ESG Quick Takes

In April 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paused the implementation of its recently released climate disclosure rules requiring companies to report on climate-related risks and emissions, as it awaits a court review of the new rules following a series of legal challenges by several states and business groups. In this ESG Quick Takes episode, host Isabel Verkes speaks to Pamela L. Marcogliese, Partner and Head of US Corporate Advisory and Governance at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, on what happens next with the SEC Climate Disclosure Rule, and the implications of the pause for US corporations and investors.

In this new ESG Quick Takes episode, host Isabel Verkes speaks to NYU Stern Professor Alison Taylor, author of the new book ‘Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World’. Discussing the themes of the book, Professor Taylor argues that amid stakeholder demands and transparency pressures, we can no longer treat ethics as a legal and reputational defence mechanism. Offering vivid stories and examples, Professor Taylor brings this complex, risky environment alive to provide a blueprint for how leaders should rethink and reshape their practices. How can CEOs cut through the noise to set robust environmental and social priorities? When should they speak out on contentious social and political issues - and how? What does it really take to build a healthy organisational culture? And how are we to approach corporate values when society is so divided? Tune in to as Professor Taylor explains how business can navigate this paradigm shift, build trust, and achieve long-term strategic advantage in a turbulent world.

In this new ESG Quick Takes episode, host Isabel Verkes speaks to Yale University's Todd Cort on the links between sustainability metrics and financial performance. Despite various studies over the past decade showing a correlation between financial returns and ESG performance, do we have sufficient data showing the causal links explaining that relationship? Dr. Cort discusses some of the challenges around ESG and financial materiality, and how the debate is continuing to evolve.Faculty Director of Yale University’s sustainability program, Dr. Cort works at the intersection of sustainability and investor value. Over the course of 20 years, in consulting and academia, he has applied a scientific and economic lens to corporate social and environmental responsibility (or sustainability) in order to identify the tools, mechanisms, metrics and indicators that create the greatest value for investors, businesses and society.

In this ESG Quick Takes episode, host Isabel Verkes speaks to Ioannis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, and a world-leading expert in sustainability leadership and corporate responsibility.During the episode, Ioannis explains the evolution of the corporate sustainability movement over the past two decades, how it continues to be shaped by a series of major global trends, and why there is no such thing as a ‘sustainable’ company.Tune in to hear Isabel and Ioannis discuss sustainability disruption, the recent ESG backlash and culture wars, and how we should view the purpose of the modern-day company.

Energy access and clean energy development in emerging markets will be at the forefront of COP28 this year. In this episode, ESG Book's Isabel Verkes speaks to Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (UN SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. Ahead of COP, listen to Damilola's expert take on why there is a lot to win on clean energy access in emerging markets, and why we have many reasons to be hopeful.For more info on Sustainable Energy for All, click here.

What interests and incentives can distinguish greenwashing from “ESG as a sidebar to the main business”, from real progress? Tom is an expert in practice and theory, having been a senior partner with PwC, and currently an executive fellow at London Business School. Isabel speaks with Tom about the behavioral economics behind implementing sustainability by corporates and investors. Tom covers a broad range of topics: from aligning fiduciary duty with climate action, to sustainability-linked executive pay practices, the role of the government, as well as how pollution can be internalized. Listen to the podcast to get his refreshing take on sustainability in finance.See more of Tom’s work here.

In this latest ESG Quick Takes podcast episode, ESG Book’s Isabel Verkes speaks to Tata Consultancy Service’s Navin Rauniar about how multi-sector and emerging market companies approach ESG differently. How can sustainability data be more standardized? What are the limits to that standardization – given the different business environments across the globe? Nav shares his observations, including those based on his work leading sustainability within TCS and the Tata Group.

In this latest ESG Quick Takes podcast episode, ESG Book’s Isabel Verkes speaks to WWF’s Tanya Steele on the role of nature in the corporate climate transition. In the podcast, Tanya discusses the work of WWF UK, and how companies can integrate nature in their net-zero planning.

In this latest ESG Quick Takes podcast episode, ESG Book’s Isabel Verkes speaks to Georg Kell, Founding Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact. In this episode, Georg tells the story of the creation of the Global Compact, which he established as the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative, and discusses the evolution of ESG as well as the trends that will shape the future of the sustainability and net-zero transition. https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgkell/2023/04/06/the-role-of-voluntary-business-initiatives-in-an-era-of-political-fragmentation/

As the ESG debate has been heating up in the US, Dow Jones’ Angela Pavlos gives us the perspective of a global media firm with US headquarters. Angela is a product manager and leads the development of ESG data products aiming to help CSOs and investors. Where will the ESG data market go? What role does the media have in this? Tune in to learn more.

Amantia is the Executive Director of Sustainable and Impact Investing at the UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office. Prior to UBS, Amantia worked at Morgan Stanley’s Investing with Impact team focusing on impact measurement and product development.

Throughout the world there have been many sustainable finance policy focused initiatives. This includes rules aiming for greater ESG and climate data transparency and tackling greenwashing in financial markets.In this latest ESG Quick Takes podcast episode, ESG Book’s Isabel Verkes speaks to Inna Amesheva and Aishwarya Shukla, to discuss the key regulatory developments of 2022 and 2023 so far. Learn more in our ESG Policy Digest February update and out January update.For monthly ESG policy updates, subscribe to our newsletter.

