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These 8 Women Lead Sustainability at Companies Like Amazon, Daily Harvest, and Johnson & Johnson. Here's How They're Helping the Planet. From zero carbon initiatives and recycling designer handbags to using recycled fabrics, here's how industry leaders are tackling our time's greatest challenge.

By Entrepreneur Staff

This story appears in the October 2021 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

"Our first motto was "Saving the Earth, one fabulous bag at a time.' To the world, it was tongue-in-cheek, but we meant it. Last year we commissioned a study to answer the question: "Does a Chanel bag ever end up in a landfill?' What we found was that luxury handbags are not only owned longer but more likely to be resold than their fast-fashion and even mall-brand counterparts. In fact, luxury handbags are also cared for better and more likely to be professionally repaired when needed. So our biggest impact has been creating a market for a product that was already sustainable." — Sarah Davis, Founder and president, Fashionphile, a preowned-­luxury-handbag purveyor

"A business with the size and diversity of Amazon scales by creating mechanisms. In 2019, Amazon cofounded the Climate Pledge with Global Optimism, a commitment to net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. More than 200 companies have joined us, all committed to transformational action that can protect the global economy and help to preserve the natural world. We know crossing the finish line won't be easy, and there's still lots of exploring and inventing that needs to happen. But we believe we can build a better future together." — Kara Hurst, Vice president of worldwide sustainability, Amazon

Related: How to Make Sustainability More Than a Buzzword