THE ENERGY INTERVIEW
“ THE IMPACT OF WORKING IN THIS TRANSITION IS NOT CONFINED TO GEOGRAPHIES”
Vaishali Nigam Sinha Co-Founder ReNew
Her examples are grounded in lived realities. Women in rural India, she argues, are already managing the consequences of climate change, even if they are rarely invited to shape the response.
“ They do all the work. They face the consequences. If there’ s a drought, they’ re the ones who pack up the family and move,” she says.“ They know what to do and how to solve problems. But they’ re never consulted for solutions, at any level.”
At ReNew, Vaishali has helped to set up programmes to bring more women into the fold, such as reskilling women in salt pan farming in Gujarat for solar jobs. Elsewhere, in coal mining regions, ReNew is working with IIT Dhanbad to build pathways for women and families into new careers. The company has set a goal of having 30 % of its workforce be women by 2030.
As proud as Vaishali is about how ReNew cares for its people, she is equally proud of how much she sees young people caring for the planet.“ It’ s really encouraging to see young people these days who are driven by purpose,” she says.
As such, she feels as though ReNew and the climate movement will be in safe hands for years to come:“ When you hire young people from top institutions in India, it’ s really not only about money and wanting to be in the largest hedge fund. People genuinely care about companies doing good business. That’ s the good news.”
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