Voices from the Field: Ellen Martin, Circulate Capital

For our ‘Voices from the Field’ series, we speak with Ellen Martin, Chief Impact Officer at Circulate Capital, who shares how her extensive experience in the supply chain revealed the essential role women play in the recycling value chain, and why tackling plastic pollution and advancing circular economy solutions requires understanding the people and communities behind these systems.

How has applying an integrated climate and gender lens helped you to achieve a greater impact on climate?

Applying an integrated climate and gender lens has allowed us to enhance the environmental, social, and financial impact of our investments. By considering the critical role of women at various levels of the plastics recycling and circular economy value chain, we have been able to:

• Enhance resilience to climate risks: In Latin America, a significant portion of informal waste pickers are women. By investing in responsible sourcing practices and supporting women in these roles, we contribute to livelihood resilience in the face of climate-related disruptions such as extreme weather, heatwaves, and flooding.

• Improve operational efficiency: Women play a key role in material sorting within recycling facilities, significantly reducing contamination rates and increasing the quality of recycled plastics. This leads to higher efficiency, increased environmental benefit and better financial outcomes for recycling businesses, ultimately strengthening circular economy solutions.

• Drive inclusive solutions: By integrating gender considerations into our investment thesis, we ensure that our portfolio companies are more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable, strengthening their long-term viability and alignment with global goals and commitments.

By considering gender and climate together, we unlock opportunities that improve both environmental impact and economic empowerment, ultimately leading to stronger, more resilient businesses in the circular economy.

How is climate and gender integration showing up in your fund?

We integrate climate and gender considerations at multiple levels of our investment process. Our investment strategy and due diligence ensure that every investment in the CC Ocean Fund LAC has a measurable climate impact through plastics waste prevention and circularity. Gender representation, risks, and opportunities are carefully evaluated to address women’s contributions, needs, and barriers. Post-investment, we work closely with portfolio companies to enhance gender inclusion through recruitment, leadership development for women, supplier development initiatives, and training on safeguarding and workplace equity.

Our commitment to diversity is reflected in our leadership team, which maintains gender balance—an uncommon standard among private equity firms in Asia and Latin America. We also actively engage with global and regional coalitions to promote policy advancements that recognize and strengthen women's roles in the circular economy.

We integrate climate and gender at multiple levels of our investment process:

• Investment Strategy & Due Diligence: Every investment in our LAC Fund has a measurable climate impact through plastics waste prevention and circularity. Our due diligence process evaluates gender representation, risks, and opportunities, ensuring that women’s contributions, needs, and barriers are actively considered. Additionally, we are enhancing our climate risk assessment framework, with a particular focus on its impact on workers.

• Post-Investment Support: We actively work with portfolio companies to improve gender inclusion across business activities, e.g:

• Professionalizing recruiting and talent management, and addressing gender-specific needs, such as leadership development for women in mid-management roles

• Supplier development initiatives to support working conditions and livelihoods as part of our responsible sourcing framework

• Training and capacity-building on safeguarding, gender-based violence prevention, and workplace equity

• Diversity in Leadership & Investment Team: Our fund itself is a reflection of gender balance. Our leadership team is gender-diverse, setting a standard that is uncommon among private equity firms in Asia and Latin America.

• Policy & Ecosystem Engagement: We collaborate with global and regional coalitions to advance standards and ensure that women’s roles in the circular economy are recognized and strengthened.

In your own words, what opportunities does investing at the climate-gender nexus provide to investors?

Investing at the climate-gender nexus unlocks unique opportunities for value creation, impact, and risk mitigation. Women play vital roles in recycling processes, and inclusive workforce practices not only boost efficiency and profitability, but also strengthen supply chains, particularly in the informal waste sector that’s largely composed of women waste pickers and aggregators. By ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, and economic inclusion, investors can stabilize and strengthen supply chains, reducing risks and increasing reliability. As sustainability regulations and corporate commitments evolve, investors who integrate gender and climate considerations are better positioned to align with global standards and attract mission-aligned partners.

Incorporating gender-inclusive policies also strengthens long-term resilience and competitive advantage for companies. These companies tend to outperform their peers in terms of workforce stability, risk management, and innovation. Socially inclusive climate solutions help organizations better prepare for climate-related disruptions and create more sustainable operations. More and more global brands and institutional investors are increasingly prioritizing gender-responsive investing, so by leading at the climate-gender intersection, we position ourselves as a preferred partner for corporate LPs, development finance institutions, and impact-driven investors looking for scalable, high-impact solutions.

Investing at the climate-gender nexus unlocks unique opportunities for value creation, impact, and risk mitigation:

• Higher Operational Efficiency & Yields:
  Women play critical roles in the recycling process, particularly in sorting materials with precision, reducing contamination, and improving the quality of recyclables. Investing in inclusive workforce practices leads to better efficiency and profitability.

• Strengthened Supply Chains:
  The informal waste sector, which supplies a significant portion of recycled materials, is largely composed of women waste pickers and aggregators. By ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, and economic inclusion, investors can stabilize and strengthen supply chains, reducing risks and increasing reliability.

• Regulatory & Market Alignment:
  As corporate sustainability commitments and regulatory frameworks (e.g., EPR laws, responsible sourcing policies) evolve, investors who integrate gender and climate considerations are better positioned to align with global standards and attract mission-aligned partners.

• Long-Term Resilience & Competitive Advantage:
  Companies that embed gender-inclusive policies tend to outperform their peers in terms of workforce stability, risk management, and innovation. Ensuring that climate solutions are socially inclusive helps create more resilient businesses that are better prepared for climate-related disruptions.

• Stronger Investor & Corporate Partnerships:
  Many global brands and institutional investors are prioritizing gender-responsive investing. By leading at the climate-gender intersection, we position ourselves as a preferred partner for corporate LPs, development finance institutions, and impact-driven investors looking for scalable, high-impact solutions.

How did you get to where you are — what inspired the interest/ commitment to climate and gender strategies?

I started my career as an impact professional on the “social” side of impact working in education and healthcare, so my personal commitment to climate and gender strategies is rooted in the belief that sustainable solutions must be inclusive to be truly effective.

At Circulate Capital, from the outset, my colleagues and I recognized that tackling plastic pollution and advancing circular economy solutions required more than just technological and financial interventions—it required understanding the people and communities that drive these systems. In my role, I have spent a considerable part of my time in the supply chain, where I have seen firsthand how women play an essential role in the recycling value chain—whether as waste pickers, factory workers, business owners, or corporate sustainability leaders.

However, I’ve also observed systemic barriers preventing women from fully benefiting from the sector’s economic opportunities, from unsafe working conditions to lack of leadership representation. Addressing these barriers became a natural extension of my personal passion to build great companies and our overall responsible investment approach.

What’s clear is that I’m not alone in thinking this way. Our  partners, including corporate LPs, policymakers, and impact-driven organizations, see the need to do more for women in our sector. This reinforced our commitment to integrating gender into our climate-focused investments. Then early in my tenure with Circulate Capital, I had the opportunity to learn from Suzanne Biegel, Catalyst at Large, and Raya Papp, Sagana, and start the work to fully institutionalize and operationalize our intentions and commitment in a holistic way.

Looking ahead, we believe that scaling solutions at the climate-gender nexus is key to building a more circular, inclusive, and sustainable economy. We remain committed to learning, evolving, and collaborating to drive meaningful impact in the sectors and communities we invest in.

Find out more about Heading for Change’s investment thesis and portfolio companies