LSEG Sustainable Growth

How can we improve efficiency and upscale carbon offsetting to meet sustainability goals? In this episode, we chat to Sheri Hickok, the CEO of Climate Impact Partners, about how they connect companies with carbon offset projects and climate solutions. Sheri explains the process and scale of carbon offsetting and talks about how diverse these projects can be. She also discusses the hurdles we need to overcome to halve carbon emissions and for Climate Impact Partners to meet their goal to reduce a billion tonnes of CO2 by 2030.

How can we mobilise finance in support of a just transition? In this episode, Nick Robins, Professor in Practice of Sustainable Finance at London School of Economics discusses what a just climate transition looks like, the importance of putting people at the heart of transition plans and why this has recently become a priority. Nick also explores examples of innovative financial approaches in raising capital that align with climate transition including the formation of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs).  

In this episode, Richard Scobey, Executive Director of TRAFFIC talks to us about the shocking scale of illegal wildlife markets, why the practice is so difficult to stop and what TRAFFIC and other organisations are doing to tackle this troubling issue.

This is our last episode before we break for the summer! This week on the LSEG Sustainable Growth podcast we speak to John Willis, Director of Research, Planet Tracker. We get into all sorts, including the difference between nature and biodiversity, the importance it plays for financial institutions and how is it being tracked. Can companies be doing more to look at their nature footprint and not just their carbon footprint?

Do we have carbon tunnel vision? In this episode, we talk to Musidora Jorgensen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft UK, about the role psychology and AI play in sustainability, the importance of a company’s sustainability strategy and Microsoft’s own sustainability goals, including becoming carbon negative by 2030. Musidora also explains why their focus is not just on carbon and delves deep into how Microsoft is supporting sustainability efforts through technology, from building a planetary computer to gather data about the impact of the rising temperature on nature to creating ecological digital twins of rivers in collaboration with the UK water sector.

We’re back! Starting this year off with our very own Helena Fung, Head of Sustainable Investment in APAC for FTSE Russell. Jane & Helena get stuck into the nuances of SFI in the APAC region. Find out how sustainable investing is framed country by country and how we’ve partnered with China’s largest insurance company, Ping An to bring ESG scores for all Chinese companies into our market leading ‘China Index Series’.

How can we bridge the gap in financial inclusion around the world and ensure women are financially independent? In this episode, we chat to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women's World Banking, about what exactly we mean by financial inclusion, why women are a large focus for their financial inclusion efforts, and steps they are taking to achieve security and prosperity for women as well as inclusive economic growth for all. 

How have sustainable investment approaches evolved with the growing popularity of passive investing? In this episode, we talk to Aled Jones, Head of Sustainable Investment Solutions at FTSE Russell, about the range of sustainability metrics seen in different indexes and how they are evolving to meet ever-changing investor needs. From assessing company alignment to the Paris Agreement to a broader ESG approach aiming to reduce ESG risk exposure, Aled explains how these different approaches meet different investor priorities and why these priorities have shifted over the years.

We’re switching things up today with an episode from one of our other podcasts, Hedge Fund Huddle. Are we scared of emotions? Or can they be harnessed for good in stressful trading situations? In this episode we speak to two long-time experts in the field of psychology who work with traders to help them optimize performance on the desk and off. Dr. Richard Peterson is a psychiatrist and the CEO of MarketPsych and Dr. Alden Cass is a licensed clinical psychologist and trading performance coach. Listen in as we learn how to achieve better performance during stressful times.

Why is climate change a systematic risk, and how could it impact investors? In this episode, we speak to Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) about IIGCC’s current role, mission and journey, as well as how Climate Action 100+ has catalysed the shift from target setting to implementation by engaging with companies. Stephanie also explains how IIGCC enables investors to address and manage climate risks, how much progress has been made in the past two decades, and the importance of detecting and combatting policy barriers that are stopping progress.

