DevvStream Holdings Inc. (NEO: DESG) (“DevvStream” or the “Company“), a leading carbon credit investment firm specializing in technology solutions, highlights and honor the following women leading the Company’s business operations and guiding its strategic direction, as well as those heading some of the most vital technology companies in its partner ecosystem.
Jeannette Gurung, Founder & Executive Director, WOCAN
DevvStream has engaged with Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN) to advance a program centered around WOCAN’s W+ Standard. The W+ Standard allows for the certification of environmental, agricultural and economic development projects that create increased social and economic benefits for women. Projects that meet the standard have the potential to generate tradeable assets called W+ units or credits.
W+ credits, representing quantifiable and realized improvements in women’s lives, are audited by a third-party verifier based on W+ Standard requirements. Once validated, these credits can then be purchased by corporations, investors or public institutions, providing them with an important mechanism to achieve their social responsibility objectives. Projects that generate carbon credits can add the W+ certification to meet the demand by buyers who wish to support positive social impacts in addition to environmental actions that decrease emissions. This additional benefit increases the value of the carbon credits, while ensuring social disparities are reduced.
“Women play a critical and yet undervalued role in achieving climate mitigation goals, and yet persistent gender inequalities constrain their equitable access to climate mitigation strategies and investments,” said Jeannette Gurung, Founder & Executive Director, WOCAN. “Mitigation investments are often in sectors that are male-dominated and inherently technical in nature, where opportunities for women to engage as project implementers, employees, and entrepreneurs have been traditionally limited, often through the biases of decision makers who don’t see women as the farmers and natural resource managers that they are. Access to finance and mentoring, ownership of assets such as land, and access to markets and supply chains can contribute to both women’s economic empowerment and help diversify value chains, reduce risk, increase competitiveness and enable climate-responsive innovation. There are also new opportunities to support women’s climate contributions using the Voluntary Carbon Markets to generate or purchase carbon credits with gender co-benefits, provided by the W+ Standard.”
Genevieve Leveille, Founder & CEO, AgriLedger
AgriLedger is a global advisement and consultative service specializing in carbon offset strategy, renewable energy development, and Ag-DLT value-chain optimization solutions for industrial, agricultural and municipal clients. An award-winning firm with expertise in the development of World Bank-funded green projects, AgriLedger has over 30 years of experience in energy, decarbonization, and sustainability finance. DevvStream recently entered into an agreement with AgriLedger to acquire exclusive rights to carbon credits resulting from its projects.
“With regards to Women’s History Month, I think Genevieve’s work in Ag-IoT and value chain optimization is an excellent choice for a spotlight,” said Tarique J. Rashaud, President of AgriLedger’s Food, Water & Energy Division. “As a woman of color, her thought-leadership in a historically male-dominated tech space like blockchain is as unique as it is welcomed. As AgriLedger continues to operationalize her insights on leveraging BCT to assure immutability and provenance in our project activities, we’ll continue to undergird the burgeoning carbon market with the trust and transparency it needs.”
Destenie Nock, CSO, DevvStream
Dr. Destenie Nock is the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) for DevvStream and an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In her role as CSO, she develops algorithms for valuing sustainability and equality projects across a variety of industries. She is a leader in environmental evaluation, social justice, and equity who helps companies determine the value of sustainability investments. At Carnegie Mellon, she creates optimization and decision analysis tools which evaluate the sustainability, equity, and reliability of power systems in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Nock stated, “As we approach the end of Women’s History Month, I am glad our commitment is strong and poised to expand. At DevvStream, we strive to invest in technologies that build trust and transparency, because that is the only way we can ensure a truly sustainable planet.”
Jamila Piracci, Board of Directors, DevvStream
In addition to her work with DevvStream’s board, Jamila Piracci provides regulatory change advice as the founder and principal of Roos Innovations. She also serves on the boards of the Futures Industry Association and of SwapEx, LLC, and is a member of the advisory board of Hidden Road Partners. From 2011 until 2019, she built and led the regulatory program at the National Futures Association that remains responsible for the oversight of swap dealers under the Dodd-Frank Act. Ms. Piracci previously worked as an attorney for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“It is a privilege to participate in the positive arc of history,” said Ms. Piracci. “This Women’s History Month, I am grateful for DevvStream and many others who have invited more ideas to the table, listening to new voices and seeing what was previously hidden. What I hope now is that future generations will end the use of grievances to divide and instead capitalize on our innate ability to connect on the path toward an even better future.”
Kellie Walters, CEO, VRM Biologik
VRM Biologik is a leading soil restoration technology company whose proprietary products regenerate farmlands by stimulating Biological Hydrosynthesis-a natural reaction that captures atmospheric carbon and results in the manufacture of additional water-in depleted and arid soils. VRM Biologik’s soil restoration technologies have the potential to cut water usage, reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers, and increase crop and livestock yields by up to 200 percent. DevvStream recently entered into an agreement with VRM Biologik to acquire exclusive rights to carbon credits resulting from these projects.
“Kellie represents the mix of clear-eyed scientific evaluation and rigour paired with an overriding passion for social justice which makes the future of ecological rejuvenation possible,” said Ken Bellamy, President & Owner, VRM Biologik.
A Message from Sunny Trinh, CEO, DevvStream
“I would like to give my personal thanks and recognition to these proven and influential leaders. They are invaluable members of our team and partner ecosystem, and it is my privilege to work alongside them toward our common goals of sustainability, empowerment and inclusion.”
About WOCAN
The W+ Standard was developed in 2014 by WOCAN (Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management), a women-led global membership organization, whose mission is to advance women’s empowerment and collective action to tackle climate change, poverty and food insecurity. For more information, please visit www.wocan.org.
About AgriLedger
AgriLedger’s Food, Water & Energy Division combines Chief Strategy Officer Tarique J. Rashaud’s 30 years of experience in Energy, Decarbonization Strategy, and Sustainability Finance with CEO Genevieve Leveille’s 25 years of executive management and experience in leading World Bank funded Ag-DLT / value chain optimization projects and global FinTech thought-leadership. Under their strategic leadership, AgriLedger’s insights provide clients unique opportunities for maximizing decarbonization, diversifying revenue streams, and delivering tangible ESG Impacts at the Food-Water-Energy Nexus. AgriLedger provides global advisement and consultative services to Industrial, Agricultural and Municipal clients on Carbon Offset Strategy, Renewable Energy Development, and Ag-DLT Value-Chain Optimization Solutions.
About VRM Biologik
VRM Biologik has developed methods and products to enhance photosynthesis and hydrogen management in soils and water. This includes the revolutionary deployment of catalysts that stimulate Biological Hydrosynthesis – a natural reaction which captures atmospheric carbon and results in the manufacture of additional water – in depleted and dry soils. The VRM Biologik Group, operates regenerative programs across Asia, the Middle East and North America and maintains offices in Australia, China, USA and UAE. For more information, please visit www.vrmbiologik.com.
About DevvStream
DevvStream is a technology-based ESG company that advances the development and monetization of environmental assets, with an initial focus on carbon markets. DevvStream works with governments and corporations worldwide to achieve their sustainability goals through the implementation of curated green technology projects that generate renewable energy, improve energy efficiencies, eliminate or reduce emissions, and sequester carbon directly from the air. DevvStream also helps these organizations meet their net zero goals by providing them access to high-quality carbon credits. For more information, please visit www.devvstream.com.