, for example. Such sectors are not peripheral to the transition; they are its foundation.

It is a weakness that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. If the green transition is to succeed, it must be inclusive by design. Decarbonising heavy industry will determine whether global climate targets are achievable, yet leadership within these sectors still lacks the diversity needed to challenge legacy models and accelerate transformation. If women leaders remain concentrated in sustainability functions while core industrial decision-making remains male-dominated, the transition risks becoming structurally unbalanced. At the same time, the looming skills shortages facing these crucial sectors will become even harder to tackle if over half the population is too often discouraged from pursuing roles where they could make a huge contribution.

The green transition will define the next industrial era. Ensuring women play a full role in it - across every sector and at every level - will define how inclusive that future becomes.

That is why visibility and recognition are so important. For women to properly shape the net zero transition, their contribution must be visible, celebrated, and amplified. While the presence of women in senior sustainability roles signals real progress, recognition is critical to raising their influence across the wider economy. We cannot develop a strong pipeline of talent or shatter the glass ceiling that continues to characterise too many industries without highlighting where women are leading the way and having a positive real-world impact.

Initiatives such as the Women in Green Business Awards can therefore play an important role in that process, celebrating the women driving climate action and strengthening the skills base right across the green economy. I'm honoured to be chairing the judges for this year's awards and looking forward to recognising the many brilliant women leading the most important transformation businesses and industry have ever experienced.

We're seeking nominations across multiple categories that cover the full breadth of the green economy, to showcase the work of as many pioneering women as possible. If you or any of your colleagues are doing work that deserves to be recognised and celebrated, we encourage you to put forward a nomination.

Women are critical to climate leadership. There is huge value, for both women and the green economy, in making that impossible to ignore.

Jade Burnett is chair of the judging panel for the Women in Green Business Awards 2026.

The Women in Green Business Awards are back for 2026 and are now open for entries! Check out all the details on the entry process, venue, and awards ceremony here.