ESG Currents

"It’s very important to understand that we need to deliver sustainability, not simply be passionate about it," says Eric Lim, managing director and chief sustainability officer at United Overseas Bank, our first guest from Asia on the ESG Currents podcast. Lim joins Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG integration analyst for Asia-Pacific, to discuss what the ESG backlash means for companies' sustainability efforts, the role of banks in driving sustainable practices in different industries, and the nature-climate nexus and business dependencies on natural capital. They also talk about the importance of aligning with ecosystem partners to enhance impact in a region spanning myriad political structures and development priorities. This episode was recorded on April 2, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions remains the top priority in addressing climate change. However, it’s increasingly clear that these efforts must be complemented by greenhouse-gas removal. The extent needed is difficult to pin down, but a recent report, Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050, by the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rocky Mountain Institute is anchored around the idea that we need to achieve 10 gigatons in annual technological extraction by 2050. Noel Bakhtian, director of Technology Acceleration and lead of the GHG Removal Initiative at the Bezos Earth Fund, and Rudy Kahsar, principal for Climate-Aligned Industries at the Rocky Mountain Institute, join BI director of ESG research Eric Kane on this episode of ESG Currents. They discuss the road map and many of the steps needed to achieve this massive increase in scale from less than 1 megaton of removals currently. The episode was recorded on March 25.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the current political climate, corporate executives must address environmental, social and governance challenges with real authenticity while never losing sight of the strategic needs of their organizations. On this week’s episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ESG Analyst Rob Du Boff speaks with Amy Brachio, Global Vice Chair of Sustainability at EY and co-chair of the S30, a community of chief sustainability officers from some of the world’s most influential companies. They discuss how enterprises can better integrate sustainability into their core business to gain a competitive advantage — from the C-suite down to new employees. This episode was recorded on March 17. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI’s role in climate is often framed around increased energy use and emissions, but what if it could help solve the crisis? In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents, we explore how Amazon Web Services is helping foster AI-driven climate-tech companies, including through the Compute for Climate Fellowship. AWS’ Head of Climate Tech Business Development, Startups and Venture Capital Lisbeth Kaufman joins BI director of ESG research Eric Kane to discuss how she drew inspiration from The Toxic Avenger, and highlights real-world applications of computing and AI in fusion energy, crop yields, pest mitigation and textile production. This episode was recorded on March 17. Learn more about the climate-tech startups discussed or apply for the fellowship here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sustainable-debt issuance reached $1.63 trillion in 2024, and though regulation has been critical to driving the growth of sustainable-finance markets, it risks being a distraction if it’s too onerous. The key will be focusing on the 20% of metrics that drive 80% of the impact on our investment decisions, says Dr. Arthur Krebbers, managing director and head of Corporate Climate and ESG Capital Markets at NatWest. In this episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence director of ESG research Eric Kane and ESG analyst Grace Osborne are joined by Dr. Krebbers to discuss the evolving sustainable-finance landscape. The discussion ranges from the role of labeled debt to environmental alpha and the quest for measurable impact as transition finance comes into focus and new products emerge to shape the future of the industry. This episode was recorded on Mar. 5.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As concerns about water quality and scarcity have gained attention, legal and regulatory developments have particularly targeted the removal of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, which could prove a $300 billion market opportunity in the US. In this episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analysts Gail Glazerman and Scott Levine speak with Oxyle’s CEO and co-founder Fajer Mushtaq about the drivers of PFAS removal, the challenges associated with addressing forever chemicals and Oxyle’s technology. This episode was recorded on Feb. 26.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump’s executive order to end “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government has accelerated the trend of companies rolling back their initiatives to foster more equitable workplaces. On this episode of ESG Currents, David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at NYU, joins senior ESG analysts Gail Glazerman and Rob Du Boff to discuss the mounting pressure on corporate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and ways companies can cultivate more inclusive workplaces while avoiding legal pitfalls and challenges.This episode was recorded on Feb. 21.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International Women’s Day on March 8 is a day to celebrate the achievements of women, and consider where progress is still needed. On this episode of ESG Currents, senior ESG analyst Rob Du Boff chats with journalist and Lift Our Voices cofounder Gretchen Carlson about how forced arbitration and nondisclosure agreements are used to silence victims of workplace misconduct, why this is a risk for both investors and employees, her own experience with this problem and the work of her organization to end it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a near constant flow of new executive orders and policy decisions, it’s challenging for investors to keep up with what US President Donald Trump’s administration is doing. In this episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence senior ESG analysts Gail Glazerman, Rob Du Boff and Andrew Stevenson are joined by colleagues Nathan Dean and Andrew Silverman to dissect the most significant changes that could impact E, S and G, including the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act and the consequences of intense DEI scrutiny.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an effort to decarbonize, airlines are focusing most of their attention on sustainable aviation fuel, but Heart Aerospace believes the key to decarbonizing regional air travel is through electrification. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, Heart Aerospace Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Anders Forslund joins BI director of ESG research Eric Kane to discuss the future of aviation. They discuss Heart’s founding, key partnerships and value proposition, as well as the next steps for the company’s ES-30 aircraft, which can fly 30 passengers and has an electric range of 200 kilometers. CO2 emissions from aviation account for roughly 2.5% of global energy-related emissions. This episode was recorded on Feb. 13.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.