Rocío Hiraldo collaborated with UNRISD on the project Social Dimensions of Green Economy and Sustainable Development (2011-2012). She spoke at the UNRISD conference on this issue held in October 2011 and authored the occasional paper, "The Global Political Economy of REDD+: Engaging Social Dimensions in the Emerging Green Economy" (2011, No. 4).
At the time of her collaboration with UNRISD, she was based in Senegal working as an action researcher at ENDA Energy, Environment and Development. She has worked as a consultant and research assistant on climate change policy processes analysis with a focus on poverty reduction at the Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom.