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Chief Sustainability Officer, BeCause: The SustainabilityX® Magazine's Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024 Awardee
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"Sustainability must be embedded in every part of a business, from strategy to execution, with real actions that create tangible impact—because every year and every choice matters." - Alina Arnelle, Chief Sustainability Officer, BeCause, Sweden & The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024 (#SustXGlobal50) Awardee
Alina Arnelle’s journey from the fashion houses of Paris to the forefront of sustainable finance and ESG strategy is a testament to her vision, resilience, and unwavering commitment to ethical impact. Originally from Riga, Latvia, Alina left home at the age of 16, setting out on a path that would lead her through a global career spanning more than 10 countries. Her professional story began in the high-stakes world of couture, with formal training at the world-renowned ESMOD fashion school, where she quickly distinguished herself as a creative force. Despite her early success, Alina found herself at a crossroads, feeling a misalignment between her values and the industry’s demands. Recognizing her calling for a greater purpose, she boldly pivoted her career to sustainability, securing degrees in water resources and sustainability management—fields that would allow her to marry her professional acumen with her personal ethics.
Over the past decade, Alina has applied her expertise across sectors, including government organizations, international NGOs, and e-commerce, before taking on a leadership role at a high-impact tech startup. In her current role as Vice President and Head of Sustainable Finance, she leads ambitious projects that align corporate investments with ESG principles, driving initiatives to embed sustainability into core business practices. She is particularly renowned for her ability to develop innovative financial frameworks and build partnerships that serve diverse regional needs while upholding global sustainability standards. Alina’s work has not only advanced her organization’s goals but has also influenced sustainable finance practices across the industry.
A polyglot fluent in six languages, Alina leverages her cultural fluency and deep understanding of international markets to create solutions that are sensitive to local contexts yet impactful on a global scale. Her network of collaborators spans Latin America, Europe, and Asia, allowing her to foster cross-sector partnerships that drive actionable change. Alina’s leadership style combines analytical rigor with creative problem-solving—a blend that has enabled her to break traditional molds and challenge conventions in the pursuit of a sustainable future.
Beyond her professional achievements, Alina is deeply committed to personal growth and self-alignment. A passionate advocate for well-being, she finds inspiration in practices like yoga, travel, and painting, which have all informed her holistic approach to life and work. She believes that personal values should be woven into professional endeavors, and she champions this philosophy within her teams, encouraging a work culture that values authenticity and purpose.
In her own words, Alina lives by the quote, “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me,” embodying bold leadership by taking risks and pushing boundaries not only in sustainability but in all aspects of life. Through her journey, Alina has demonstrated that a commitment to ethical impact, coupled with courage and resilience, can bring about meaningful, lasting change. Her story is a powerful reminder that sustainability is not just a field but a way of life—a lens through which we can create a better future for all.
The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024
The SustainabilityX® Magazine proudly presents its third edition of the Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ for 2024. This annual recognition celebrates extraordinary female leaders who embrace boldness in their pursuit of groundbreaking sustainability initiatives, reshaping industries, and driving transformative change towards a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future.
This year also marks a broader strategic mission expansion for The SustainabilityX® Magazine, with a stronger focus on aligning with the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in addition to the original foundation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This evolutionary expansion reflects the magazine’s ongoing commitment to advancing women's leadership in sustainability while championing social equity, environmental stewardship, and inclusive growth.
“Empowering women to lead in sustainability is at the heart of our mission,” says Supriya Verma, founder of The SustainabilityX® Magazine and one of Corporate Knights' Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership and one of The Peak's Emerging Leaders. “These trailblazers are breaking barriers and redefining what sustainable leadership looks like—showing that it’s about more than policies and practices, but also about social justice, economic resilience, and a regenerative future.”
Rooted in the magazine's guiding pillars of environmental protection, economic prosperity, social inclusion, and ethical governance, The SustainabilityX® Magazine's Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ showcases women from all sectors, industries, and regions, igniting crucial conversations on the intersection of gender equality and sustainable development.
Amidst global challenges and uncertainties, this year’s awards highlight the critical role of women in steering the world towards a more resilient, equitable future. With a continued digital format, the awards amplify voices across borders, bridging the gap between global sustainability efforts and local impact.
As Verma states, “The future of sustainability hinges on bold, inclusive leadership, and these women exemplify the courage and vision needed to transform our world. The SustainabilityX® Magazine remains steadfast in our mission to celebrate and elevate those who are shaping a future where every voice counts and every effort contributes to a thriving, sustainable world.”
View the full list: The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards 2024
Read the full press release: The SustainabilityX® Magazine Announces 3rd Annual Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ Under the Theme "Embrace Boldness"
About The SustainabilityX® Magazine
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is an award-winning, digital, female-founded, and female-led non-profit initiative bringing the environment and economy together for a sustainable future through dialogue, and now transforming the environment and economy for a sustainable future through the power of women's leadership. Founded on May 8, 2016, and inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by Canada's Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership awardee, Supriya Verma, the digital media initiative focuses on approaching the world's most pressing challenges with a holistic, integrated, systems-based perspective as opposed to the traditional and ineffective siloed approach with a single lens on interdisciplinary topics like climate and energy. This initiative ultimately seeks to explore how to effectively bring the environment and economy together through intellectual, insightful dialogue and thought-provoking discussion amongst individuals across sectors taking an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to untangling the intricate web of sustainability while championing women's leadership in sustainability.
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is built upon the four foundational pillars of sustainability: Environmental Stewardship, which emphasizes the importance of improving environmental health; Economic Prosperity, which promotes sustainable economic growth that transcends traditional capitalist models; Social Inclusion, which focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for BIPOC, LGBTQ, and other marginalized or vulnerable communities; and Just Governance, which highlights responsible leadership, the equal application of the rule of law, and the creation of fair systems for all.
As we expand our mission to align with the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), we continue to explore the diverse and interconnected factors that influence sustainability. By recognizing how these elements interact across local, national, and international levels, we aim to accelerate progress toward sustainability goals. In essence, this aligns with The SustainabilityX® Magazine's vision of integrating environmental and economic progress for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future through thoughtful dialogue.
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The SustainabilityX® Magazine is a proud member of the Sustainable Journalism Partnership, serves as a cause-based media partner for various events such as WIRED Impact, and officially delivers remarks at international conferences such as UNESCO's annual World Press Freedom Day Conference.
SustainabilityX® is a brand of the non-profit social business SPSX Group.
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