The Sustainability Story

2023 was a year of milestones for regulations and standards to improve sustainable investment transparency, comparability, and credibility. In this episode of The Sustainability Story, host Deborah Kidd, CFA, talks with James Alexander, chief executive at UKSIF. They discuss the new UK regulation for sustainable investment product labels, the IFRS international corporate sustainability disclosure...

 In this episode of the Sustainability Story podcast, Andres Vinelli is joined by Harriet Waters, the head of environmental sustainability at the University of Oxford. Harriet shares the highlights of Oxford's sustainability journey and explores the lessons learned that can be applied to other organizations. She discusses her personal journey into environmental issues and how she became involved i...

In this episode of The Sustainability Story, host Sandy Peters is joined by Brian Tomlinson, a managing director in Ernst & Young's financial accounting and advisory services practice. They discuss the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and its impact on non-EU-based multinationals. While the extraterritorial nature of the EU's reporting requirements may be known among policy expert...

As the world economy transitions from high carbon to low carbon, the largest global investment in history is underway. In this episode of The Sustainability Story, host Deborah Kidd, CFA, talks climate bonds, transition, and policy with Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO working to mobilize global capital for climate action. Learn how bond investors can both drive c...

Josina Kamerling, Head of Regulatory Outreach EMEA at CFA Institute, and Rob Bauer, Professor of Finance at School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, and co-author of the paper "Private Shareholder Engagements on Material ESG Issues," discuss the main findings of his research and how private engagements can address financially material ESG issues while contributing to firm performan...

In this episode of The Sustainability Story, host Andres Vinelli interviews Dr. Spencer Glendon, founder of Probable Futures—a nonprofit organization focused on climate science accessibility from the CFA Institute Climate Risk and Returns conference. Dr. Glendon, an expert on climate change with a background in finance and economics, shares his journey and the importance of climate literacy. He ex...

In this episode of the Sustainability Story, we tackle two areas of mass confusion in the world of sustainable investing: what should be done about the divergence in ESG ratings, and what works and doesn't work in impact investing. Deborah Kidd, CFA, talks with Dr. Julian Kölbel, Assistant Professor in Sustainable Finance at the Center for Financial Services Innovation at the University of St. Gal...

Are you ready to crack the code on sustainable investing? We promise a plethora of insights in our thought-provoking conversation with Brian Minns, CFA, the Managing Director of Responsible Investing at University Pension Plan Ontario. Fusing his engineering acumen with financial expertise, Brian is at the forefront of driving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values in investments. Not...

Discover the ins and outs of sustainability regulations in the EU with Patrik Karlsson, a senior policy officer at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and Josina Kamerling, head of regulatory outreach for CFA Institute for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region at CFA Institute. Gain valuable insights into the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and its...

How can capital markets drive meaningful change in the fight against climate risk? Join Paul Andrews, head of Research, Advocacy, and Standards at CFA Institute for an insightful discussion with our esteemed guest, Mindy Lubber, President and CEO of Ceres, as they unpack the importance of integrating sustainability into capital markets and the economic implications of climate change. Mindy emphasi...

Join our 3 CFA Institute hosts, Andres Vinelli, chief economist, Josina Kamerling, Head of Regulatory Outreach, and Deborah Kidd, Director of Global Industry Standards for new episodes starting in June 2023. 

We talk with Cindy Rose, Head of Responsible Capitalism, Liontrust Asset Management. We discuss some of the definitional and terminology issues challenging the sustainability and ESG world. We also talk about the materiality of sustainability data and how asset managers can develop a materiality framework, to take a systematic approach to focusing on the sustainability metrics that matter.

We talk with Mauro Rodrigues da Cunha, Independent Director. Mauro has decades of experience in the corporate governance world, with a long history of fighting for better shareowner rights. We talk about the history of corporate governance and sustainability in Brazil, the upcoming Brazilian Presidential elections and how the climate crisis and the Amazon rainforest is viewed in Brazil. 

We talk to Suzanne Johnson, Senior Advisor at United Nations Global Compact and Head of Sustainability Program for LLoyd's Register Foundation. We talk about what happened at the recent UN Oceans conference and what investors should know about the ocean and how our livelihoods, markets and lives are tied to it.

We talk with Susan Krumdieck, Professor and Chair in Energy Transition at Heriot-Watt University, about transition engineering. We discuss how transition engineering will change how we approach sustainability issues and impact our economy. We talk about why hydrogen will not lead the clean energy transition and how we get to a sustainable future through practical solutions.

We talk with Dean Alborough, Head of ESG at Old Mutual Alternative Investments. We discuss how private markets integrate sustainability risks and opportunities. We also talk about the current state of sustainable investing and sustainable policy in Africa.

We talk with Timothee Parrique, doctor in economics and researcher at Lund University. We discuss degrowth, what it is, what it isn't and how our obsession with GDP and growth are flawed measures of progress. We talk about why "green growth" is not the answer to the climate and biodiversity challenges we face and what a world that has embraced degrowth would look like. We end with a great list of...

We talk to Matt Moscardi, CEO of FreeFloat Media. We discuss the creation of ESG ratings and how they have been used correctly and incorrectly through the years. We talk about the future of ESG, Sabermetrics for corporate boards, and Italian Rugby players with podcasts. 

We talk with Terence Barry, Founder and Owner of Brand and Story. We discuss how stories help us understand and explain our world as well as persuade others. We talk about climate change and other environmental challenges we face, and how storytelling can help us spur the action we need.

We talk with John Hoeppner, Head of US Stewardship and Sustainable Investments at LGIM America. We discuss investor stewardship and the state of engagement with public companies around ESG issues. We talk about the impact of these engagements, what we see as burgeoning issues in the ESG world and the differences in investor engagement around the world. 

We talk with Sandy Peters, CPA, CFA, Senior Head, Global Advocacy, CFA Institute and Wes Bricker, Vice-Chair – US Trust Solutions Co-Leader at PwC. We discuss the SEC's proposed rules about climate-related disclosure and how they will impact investors and companies. We talk about the financial disclosures required, greenhouse gas emissions disclosures and the materiality of climate related informa...

We talk with Ben Yeoh, Senior Portfolio Manager, RBC Global Asset Management. Our wide ranging conversation includes discussions of ESG integration, ESG education, demographics, Economist Thomas Malthus, and the future of capitalism. We also talk about current and impending regulation and policy around ESG disclosure as well as the intersection of art and ESG. Listen to his personal podcast, Ben Y...

We talk with Delilah Rothenberg, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Predistribution Initiative. We discuss how the Predistribution Initiative is working with investors to create investment structures and asset allocation strategies that better address systematic risks. We talk about how a focus on how internal standard setting, disclosure, improved governance and financial practices can help...

We talk with Mervyn Tang, Head of Sustainability Strategy, APAC at Schroders. We discuss what investors should be looking for when analyzing a company's climate change strategy and decarbonization efforts. We talk about the growing investor interest in the area of natural capital and how Asia sits in the center of many efforts to address investments in biodiversity. LINK: Visit Schroders Talking P...

We talk with Barbara Davidson, Head of Accounting, Audit and Disclosure at Carbon Tracker Initiative. We discuss Carbon Tracker's recent report; Flying Blind: The Glaring Absence of Climate Risks in Financial Reporting, which detailed the troublingly low level of consideration of climate risk impacts in financial climate related reporting for some of the most carbon intensive global companies. We...