How Savvy Women Is In Leadership in Ukraine

A lot is going on in Ukraine right now, given the recent aggression from Russia, and much of the country’s future remains uncertain. But despite that, their people are persevering in more ways than one — including about sustainable business practices.

Many people must realize that much of this movement is driven by women in many ways. One such example of the United Nations comes from the Denysenko sisters, who had to flee their home in the eastern part of the country several years ago after armed conflict began. Once they eventually settled in the Kharkiv region, they founded a mini-farm called “Green for You.”

Today, they grow many different things, including lettuce and herbs. Before the current strife in the country, restaurants would order more than 300 kilograms of produce from “Green for You” every month.

Of course, the benefits of sustainable business are only sometimes wholly altruistic. Yes, it’s right to protect our fragile environment and the resources we need to combat climate change. But it also helps increase profits, too. As you make your business more sustainable, you reduce your overall costs. You’re forced to rely on more innovative strategies rather than the “old school” best practices that have grown irrelevant. Your reputation improves, and you earn more new customers — creating a perfect storm in the best possible way.

Indeed, the United Nations also indicated that nearly 25% of consumers in Ukraine said that they regularly don’t buy a brand’s product if they disagree with its sustainability practices.

Much of this was possible thanks to economic empowerment programs like those spearheaded by the United Nations. Such initiatives provided the equipment necessary to get “Green for You” up and running, and the sisters have been doing well ever since.

Indeed, moments like this have been a long time coming in the country — especially with the establishment of UNDP. By 2030, UNDP aims to address gender inequality in the country by “strengthening interventions to produce structural changes that accelerate progress towards women’s empowerment.” It wants to strengthen all this within the context of various sectors like energy, crisis response, and recovery. Another primary goal is to better align UNDP programming with corporate messaging centered on women’s empowerment, all along the path to achieving sustainable development.

In other words, Ukraine wants to move where women are seen as equals — not beneficiaries. Given more opportunities, they are an invaluable part of society and should have the chance to participate in all ways possible.

The type of entrepreneurial spirit and drive towards sustainability shown by “Green for You” is just one example of how possible this truly is — and it’s a trend that hopefully shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.