BSR Insights

Laura Gitman , BSR’s Chief Impact Officer, and Elisa Moscolin , Executive Vice President for Sustainability and Foundation at BSR Member, Sage, join host David Stearns to explore the nexus between AI and sustainability. Drawing on Sage’s AI journey and BSR’s engagement with CSOs, they discuss how companies are using AI to improve efficiency, reporting, strategy, and risk management, as well as how...

Richard Wingfield , Director of BSR's Responsible Tech practice, and  Will Manley , Head of Digital Regulation for the international law firm Slaughter and May, join host  David Stearns  to discuss the geopolitical and regulatory trends shaping how companies develop, procure, and deploy AI tools and products. From the EU’s comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Act to the U.S.’s more decentrali...

Lindsey Andersen  and  Lale Tekişalp , Associate Directors of BSR’s Responsible Tech practice, join host  David Stearns  to unpack the responsible AI landscape, its origins and evolution, and what responsible AI looks like in practice for tech companies developing models and products, and for those deploying and using these technologies. Together, they explore the role of sustainability teams in r...

Christine Diamente , BSR Managing Director of Business Transformation, and  Jenny Vaughan , BSR Managing Director of Human Rights and Inclusive Business, join host  David Stearns  to discuss how companies operating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas can navigate increased risk of involvement in human rights abuses. Together, they explore best practices for anticipating and mitigating potenti...

Aron Cramer , BSR President and CEO, and  Ogi Kanaya , BSR Associate Director join host  David Stearns  to discuss how businesses are navigating an era of acute geopolitical tension and uncertainty. This episode explores the real world challenges companies are facing and how sustainability strategies can help protect people, stabilize operations, and build resilience in a rapidly shifting global l...

Following his recent blog about the “ Ten Big Questions Facing Sustainable Business Leaders in 2025 ,” BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer chats with David Stearns about the EU Omnibus package and its potential impact on regulatory requirements, why sustainability goal setting remains a valuable exercise in an environment of political pushback and uncertainty, the future of COP (with or without U.S....

Mario Abreu, Group VP, Sustainability at Ferrero chats with BSR Managing Director, Transformation Christine Diamente, and host David Stearns about the cross-functional role of sustainability at Ferrero, how he maintains a focus on ambition, and why the nexus between climate change, people, food, and planetary limits should be humankind’s top priority.

Darshana Myronidis, Group Director of Sustainability at Virgin Group, chats with BSR Managing Director, Transformation Christine Diamente and host David Stearns about of the evolution of her role at Virgin, strategies for embedding sustainability within a company, how to maintain momentum in the face of externalities like the recent U.S. election, and where the greatest opportunities for significa...

Immediately following Climate Week NYC, BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer chats with David Stearns about some of the inconvenient truths facing sustainability leaders going into this annual gathering, observations that gave him cause of optimism, and a look inside some of BSR’s events, including a debate over whether American political leadership is needed for advancing global climate action and s...

In the United States, electoral uncertainty, threats to democracy, and the potential for instability and chaos are notably apparent as the country faces an enormously consequential election this fall. What are the risks for sustainable business, and what proactive steps can business leaders take to mitigate them? BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer chats with David Stearns about five topics central...

Aron Cramer , BSR President and CEO, chats with  David Stearns  following his latest blog about the public battle over the direction of the  Science Based Targets Initiative  (SBTi), the fundamental question behind this debate, and the tradeoffs companies face at a time when rapid progress on climate action is really needed.

Lale Tekisalp, Associate Director, Technology Sectors, chats with David Stearns on the topic of  Responsible and Sustainable AI , exploring: The latest developments, including the latest regulatory developments, that listeners should be aware of. The risks that companies should be aware of when designing, developing and deploying these models. What a responsible and sustainable approach to the dev...

Ameer Azim, Climate Change Director, chats with David Stearns on the  Environmental Impact of AI , exploring: Why it’s important to assess the environmental impacts of a technology like AI. Through what type of activities or upgrades does the use of AI increase a company’s CO2 emissions? Beyond carbon emissions, what are some of the other environmental impacts associated with the rise of AI that c...

Jacob Park, Transformation Director and head of BSR’s Sustainable Futures Lab, chats with David Stearns about  Applying a Futures Lens to AI , exploring: Why futures thinking techniques can be particularly useful to discussions about responsible AI. How scenario planning exercises work, who is typically involved within a company, and how they might be applied to mitigate a potential outcome of AI...

Hannah Darnton, Technology and Human Rights Director, chats with David Stearns on the  Human Rights Impacts of AI , exploring: How the use of AI may impact human rights and where we might see examples of this. Are there ways that AI can be used as a tool to protect human rights?  In BSR’s experience, are companies receptive to conducting human rights risk assessments of their AI practices?  Recomm...

Richard Wingfield, Technology and Human Rights Director, chats with David Stearns on the topic of  Regulating AI , exploring: What the newly passed EU AI Act is, and what it regulates. Why the Act takes a risk-based approach and how different types of risks are categorized. What type of advice BSR is offering to companies on steps they should be taking to come into compliance with the AI Act.

Aron Cramer, BSR President and CEO, chats with David Stearns about why the United States is at risk of marginalizing itself and its influence over the pace and trajectory of progress on sustainability, and what this means for business.

What's at Stake for Sustainable Business 2024 with Aron Cramer by BSR

Beth Richmond, BSR Director, Transformation chats with David Stearns on Unpacking Double Materiality, exploring: —How the different frameworks and guidelines define materiality, where they are similar and where they are different. —Why companies should apply the concept of double materiality, and why it is the approach that BSR favors. —What does BSR say to companies who only engage in financial m...

Aron Cramer, BSR President and CEO, chats with David Stearns on the topic of Leading with Ambition, exploring: —Why companies should be enthusiastic about these changes to reporting requirements and regulatory frameworks. —The apparent tension that these reporting requirements have created between ambition and compliance and where the pitfalls might be for companies. —Whether there is a possibilit...

Christine Diamente, BSR Managing Director, Transformation chats with David Stearns on the Role of Boards and Governance, exploring: —What new skills Boards need to have in light of these new regulatory and reporting requirements. —What platforms or opportunities exist for upskilling and what kind of requests is BSR receiving from Boards. —What do we mean by business transformation and what hurdles...

David Wei, BSR Managing Director, Climate and Nature chats with David Stearns on The Impact on Climate and Nature, exploring: —How these rules and regulations apply specifically to net zero reporting and other climate-related commitments. —What impact they may have on greenwashing, specifically making it less permissible. —To what extent the new requirements may help companies increase their ambit...

Adam Fishman, BSR Associate Director, Transformation chats with David Stearns on The Impact Across Business Units, exploring: —Unpacking the latest regulatory frameworks, how they are distinct and how they work together. —Why this is an important time for those in sustainability functions within a company and advice to help them navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. What should they be doing i...

Dunstan Allison-Hope, BSR Vice President, Human Rights chats with David Stearns on Human Rights and the Future of Compliance, exploring: —Why compliance is important and why it deserves its moment in the sun. —The difference between complying with the spirit of the law and the letter of the law, and some of the issues posed by the double materiality requirements in the ESRS. —Collectively, whether...

The Evolving Reporting Landscape Trailer by BSR