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The Green Dream is a podcast about ethical investing for positive impact and a better future! Host James Baird interviews fund managers, advisers and a range of leaders in sustainability about topical ESG issues. James is a Financial Planner with over 20 years in the industry, and is a Director of JustInvest Financial Planning. See www.justinvest.net.au. Authorised Representative of Ethical Investment Advisers AFSL 276544 www.ethicalinvestment.com.au
33 Episodes
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Today’s discussion is about Alcoa’s proposed expansion of bauxite mining in WA’s jarrah forests, which has raised major concerns in the community. The expansion would lock in decades of additional carbon emissions through land clearing, transport, and alumina refining – flying in the face of both climate targets and public expectations for lowering emissions. Also, independent studies have revealed multiple high-risk pathways for contamination of Perth’s drinking water, emissions and water, t...
I was blown away to hear Moe Turaga's story at a recent conference. Most of the time we think of Modern Slavery as a distant problem – something that happens in other countries. So how do we react when we find out that it's happening right here in Australia, often in plain sight. Moe Turaga bravely shared his first-hand experience of being exploited under slavery conditions. What are we missing here? Which products on the shelves of supermarkets and retail stores have been put there by exploi...
Not all ethical investments are created equal. In this episode, we go deep into the world of green and sustainable bonds with David Gallagher, Head of Australian Fixed Income at Artesian. Prior to joining Artesian, David spent 9 years in the United Kingdom working for Deutsche Bank and RBS. David has a Master of Applied Finance from Kaplan and won the Dux Award in the process. David shares how fixed income can fund real-world solutions — from affordable housing to climate re...
This interview is with George Bishay and Murray Ackman from the Regnan Credit Impact Trust team. In this discussion we demystify impact bonds, with some real life stories about the positive social and environmental impact that bonds can provide. George’s investment management career spans over 30 years with Regnan’s parent Pendal and its predecessor firms. He has also worked across numerous fixed income, credit and money market portfolios in fund management, credit analysis and dealing ...
This interview is with Tim Crockford, who leads the Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions team. In this wide ranging discussion we cover Trump 2.0, investing in climate adaptation as well as mitigation, smart grids, water leaks, AI, EV’s, innovative Indonesian banking, and other positive impact investments. Tim co-founded the Hermes Impact team in 2016 and managed the Hermes Impact Opportunities Equity Fund from its launch in 2017. He joined Hermes in 2009, later becoming lead por...
I always enjoy my conversations with the team at NorthStar Impact Funds, and this interview with Claudia Kwan is no exception. Claudia has a thoughtful and passionate perspective on impact investing - it’s not about ticking boxes or keeping up appearances, it’s about solving real-world problems by investing in innovative companies offering practical, viable solutions. We get to the heart of Impact Investing, which fundamentally is about creating positive impact whilst making an investment ret...
An Ethical Investment Week 2024 interview: 'What type of ethical investor are you?' It’s been 3 years since we had a chat to Australian Ethical about their ethics, and they have grown substantially since then. Today we’re excited to interview Persephone Fraser, who is the (Acting) Ethical Stewardship Lead at Australian Ethical. In addition to the Stewardship role, she performs ethics research to define AE’s sustainable investment universe. She is responsible for assessing investments against...
Today’s interview is with Madeleine Huynh, ESG Analyst and Assistant Equities Analyst at Perennial Partners. This is our second Green Dream interview on the Better Future Fund, with the first being a discussion with Damian Cottier in September 2022 called ‘Aligning Profit with Purpose’, if you’d like to go back and have a listen. In this discussion, as well as talking about the fund holdings I wanted to focus on the work that is being done behind the scenes on reducing emissions, combatting m...
In this discussion with Tom King of Nanuk Asset Management we venture into the heart of the nuclear debate. Nuclear energy is an enigma…on paper, it presents itself as a low-emission ‘knight in shining armour’ solution against climate change. However, as we delve into the details, we confront the stark realities – the main challenges are the huge financial burden and the formidable competitors in the form of low cost renewable energy sources. We explore whether nuclear power is the solution w...
