THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
After time spent in the Congo with Médecins Sans Frontières, Helen grew deeply interested in how environmental factors directly impact health, particularly women’ s health.
“ You could see this direct link from how much rain there was to women’ s health – not just the physical, but psychological pressures when seasons failed, and women were often left to run the households and work the land while men looked for work in cities,” she explains.
These observations laid the groundwork for her focus on systemic climate solutions.
Her early sustainability work with both public sector and corporations – setting up the US office of Forum of the Future and consulting for brands like Nike and Walmart – gave Helen first-hand insight into moving environmental issues from peripheral concerns to core business strategy. Companies including Ingersoll Rand and Unilever, she recalls,“ shifted from seeing sustainability as someone trying to persuade the business to print less, to building it into long-term strategy”.
“CLIMATE WEEK NYC IS A CRITICAL MOMENT TO RALLY GLOBAL ACTION”
Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group
Helen’ s impact at Climate Group Grounded in systems thinking and a deep understanding of international development, Helen’ s approach at Climate Group is built on evidencedriven collaboration.
“ Our mission is to drive climate action fast,” she says.“ We do that by building big networks of companies and governments, then harnessing that collective power to shift policy and push markets.”
By aggregating business commitments, like more than 430 companies pledging to transition to 100 % renewable
24 September 2025