As technical lead at Green Initiative, Erika Rumiche Hernández has spearheaded the process that made Machu Picchu the world's first carbon-neutral tourism destination, achieving an 18.77% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over the past four years and securing UN Climate Neutral Now certifications.

Green Initiative has also been named the winner of the Net zero progression of the year award for its work at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

As an international climate certification and advisory services company, Green Initiative was responsible for coordinating the certification process, involving numerous stakeholders and international bodies, such as UN Tourism, UNFCCC, and UNESCO.

Rumiche Hernández says the biggest challenge was bringing together different stakeholders around a common goal.

It also demanded awareness-raising among both residents and tourists. Through waste segregation, recycling, biochar production, and the introduction of electric vehicles, the project demonstrated that site-wide systemic change was possible, she says.

One Sustainable Company Awards judge noted: "Delivering climate finance solutions in culturally sensitive environments is a crucial and lacking capability."

The judges were also impressed by Green Initiative's integrated use of circular economic principles, which included transforming organic and non-organic waste, particularly plastic waste, into an opportunity to generate economic opportunities at the local level as well as nature-positive impacts.

The model pioneered in Machu Picchu is now being adapted to other destinations, including Cabo Blanco in Peru and Christ the Redeemer in Brazil.

"Machu Picchu was and still is a true laboratory of climate action in tourism," Rumiche Hernández tells Environmental Finance. "Although each destination is unique, this methodology of stakeholder engagement builds trust and transforms commitment into circular economy actions and emission reduction strategies that can be adapted to any context."

Rumiche Hernández also co-developed Greenia, a climate intelligence tool linking emissions data to investment strategies, and the Climate and Nature Performance Platform, which enables transparent ESG and net-zero reporting. Both tools were applied at Machu Picchu to verify its decarbonisation strategy.

"I firmly believe, and it's a phrase I often use, that you can't reduce what you don't measure," she says. "That's why it's so important to first identify an organisation's main emission sources, so that both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations can access tools, platforms, and technical resources that enable them to meet their sustainability goals and strategically channel climate finance."

A passionate nature-advocate from a young age, she decided at 10 years old that she wanted to study environmental engineering. Later, during university, she joined the first team to measure her campus's carbon footprint – an experience that she says sparked her professional trajectory.

She joined Green Initiative as a trainee in 2021, later progressing to coordinate its Carbon Management Unit. In this role, she has coordinated more than 50 multi-sector projects in 18 countries.

She also offers advice for emerging climate leaders as she reflects on what she has achieved in her career thus far: "Trust your ideas and put them into practice with perseverance, no matter how small they may seem. Apply all your knowledge and skills to innovate, and if you believe your project can have a positive impact, don't hesitate to pursue it. Every project with positive potential deserves an opportunity."

Looking ahead, Rumiche Hernández hopes to deepen her expertise through postgraduate study and continue advancing the tools she has built at Green Initiative, adding: "I am very happy to represent a new generation of climate leaders worldwide, and as a young woman from Peru, I want to keep accelerating progress towards a net-zero emissions economy while contributing to building a more sustainable, climate- and nature-positive future for all."

Another Sustainable Company Awards judge said: "I'm looking forward to seeing Erika continuing her efforts and scaling the impact in the future."