W+ Standard™ Relaunches Ahead of Climate Week NYC 2025 to Empower Women and Combat Climate Change

The W+ Standard™ Relaunch for Climate Week NYC 2025

The W+ Standard™, a pioneering global certification dedicated to measuring and monetizing women's empowerment, has relaunched its credit purchasing platform just in time for Climate Week NYC 2025. This initiative allows companies, investors, and NGOs to financially support climate adaptation measures while simultaneously fostering women's empowerment across various sectors.

Originally developed in 2014 by WOCAN (Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management), the W+ Standard is recognized as the first global certification specifically focused on women's contributions to gender equity and climate action. This innovative platform embodies transparency, offering a unique opportunity for stakeholders to invest in projects that have proven to directly benefit women's leadership and community resilience.

Over the past decade, more than 150,000 women in countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America have benefited from W+ certified projects. To date, 3.5 million high-integrity credits have been issued, each credit corresponding to verifiable outcomes that enhance women's lives through improved access to resources, leadership roles, and economic opportunities.

In Maharashtra, India, for example, women have been empowered to transform their local communities. With targeted initiatives focusing on land rights, social leadership, and economic resilience, the W+ Standard has successfully impacted over 50,000 households. This is just one of the many stories illustrating the power of the W+ Standard in driving change.

The W+ Standard tracks outcomes across six crucial domains: Time, Income & Assets, Education & Knowledge, Leadership, Food Security, and Health. Some notable projects include training 75,000 women leaders in regenerative agriculture in India, a biogas initiative in Nepal that saves women an average of 2.5 hours each day, and a mangrove conservation effort in Cameroon that has provided cookstoves to women fish processors.

The certification has gained traction among global corporations, financial institutions, and NGOs aiming for authentic and impactful engagement in gender equity and climate action. As a significant milestone in this endeavor, the W+ Standard is now integrating carbon projects with partners like VNV, thereby becoming the first of its kind to utilize carbon finance for women's empowerment initiatives. This innovative financial mechanism is set to facilitate the scaling up of women-led climate adaptation projects, ultimately enhancing climate and gender outcomes.

Jeannette Gurung, founder and executive director of WOCAN, emphasizes the importance of the W+ Standard in advancing women's roles in climate action. "Every credit purchased advances women's empowerment and gender equality," she states, highlighting the necessity of trusted partnerships in executing climate and development projects that deliver tangible benefits to communities worldwide.

To celebrate this significant relaunch, WOCAN is hosting two major events during Climate Week NYC:
1. Beyond Carbon: Empowering Women & Financing Climate Adaptation – on September 22 from 5 PM to 7 PM, featuring discussions with industry leaders including Gurung, Sandeep Roy Choudhury from VNV, and Elizabeth Munee Kiamba from CGAP/World Bank.
2. The Gender Dividend: Investing in Women for Climate Impact – on September 24 from 5 PM to 7 PM, featuring prominent speakers like Gurung, Kavita Sinha from the Green Climate Fund, Anamaria Loboguerrero from the Gates Foundation, and Bruna Rezende from the IRÍADA project in Brazil.

The rigorous third-party verification behind the W+ Standard has garnered endorsements from esteemed organizations like the UNFCCC and the Gates Foundation, and it collaborates with notable partners such as the UN Development Programme, The Nature Conservancy, Oxfam, and the World Resources Institute. The initiative has also received global recognition, including the UNFCCC Women for Results Award.

For those interested in learning more about the W+ Standard or participating in this transformative movement, the newly relaunched platform can be accessed at www.wplus.org. This initiative stands as a beacon of hope, linking women's empowerment with sustainable climate solutions in a world striving for gender equality and environmental stewardship.