All Things Sustainable

What do Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers, and big multinational power company Ørsted have in common? They're both taking steps to decarbonize their supply chains that could ultimately result in wide-ranging changes across sectors.   In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we're continuing with the theme we covered last week of decarbonizing supply chains. We speak with Walmart's E...

The UN climate conference known as COP27 is underway, and today (Nov. 11) is Decarbonization Day. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore how companies are setting decarbonization targets in their operations and across their supply chains.     To understand how companies are engaging with suppliers, we talk with Simon Fischweicher, who is Head of Corporations and Supply Chains for C...

The UN climate conference known as COP27 kicks off in just a few days. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we tell you what to expect.    We talk to Jenny Davis-Peccoud, a Partner at management consulting firm Bain & Co., about the role of the private sector at COP.    Taryn Fransen, Senior Fellow in the Global Climate Program at the World Resources Institute, talks to us about where countr...

The U.N. climate conference known as COP27 kicks off next week. Adaptation to a changing climate will be an important part of the talks.    In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we look at how companies and investors are using climate modeling to measure and manage the future financial impacts of climate hazards such as wildfires, drought and flooding. According to a new S&P Global Sustainab...

On Oct. 17, the Council of the EU approved a law to improve gender balance on corporate boards. The development comes 10 years after the European Commission first proposed the rules, and occurs at a time when many companies face pressure to increase diversity on their boards and management teams. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we look at what the new law means for companies, investors...

As extreme weather events such as Hurricane Ian intensify, the urgency of combatting climate change is increasing. The investment community is taking steps to make investment products low-carbon and reduce risk across portfolios. But what does that look like in practice?   In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we speak to two London-based investment managers on the sidelines of an S&P Global...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we bring you Part 2 of our on-the-ground coverage from Climate Week NYC. Throughout the week, we heard experts talk about the delicate balancing act required to achieve net zero and energy transition goals while also accounting for the impacts on nature and society.    We talk to the CEO of nonprofit Just Capital, Martin Whittaker, who explains why envir...

Climate Week wrapped up last week in New York City, and throughout the week, we heard about the systemic changes needed to combat climate change. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we're bringing you key takeaways, highlights and interviews from our time on the ground.   We hear from Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Natixis Investment Managers, Nathalie Wallace, about the role the...

Climate Week NYC is ending, and the United Nations Climate Conference known as COP27 is fast approaching. As the urgency to address climate change intensifies, financial regulators and supervisors are taking an increasing interest in climate change and the impact it is having on the financial system and the economy at large.     To get a better understanding of this landscape, we're looking at som...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we delve into a measure in the recently passed U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, that allocates $27 billion toward green banks and other local investments via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.    In an interview with Connecticut Green Bank President and CEO Bryan Garcia, we explore how green banks could use thi...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast from S&P Global Sustainable1, we preview what to expect during Climate Week NYC, which begins Sept. 19. Climate Week has run annually since 2009, convening leaders from business, government and the climate community through hundreds of events held across New York City. The goal is to drive climate action, and this year the tagline is "Getting it Done."  ...

Sustainability and ESG have evolved significantly in recent years — and alongside this change, recruiting in the space has also changed.  In this Labor Day weekend episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we go behind the scenes of ESG recruiting in an interview with Kurt Harrison, a Partner with the global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates where he is Co-Head of the Global Sustainabili...

On Aug. 16th, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. The IRA is a comprehensive energy and climate law that allocates nearly $370 billion in federal spending to decarbonization efforts over the next decade.   In this episode of ESG Insider, we take a deep dive into those measures and explore the implications for the goal President Biden set to cut U.S....

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore the evolving role of the Chief Sustainability Offer, which is taking on greater importance in many organizations as awareness of environmental, social and governance issues grows.    In many companies, the CSO is now working in tandem with Chief Executives and Chief Financial Officers. Often CSOs act as the "glue" embedding sustainability thro...

In the last few years, central banks have played an increasing role in measuring the impacts of climate change on financial systems and economies. In 2017, a handful of central banks established the Network for Greening the Financial System, or NGFS. The network now has more than 100 members from around the globe working to manage and measure the risks climate change poses to financial stability. ...

Regulation is transforming the world of environmental, social and governance investing, and in many areas, Europe has been leading the charge on new rules and standards. In June 2022, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a provisional agreement on new sustainability reporting rules for companies, known as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD.   In this epi...

The rapid decline of the world's biodiversity poses big financial risks to businesses and the global economy. One of the organizations working to help companies assess, report and act on these risks is the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, or TNFD.    The TNFD has been busy since forming in 2021 — releasing beta disclosure frameworks and launching pilot projects to test out these...

In this episode of ESG Insider we're talking with one of the largest U.S. property and casualty insurers, Liberty Mutual Insurance, about how the company is integrating climate change risk into its investment decisions and underwriting practices.   We interview Rakhi Kumar, Senior Vice President for Sustainability Solutions and Business Integration at Liberty Mutual Insurance, about a recent clima...

"If there's an acronym in the disclosure space, I usually was involved," quipped Curtis Ravenel at the recent GreenFin conference in New York.   Curtis is Senior Advisor for the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, or GFANZ, and Member of the Secretariat for the FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD. In an interview for this episode of the ESG Insider podcast followi...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we bring you highlights from the GreenFin conference, which convened stakeholders from across the green finance ecosystem. The evolution of ESG data was a big topic at the event and in our interviews with attendees. We talk with Manulife Global Chief Sustainability Officer Sarah Chapman; Nasdaq Global Head of Sustainability Evan Harvey; and Joel Makower,...

Amid rapid growth in ESG investment, regulators around the world are developing sustainability-focused rules. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore new rules proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that involve sustainable or ESG-labeled funds. To get a better understanding, we talk with Aniket Shah, managing director and global head of environmental, social and go...

The European Commission in May proposed its 'REPowerEU' plan to wean the EU off supplies of Russian fossil fuels and accelerate its transition to a low-carbon economy. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we talk with experts about the plan and what it means for investment in renewables. We speak with Elisabetta Cornago, senior research fellow at think tank the Centre for European Reform. W...

In recent years, we've seen an explosion of interest in ESG investing, and private equity firms are part of that growing trend.     In this episode of ESG Insider, we sit down with Lisa Hall, Impact Chair at Apollo Global Management. Apollo is one of the largest investing firms in the U.S. and pursues a number of strategies ranging from investment grade debt to private equity. Lisa talks about how...

When it comes to tackling climate change, scientists say making transformative changes to the transportation sector will be key. For example, curbing vehicle transportation emissions will require a rapid scaling up of electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well as EV manufacturing. At the same time, companies are grappling with how to ensure the low-carbon transition balances climate goals wi...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we sit down with Jan-Willem Vosmeer, Global Manager of Sustainable Development and Stakeholder Engagement at The Heineken Company. He talks about how the brewer is working with suppliers to reduce emissions, the challenges of working in a water-intensive industry, and how to make agriculture sustainable.   But he says Heineken is focused on more than jus...