The role of women in creating sustainable ESG projects with Dr Reiki Crins

Voice of African Family Business with AFF

Dr. Rieki Crins is a cultural anthropologist and specialized on the Himalaya kingdom of Bhutan. She obtained her PhD on Gender and Sustainability in Bhutan in 2008. Rieki Authored several articles and three books on Bhutan. Rieki is a passionate speaker and gives lectures at university’s and institutions like Oxford University, University of Amsterdam, Siam Society Bangkok Thailand, Free University and TBLI conference among others. Next to her academic work, she co-founded (together with her husband Robert Rubinstein) the company Brooklyn Bridge back in 1999. Brooklyn Bridge introduced the then-radical concept of sustainable investing. The concept behind this company was the introduction of TBLI-Triple Bottom Line Investing. TBLI Group assists companies, institutions, NGOs, and individuals who wish to institutionalize sustainability. A daughter of the TBLI group is TBLI Conference, organizer of the largest international networking and education opportunity on ESG and investing in the world. For 4 years Rieki was the conference manager for TBLI Group and organised conferences in Europe and Asia. Rieki was five years responsible for the support women projects in India for the Melania Foundation. The last 18 years Rieki has been working in the travel-industry, she designs and guides high end cultural trips to Bhutan, Eastern Himalaya (Sikkim), Rajasthan and in the 90’s in Zimbabwe and Botswana. This experience of working in the travel world has let to her to the project that she is doing today: to combine her passion of bringing into practice true sustainability in the tourist sector, preservation of cultural heritage, zero emission building practicing, creating jobs. To bring this passion she has set up a cultural authentic and emission free 5 star vocational hotel- school in Bhutan in 2015 for unemployed Bhutanese youth: www.bihtbhutan.org In 2016 Rieki set up a project for the Karen refugee’s in Myanmar and was asked in 2019 to set up a 5 star vocational training school in Italy. Rieki founded the Learning Exchange Foundation in 2009. The foundation has as aim help people to help themselves by giving them access to knowledge, like vocational hospitality training, raising awareness about organic food and green technology and creating jobs.