Karishma Vohra

Seasoned sustainability professional with almost 12 years of experience driving transformative change across complex sectors to address systemic challenges. Demonstrated expertise in spearheading initiatives in nature-based solutions, climate and circularity; and gender & social inclusion. Adept at developing and delivering comprehensive strategies and programs through intersectional approaches across the conservation sector, think tanks, and corporates. Proven ability to forge and nurture multistakeholder coalitions with government leaders, multinational corporations, and SMEs to drive sectoral transformation through results-oriented strategies. Skilled at leveraging public affairs and stakeholder engagement to articulate sustainability initiatives to diverse audiences with clarity and impact. A critical thinker committed to catalyzing the integration of sustainability principles into business practices while elevating public discourse on environmental issues.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

H&M Hennes & Mauritz Retail Pvt Ltd                                                            May 2023 – Present

HEAD – SUSTAINABILITY AND CSR

• Spearheading H&M India Retail’s sustainability and CSR agenda, integrating climate action, nature stewardship, and social impact into core business operations while aligning with global strategic goals.
• Developing and driving India’s CSR strategy in partnership with credible on-ground organizations, with a focus on measurable impact, inclusive growth, and community empowerment.
• Leading the development of governance frameworks on material traceability, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and product waste to ensure alignment with global environmental and social standards, as well as local regulatory compliance.
• Championing grassroots partnerships and community-centric interventions to address gender inequality and enable climate-resilient livelihoods through education, skilling, and circular economy models.
• Designing and scaling sustainability programs encompassing textile waste management, reuse and recycling, and worker well-being—embedding circularity within operations and driving sectoral transformation.
• Driving robust monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of sustainability programs, leveraging data and insights to enable adaptive program management and strategic decision-making.
• Leading H&M India’s contributions to global sustainability reporting frameworks, including GRI, TCFD, and CSRD-aligned disclosures with specific emphasis on social impact & carbon emissions accounting aligned to the GHG Protocol and H&M’s Science-Based Targets
• Ensuring responsible business practices across the value chain through due diligence, human rights and environmental risk assessments, and corrective action planning—leveraging frameworks such as Sedex and Higg Index.
• Strengthening supplier performance in critical areas such as carbon footprint reduction, chemical management, and water and energy efficiency through strategic engagements, capacity-building, and performance tracking.
• Serving as the primary representative for sustainability across key external partnerships—including Swedish Chambers, NGOs, industry associations, and government stakeholders—to advocate for systemic change.
• Cultivating a culture of sustainability within the organization by leading impactful internal campaigns, colleague engagement, and diversity & inclusion initiatives, as well as driving brand affinity through community engagement and customer-facing programs.

Worldwide Fund for NatureIndia (WWF-India)                                                                                                                          July 2021 – May 2023

SENIOR MANAGER – COMMODITIES &SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS

• Advanced WWF’s work on deforestation, conversion free supply chains across forest & agricultural commodities including palm, soybean, timber, pulp & paper through interventions withinand beyond supply chains
• Led WWF’s palm oil strategy in India and the multiyear, major donor funded program in close collaboration with the global market transformation teams to promote uptakeof certified sustainable palm.
• Worked with central and state governments to promote responsible imports & production agri commodities
• Developed strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the supply chain, supporting them in setting targets & strategies for the sustainable procurement & climate agenda including SBTi, GHG protocol & disclosures (CDP)
• Selection, monitoring & evaluation of key implementing partners as per organization’s due diligence process
• Managed key stakeholder relationship such as with key corporate donors, think tanks & on ground NGO partners ensuring successful & timely delivery of projects.
• Managed projects on sustainability & traceability in palm, timber, pulp & paper value chains encouraging adoption of certifications, policies & disclosures, supply chain monitoring frameworks & supplier toolkits
• Supplier screening& capacity building; On-ground demonstration pilot on sustainable production practices 
• In the founding team of various multistakeholder coalitions such as Sustainable Palm Oil Coalition for India and the FOLU India Coalition for Responsible Sourcing and Trade to build strategic alliance among corporates  & other stakeholders promoting sustainable procurement of commodities.
• Curated & delivered customized trainings and technical capacity building sessions for different value chain actors including implementing partners, farmers, corporates & financial institutions.
• Established WWF India as a thought leader on sustainable palm and other commodity supply chains through policy advocacy, knowledge                     creation, representation in industry workshops, events and forums
• Orchestration & execution of WWF India’sinternal & externalcommunications strategy on responsible sourcing & sustainable consumption.