Sean Kidney is the CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international NGO working to mobilize global capital for climate action.Working with investors around the world, CBI develops standards and "taxonomies", advocates for policy and regulator measures supportive of green capital flows, and promotes rapid creation of investible green assets.

Peter Fox-Penner is a partner and Chief Impact Officer at Climate VC firm Energy Impact Partners (EIP), where he directs all ESG and impact measurement, helps EIP’s portfolio companies to improve their ESG performance, and collaborates with EIP’s limited partners to accelerate their clean energy transitions. He is also a founding member of Project Frame, a coalition of leading PE firms developing impact reporting guidelines, and co-founder and senior fellow of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Brattle Group.He previously served as a Senior Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.He has served on the boards and advisory boards of numerous companies, including EOS Energy Storage (EOSE), Gridpoint, the Global Energy Group (GHG), and Lighting Retrofit, Inc (now Envocore).Peter now serves on the global leadership council of the World Resources Institute and on the advisory boards of Mobility Impact Partners, the Rail Electrification Council, and the Boston University IMAP program, a collaboration between industry and academia to improve ESG metricsTo learn more from Peter's views, his book Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities (Island Press, 2010) and its sequel Power After Carbon: Building a Clean, Resilient Grid (Harvard University Press, 2020) give a detailed and fascinating insight on the energy system in its complexity. His research has been widely cited, including in one Supreme Court decision.Peter's firm, EIP is a lead investor of ESG Book.

Tech companies are known for their low emissions profile, but what about their clients? How can big tech not just improve its own carbon footprint, but also help drive corporate sustainability in other sectors? This is what we talk about with Justin Keeble in this episode. He is Managing Director of Global Sustainability at Google Cloud, and leading several initiatives to support Google and its clients with sustainability and related decision-making. To learn more about the work of Justin and his team, see their latest thought piece here.

COP27 meetings in Egypt just wrapped up last week, and much has been discussed. Alex Money, was at COP27 and has the latest for us. He is with Oxford University, leading the Innovative Infrastructure Investment (in3) program, after a long career in fund management. We speak with Alex to understand what we should take away from this COP, and how this links with sustainable investing. Despite the many conversations among world leaders, critics point out the risk of too much talk and too little action on financing the transition in the face of climate change. Where has progress been made this COP? What is still left on the table? Alex is the one to tell us.”Disclaimer:ESG Book, registered with Companies House under Company No. FC035689 and UK establishment no. BR020774, and with registered office at Fifth Floor, Jamestown Wharf, 32 Jamestown Road London, NW1 7BY, is the UK branch of ESG Book GmbH, a limited liability company organized under the laws of Germany, with registered number HRB 113087 in the commercial register of the court of Frankfurt am Main, and having its seat and head office at Zeppelinallee 15, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.PROFESSIONAL ADVICE – This podcast is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. If professional advice is required, services of a competent professional should be sought. NOT AN OFFER – The information on this podcast is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice nor a recommendation to buy, sell or otherwise transact in any investment. THIRD PARTY INFORMATION – Certain information contained in this podcast has been obtained from sources outside ESG Book. While such information is believed to be reliable for the purposes used herein, no representations are made as to the accuracy or completeness thereof and none of ESG Book or its affiliates accepts any responsibility for such information. RELIANCE – ESG Book makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein, and accepts no liability for any loss, of whatever kind, howsoever arising, in relation thereto, and nothing contained herein should be relied upon. VIEWS EXPRESSED – Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the speaker, and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of ESG Book. ENQUIRIES – Any enquiries in respect of this podcast should be addressed to ESG Book or its affiliates.

Samantha Gross is a fellow and director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at The Brookings Institution. Her work is focused on the intersection of energy, environment, and policy. Gross has more than 20 years of experience in energy and environmental affairs. She was director of the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Before that, Gross was director of integrated research at IHS CERA. She has also worked at the Government Accountability Office on the Natural Resources and Environment team and as an engineer, directing environmental assessment and remediation projects. Gross holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, a Master of Science in environmental engineering from Stanford, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley. Follow her on Twitter for more, and see her latest article on the Inflation Reduction Act here.

As a growing number of investors have Net Zero targets, the question comes up: what does a Net Zero pathway look like?We are talking to climate scenario wizard Sven Teske, who researches energy decarbonisation pathways at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Most recently, Sven Teske led the work on the One Earth Climate Model (OECM) commissioned by the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance and the European Climate Foundation. In this episode, he presents a clear picture of what decarbonizing the world looks like, and puts this ambition in context with actual developments, such as the recent US Supreme Court’s decision to curb the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mark Zurack teaches investing courses at Columbia Business School, and Cornell University, including ESG investing. Prior to this, Zurack worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years where he started Goldman’s equity derivatives business and led its international expansion. His capital markets background gives him an interesting take on ESG, which we discuss in this podcast.

This week’s guest is Marian Chertow, Professor of Industrial Environmental Management at Yale University. Prior to Yale, Professor Chertow spent ten years in environmental business and state and local government including service as president of a bonding authority that built a billion dollars worth of waste infrastructure. Professor Chertow and her research team are working together with the World Bank on an open data platform to promote opportunities for the reuse of waste material and other resources.