With 20 years of experience in a policy-oriented career, Darshini Waibel (BSc Economics 2002 and MSc Economics 2004) has seen the evolution of sustainability policy firsthand. After starting her own independent practice, Darshini soon realised sustainability requires a systemic approach and her idea for a senior expert ecosystem, was born. We spoke to Darshini about Greenpertise, her latest initiative, the Greenpertise Keynote Lab, and how LSE has supported her career.
Greenpertise
Greenpertise is a new senior expert ecosystem for sustainability that simplifies the search for independent experts in the field. We value the education and experience of our senior experts. Typically, they have more than 15 years of experience. We vet, coach and match them with client projects that suit their skills and values.
I founded Greenpertise in 2024, with the help of a pre-seed grant from an Austrian government funding agency, Austria Wirtschaftservice. I am passionate about nurturing talent, and I am very keen to support the hidden individual champions behind the sustainability transition. I leverage my strengths in research, design and advocacy and I am guided by my values in fairness, collaboration and lifelong learning.
Working in sustainability
I work in sustainability because I care deeply about the natural ecosystem we live in and want to protect it for the next generation. Most importantly, I care about the people behind the sustainability transition. It is essential that we tackle the social and environmental challenges of the day, because the cost of inaction keeps escalating.
I started my professional sustainability journey at UBS in 2014, when I was covering the emerging trends in sustainability regulation after the Paris Agreement. I was then a Public Policy Advisor for the CEO’s office. My role was to monitor, analyse and advise on the future sustainability and financial regulation.
After I moved to Vienna and turned to independent practice in 2019, I quickly realised that no sustainability entrepreneur can work alone. Sustainability requires a systemic approach across a range of disciplines. In Europe, the EU Green Deal has since 2018 introduced a vast package of new laws to accelerate the sustainability transition. The policy landscape keeps shifting this year with a move to simplify the regulations. In 2025, there is a new policy wave to simplify some of the core sustainability disclosure laws. I decided to create an expert ecosystem to navigate and accelerate the sustainability transition and Greenpertise was born.
LSE life
I joined LSE in 1999 and trained as an economist, which paved the way to a career in the finance sector. 20 years later, I am building a new talent marketplace. Building a new AI empowered market with many concepts I learnt back then, from utility to trust.
In terms of sustainability, I look back fondly at my class in development economics with Professor Oriana Bandiera and Professor Maitreesh Ghatak. My master’s in economics, with a Commonwealth Scholarship, led to my first job at the World Bank in 2004, where I was in charge of building access to credit indicators, managing a global expert ecosystem.
Today, in my digital community building journey, I love reconnecting with LSE alumni, especially the LSE GenDen group, and the Sustainability and Women Alumni Networks.
Advice for alumni
I have three pieces of advice. First, know your purpose. My wonderful mentors in the last few years have helped me define mine. It motivates me to wake up each day and face the emotional rollercoaster of being an entrepreneur.
Second, be aware of policy. If you are working in a niche job in a specific sector, look at how it connects with the wider system. You can derive deeper meaning from your job, when you connect it with the wider impact on society and environment.
Third, have a product mindset. Whether you are looking for a new job or starting a new venture, you have to experiment continuously. You can run a small prototype of your larger ambition every day, collect feedback and act on it.
Looking forward
At Greenpertise, we dream of a world where every skill is utilised for a sustainable future. I have a vision for catalysing the career of 10,000 sustainability professionals. In our ecosystem, we welcome independent experts from different disciplines, institutions and locations.
Our latest initiative is the Greenpertise Keynote Lab. While building the Greenpertise ecosystem, I noted one consistent trend. Women are often less confident and struggle to tell their story in a way that truly reflects their value. So, we built a creative space to address this. From 1 to 3 July, we are holding an international career growth event in Vienna to catalyse the careers of professional women. Female participants will transform their career story into a powerful keynote that opens the door to new opportunities - in the company of award-winning coaches, creative artists and a supportive community. To learn more, visit the websites or contact Darshini directly.
Visit Greenpertise
Join the Greenpertise Keynote Lab
Contact Darshini