World Water Day

Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio interview

This March, in honour of Women’s History Month, we caught up with Ecoalf’s Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio on the women who have inspired her and her advice for building a sustainable business.

Born in Madrid, Carolina Álvarez-Ossorio has studied in Spain, Germany and the US. She’s developed her career working for global luxury beauty and lifestyle brands. In 2017 she joined Ecoalf to lead the Marketing and Communications department, championing the fight for sustainable use of natural resources and operating differently to educate and inspire people.

As March is Women’s History Month, it’s a good moment to think about the role of women in society, business and sustainable practice – one of the biggest modern business challenges. Would you say that there’s a special sensitivity for sustainability practices linked to female leadership?
For me, sustainability is a joint effort and I think we must create awareness. After all, it’s about responsibility, coherence and balance in what we do, how we do it and its impact. More and more I see a presence and strength of female leadership and I hope this isn’t only for a special day or month, but continuously. So you have an idea, 50% of our Board of Directors are women and at Ecoalf it’s roughly 70%.

Could you tell us which women you’ve been most inspired by in your life?
I have several women in my life who inspire me professionally and personally. I’ve been lucky to have excellent opportunities and work with hugely talented people who have pushed me further in my life. My mother and my sister are two fundamental pillars and each conversation with them is a life lesson filled with a sense of humour!

What have been the biggest personal and professional challenges you’ve faced?
Probably when I had to return to Spain. After more than 14 years living in the US and the UK, coming back made me dizzy. After developing my career in a multinational company I wanted to develop a project that truly impacted people. I had the chance to meet Javier Goyeneche (Ecoalf’s founder) and he told me about the company. I liked its DNA, its commitments and its Upcycling the Oceans project. With a global growing potential and a clear goal of turning Ecoalf into a model for sustainable lifestyle, I joined the company to manage the its marketing and communications .

Doing good and offering social responsibility programmes are now almost mandatory initiatives for businesses as a way to give back to society. What are Ecoalf’s plans to involve its staff, customers and followers with its initiatives?
Everyone on our team is convinced that the planet’s at a crucial moment and it’s urgent to take preventative measures. That’s why Ecoalf’s actions are constantly evaluated, with the goal of lessening any detrimental impact on the planet and our local communities. What we do isn’t enough, but how we do it is important. We involve internal teams, customers, partners and – of course – our community in our every action. The objective of our campaigns is to educate and inspire, as our way to help make our community more conscious.

We don’t say we’re a ‘storytelling’ brand, we’re a ‘storydoing’ one. For that reason, one year ago, the Ecoalf Foundation collaborated with the Clean Rivers, Save Oceans project. Along with Biotherm and Libera, we aimed to clean up the Jarama river through volunteering. We invited customers, friends, retailers and more to volunteer and help out through our social media. Now the Ecoalf team cleans once a month, and involves more people to create essential understanding of what’s happening to the planet and how we can change its course.

The Village’s DO GOOD programme runs the ‘Unlock their Future’ initiative, to help support the futures of women and children wherever they’re born. What does Unlock their Future mean for you? How would you unlock the future of women and children living in deep inequality and conflict areas?
Unlock their Future shows unity, strength and courage. Congratulations to La Roca Village and The Bicester Collection for organising this kind of initiative – it’s greatly needed. Giving disadvantaged women and children visibility and showing how we can help to offer a future is a great step in the fight against inequality.

As Marketing Director of a sustainable brand, will sustainability be the path for businesses – and society – to follow to survive in the future?
Of course! We can’t be trying to work sustainably while leaving the tap running at home. I think we must find balance and be responsible in our personal and professional lives. We should strive to model ourselves on using truly sustainable practices, so then our children and the people around us will learn by example – we must change our habits together.

To conclude, what advice would you share with the new generation of women, in business and in their personal lives?
Don’t be afraid, take risks, fight for what you believe in and be consistent in what you do.