Today, our focus turns to property. Andrew Cole is Head of ESG at Charter Hall, a prominent Australian property group that is once again highly rated 2023 Global Real Estate Benchmark (GRESB) rankings. GRESB is widely considered to be the leading ESG assessment for real estate, providing a reporting framework for property portfolios and measurement of sustainability performance. It assesses an eye watering 7.2 trillion USD of gross asset value under management across 74 coun...
It’s been two years since my first chat with Nick Edgerton – and it’s clear that creating positive impact is still at the core of his decision making, and also that he still has his infectious enthusiasm for sustainable investment. Nick is a Portfolio Manager with the Sustainable Funds Group at Stewart Investors. Nick joined the team in 2012, and he is the lead manager of the Worldwide Sustainability strategy. Previously, Nick worked as an analyst, consultant, public servant, and academ...
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can” Arthur Ashe. Welcome to a special episode of The Green Dream, where we dive deep into the heart of this year's Ethical Investment Week theme: "Building a sustainable legacy." Our guest today is the inspirational Claire O'Rourke. She is a campaigner, communicator and behavioural change expert working to transform Australia into a global leader in climate solutions. She is also the author of the new book, 'Together We Can.' In this...
This episode is fairly unique, because we’re talking about a new film release and ethical investment stock picks in the same conversation, and that’s because our interviewee has two careers – one in film, and one in investment. Mark Forstmann has written and produced a new film called Climate Changers, which follows Tim Flannery’s search for leadership on climate change. In it, Tim travels the world meeting leaders past and present in the hope of finding answers to his questions a...
David Blood is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of sustainable investment management. Almost 20 years ago in 2004, David created Generation Investment Management alongside Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States, and they now manage around $43bn USD. We don’t normally talk about performance on this podcast, but I will make an exception for this fund. Since inception of the Generation Global Share Fund in October 2007, 15 and a half years, the fund has r...
There’s not many fund managers that can say they can trace their origins back to a pub in Melbourne in 1840, 183 years ago! At that time, a group of eight people formed a friendly society to look after the health and wellbeing of its members. Since then, Australian Unity has continued to grow as a member-owned company, offering their members and customers health, wealth and care services. Matthew Moore is the Head of Responsible Investment and Stewardship at Australian Unity. He joined them i...
In today's ruthless world of organised crime, the best criminals aren't foolish enough to steal money out of banks. They wear tailored suits, carry briefcases, and discreetly slip money into banks. In ethical investment we often talk about ‘ESG’, ie the Environmental, Social and Governance impacts created by an investment. Environmental and Social impacts are pretty easy to understand and quantify, but the ‘G’ often takes a back seat. How do we assess whether a company is run ethically,...
Founded in 1998, Impax Asset Management (Impax) is a London based specialist asset manager, investing in the opportunities arising from the transition to a more sustainable global economy. Impax has pioneered sustainable investment and today is one of the largest investment managers dedicated to this area. Impax seeks to invest in higher quality companies with strong business models and governance that demonstrate sound management of risk whilst being able to adapt intelligently to changing c...
In Ethical Investment Week 2022 we are highlighting the important work that is being done behind the scenes to create positive impact and improve corporate behaviour. So in this episode I am talking to Alex Hillman - a long term client and ethical investor, who works at ACCR. The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility are a philanthropically funded shareholder activist group. Self described as a Corporate Watchdog, they believe that limiting global warming to well below 2°C is in th...
What are cave dwelling Troglodytes? Is it a coincidence that places of cultural significance often seem to be in resource rich areas, for example the planned Yeelirrie Uranium mine? Why should your Financial Adviser be aware of these issues? Join us for this special Ethical Investment Week 2022 interview with Kado Muir. It’s a year since my last podcast discussion with Kado, and a lot has happened in that time. In response to the Juukan Gorge incident, the First Nations Heritage ...
Damian Cottier, Portfolio Manager of the Perennial Better Future Trust (IMPQ), says that Sustainable Investing is about more than just avoiding ‘Sin’ stocks. It’s about exploring what truly constitutes a truly sustainable investment and ensuring there is a strong alignment between profit and purpose. It’s also about allowing investors access to the transition to a more sustainable and better future. A case study that we talk about is Calix, an industrial solutions company dedicate...
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