For Hedera (CRYPTO: HBAR) CFO Betsabe Botaitis, the goal isn't just to build a state-of-the-art network to support decentralized applications (DApps) and digital assets.

Sustainability, she says, is key.

"We represent that," Botaitis said. "We are the greenest [public network] and that's part of what we're trying to do in terms of climate change."

Botaitis, who attended the recent Benzinga Fintech Deal Day & Awards in New York City, took time to expand upon Hedera's focus on climate change, particularly as it pertains to emerging markets.

"There are a few islands in the Caribbean that are projected to disappear, so how do we actually use technology to address climate change?" she asked.

See video below.

Indeed, rising sea levels, warming temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events put the Caribbean at a higher risk, to the point that islands (i.e., Barbuda after 2017's Hurricane Irma) are in danger of disappearing.

And cryptocurrency exchanges have openly touted the Caribbean as a haven for setting up shop.

Hedera's claim that it's the greenest Layer-one blockchain is backed by data gathered from the University Central of London. When it comes to energy consumption, the company's energy usage per transaction is 1,000 times lower than that of Visa Inc (NYSE:V).

This low energy consumption, combined with its traceability and visibility features, sets Hedera apart from others. It uses 5 million times less electricity than Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and can process 10,000 or more transactions per second (Bitcoin can process seven transactions per second).

Hedera also established a Governing Council consisting of 29 members, including representatives from Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, South Korea-based Shinhan Bank, and Google.

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