The Sustainability Story

We talk with Gabriel Thoumi, CFA, FRM, Head of Plastics Pogramme and Director of Financial Markets at Planet Tracker. We discuss the major players in the plastics world, the move to a more sustainable and circular plastics economy. We also talk about what investors and consumers can do to help move to a more sustainable use of plastics.

We talk with Betty Jiang, CFA, Head of US ESG Research at Credit Suisse. We discuss the ongoing COP26 meeting and what investors should look for post-COP26 concerning climate policy, climate financing, carbon markets. We also examine the industries and sectors that face the most climate related risks and opportunities in the coming years.

We talk with Mark Van Clieaf, Managing Director of Future Zero. We discuss what to expect and what not to expect from COP26/Glasgow. With apologies to Wayne Gretzky, we talk about “where the puck will be” concerning climate and Net Zero Business Models in the coming years. This includes coming “stress tests” for companies, the $ 43 trillion of carbon risks in their business models, the current mispricing of net zero business model designs and carbon risk, the potential legal jeopardy for companies and corporate directors around climate change, and what a disorderly climate transition looks like (including in the boardroom). The conversation is a long one but filled with great investor and inside the boardroom insights rarely shared. Related sites : https://www.sustainalytics.com/net-zero-business-models http://www.futurezero.com https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9099027/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/76483543/admin/

We talk with Grace Hui, Managing Director Head of Green and Sustainable Finance, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. We discuss with Grace how the Hong Kong Stock Exchange balances the demand from investors for more information on ESG data and sustainable finance products with the ability of companies to supply this information. We talk about development of sustainable finance in Asia and the work the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is doing in supporting companies’ transition to a sustainable future.

We talk with Matt Howard, Vice-President, Water and Stewardship at the Water Council. We talk about the water challenges we currently face and will increasingly face in coming decades as well as tools the Water Council is developing to help companies become better stewards of water and more responsive to ESG pressures. Link to the Water Council

CFA Institute talks with Denise Weger, Senior Manager, ESG, Strategic Initiatives at Novartis. Denise discusses how Novartis handles ESG strategy and planning, the materiality of ESG data and the evolution of ESG reporting. We also discuss how Novartis engages with investors and other stakeholders about important material ESG issues. Please find the following link to Novartis materiality page: www.novartis.com/materiality The FAZ toolkit is at the following link: https://www.faz-institut.de/plattformen/verantwortung1/materiality/

We Talk with Curtis Ravenel, Senior Advisor to former bank of England governor Mark Carney, COP26 Finance Advisor and UN Special Envoy for Climate Finance. Mr. Ravenel discusses how the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure or TCFD has conducted its work and structured its recommendation since it was formed by the G20’s Financial Stability Board in 2015.

We talk with Michael Azlen, Founder and CEO, Carbon Cap Management LLP who frames the discussion on carbon markets in terms of where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going. Mr. Azlen reviews the importance of carbon pricing and how government regulated carbon markets provide a market-based solution to climate change which offers the best chance of addressing the problem at the scale and speed that the climate crisis requires.

The State of Diversity at Public Companies and Boards We talk with Deborah Gilshan, Advisor, Investment Stewardship & ESG, founder of the 100% Club and author of the report The Ethics of Diversity. She notes that at the current pace, it will take 257 years to achieve global economic gender parity, and stresses the need for urgency. In this podcast she discusses how diversity at companies, on boards and in management can act as a catalyst to achieve needed change at a more rapid pace. Discussed in the podcast is the report Closing the Racial Inequality Gaps: The Economic Cost of Black Inequality in the US by Dana M. Peterson and Catherine L. Mann.

Matt Orsagh, Senior Director, Capital Markets Policy at CFA Institute talks with Jon Lukomnik, co-author of the book “Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters”, to explore how one of the major pillars of modern investing and finance, “Modern Portfolio Theory” may need to evolve to better take into account the rise of ESG integration and sustainable investing. Jon Lukomnik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-lukomnik-6164415/ Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory 1st Edition:  https://www.amazon.com/Moving-Beyond-Modern-Portfolio-Theory/dp/0367760827