The Nature Conservancy India (TNC India)

LANDS PROJECT MANAGER                                                                                                                           Aug 19 – July 21

• Contributing to development and implementation of Lands strategyfor climate changemitigation through landscape restoration interventions such as agroforestry, riparianrestoration and avoideddeforestation
• Developing and executinginterventions on sustainable harvesting, processing, and marketingof Non-Timber ForestProducts (NTFPs) and bamboo for generating sustainable forest linked livelihoods for tribal communities
• Managing successful outreach of the program through events, webinars and knowledge products on forest restoration and conservation
• Supportwith fundraising through development of concept notes and proposalson various aspectsof landscape restoration and agroforestry
• Coordination with TNC India and global TNC teams on strategydevelopment, project progress&management, partner engagement and knowledge sharing
• Managed successful executionof Indian Collaborative for Applied Sustainability Solutions projectson Assisted NaturalRegeneration and NaturalClimate Solutions including a multistakeholder project on centralIndia conservation vision

Worldwide Fund for Nature India (WWF-India)                                                                                                                          Mar 2017-Aug 2019

SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER-SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

• Provided project implementation support to the sustainable business program working on corporate engagement to promote efficient and responsible consumption, production, and trade of key priority commodities (Palm Oil, Seafood and Timber, Paper & Pulp)
• Led the planning and development of WWF Climate Solver Hub an online platform to facilitate access to finance and marketsfor cleantech Small and Medium Enterprises through engagement with financiers and corporates
• Development of communication materialand assisted with organizing stakeholder  specific events and roundtables to promote uptakeand demand for sustainable commodities.
• Executed seafood sustainability projects, engaging hospitality industry in understanding their seafood procurement practices and recommending sustainable alternatives to bringingabout supply chain transformation.
• Ensured effective cross-functional coordination and collaboration within other WWF teams in India and Southeast Asia and globally to maximizethe success of planned interventions on soft commodities, wastepaper, and plastics
• Conducted sustainable supply chain audits,setting targets, conducting performance reviews, providing strategic advice  and delivering assessment reports for WWF’s GFTN (GlobalForest and Trade Network) corporatemembers
• Undertook scoping studies and strategized WWF’s engagement on new initiatives (such as plastics and soy), annual planning and reporting, and undertaking researchstudies to track trends, impacts and for forestry and agro- commodities

Emergent Ventures India Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon                                                                                                                           Feb 2016-Mar2017

CONSULTANT-SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

• Led the firm’sinternal and external, marketing, communication, and outreach efforts such as devising newsletters and brochure, managingwebsite and media relations.
• Handledproject procurement for the division,offline and online bid processmanagement, proposal preparation, tenderdocumentation, vendor management
• Managed business development activitiesincluding seeking out specific opportunities & developing proposals forproviding sustainability &climate consulting, GHG footprint and CDM, pitchingto prospective clients,and nurturing on-goingrelationship
• Provided support in undertaking environmental baseline assessment, Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) due diligence, sustainability reporting and assurance for corporates through research&      documentation, data analysisand devising high quality written outputs

ETI Dynamics, New Delhi                                                                                                                            Jul 2013 – Nov 2015

ASSOCIATE MANAGER

• Working closely with national and international government officials on the preparation of basin-wide management plan to restore Ganga. Served as coordinator and outreach officer for the program, organized multi-stakeholder events, devised output documentsincluding presentations, press release, project notes etc.
• Led and executed the formation of IITC+, a multi-stakeholder group operating under the banner of IITC (a Consortium of 7 IITs). Fostered membership and got onboard over 150+ technology provider firms, financial institutions and representatives of embassies and high commissions 
• Research and profiling of clusters of Micro Smalland Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in key priority sectors such as tanneries, textile, pulp & paper, for  mapping key environmental challenges of industries and identifying and connecting to appropriate technological solutions

EDUCATION

COURSES COMPLETED

• Sustainable Fashion Academy certificate course on sustainability fundamentals for textile industry
• High Impact Business Writingfrom University of California
• Nature Based Solutions for Sustainable Development by United NationsDevelopment Programme(UNDP)
• Sustainable Commodity Supply Chainsby United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) from Indian Astrobiological Research Institute