As the first of its kind, what does the future hold for London Stock Exchange’s new Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) framework, and how does it work? In this episode, we are joined by Richard Kelly, Co-founder of the Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company, and Claire Dorrian, Head of Sustainable Finance for the Capital Markets and Post-Trade Divisions of LSEG. Richard and Claire define what voluntary carbon market designations are, its main objectives, how the credibility of these carbon credits is verified, and what feedback the VCM designation has received. Claire also tells us how funds getting this designation may change in the future, and Richard explains how afforestation portfolios can create these credits and enhance biodiversity in the process.

What is really meant by “green” and what is a “green taxonomy”? Who determines what is a green product or service and what isn’t? And is it ever possible that we’ll get to a single global green taxonomy? You can’t have a conversation about sustainable finance and investing these days without understanding green taxonomy, so we’re lucky in this episode to be joined by Lily Dai, Senior Research Lead on the Sustainable Investment Research team at LSEG. Lily helps us unpack the answers to each of these questions, where the conversation on green finance really started, and where it needs to go from here.

Today, we’re chatting with Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing at Fidelity International. Over the course of his 15 year tenure at Fidelity, he’s watched as the definition of fiduciary duty has expanded as investors have begun to realize that the boundary of responsibility should not stop at the door of capital allocation, but should also include value creation. This specifically comes into play with the climate transition, and he takes us through the principles of long termism, the materiality spectrum and the complete stewardship toolbox. He also explains how stewardship is just one piece of the systemic change needed to solve the climate crisis.  

This week on The Green Room, Jane is joined by Lisa Zelljadt, Analyst on the Carbon Research Team, LSEG.   A lot was covered at COP 27 this year, but something a little less known is the implications of The Paris Agreement’s, Article 6 on carbon trading. This article brings to light the issues of emission reductions being double counted. Find out what this means for countries, but also how this will impact organisations with their net zero plans.

Now that COP27 has wrapped up, we wanted to do a bit of a debrief. So, to help make sense of what took place, and more importantly where we go from here, today we’re speaking with Ibukun Adebayo, Head of Strategic Initiatives at LSEG & Wale Shonibare, a Director at the African Development Bank. With over 600 million homes without electricity and making up less than 3% of global emissions. What does the ‘transition’ to clean energy or more importantly access to energy look like for Africa? What types of funding are we seeing, and where is it coming from? Tune in to find out.  

Joining Keesa Schreane in the Green Room this week, logging on from Hong Kong, was Darrenth Hawken, Director of Global Infrastructure and Sustainable Finance at London Stock Exchange Group.   Darrenth shared some of the findings of LSEG's latest 'Potholes on the Road to Sustainable Infrastructure' report, which highlights some of the major trends driving the current sustainable infrastructure investment marketplace, along with key data that will help refine the list of key players, flag the most important metrics to monitor and highlight the challenges looming for both investors and government sponsors. A record US$627 billion in sustainable infrastructure projects in the renewable energy and nuclear sectors were announced globally in 2021, up from US$275 billion in 2020. A total of 1,521 renewable and nuclear infrastructure projects were announced, up from 1,365 in 2020 and more than 3.5 times the total number of projects launched a decade ago. Solar projects are leading the way with a total of 863 new projects announced in 2021, followed by wind, which saw 442 new initiatives launched last year. Read the full report  https://www.refinitiv.com/en/infrastructure-investing/insights/sustainable-infrastructure/full-report  

This week on the Green Room we speak to Jaakko Kooroshy, Global Head of Sustainable Investment Research at FTSE Russell. Jaakko dives into our latest report 'COP 27 Net Zero Atlas'. Find out what countries are doing globally to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement back in 2015. Are the targets ambitious enough to keep global warming to well below 1.5C? Not quite, but find out why, and who's making the most progress. Read the full report https://www.ftserussell.com/research/cop27-net-zero-atlas

Jesica Andrews from the UN’s Environment Programme Finance Initiative joins us for an exciting conversation on the race to net zero. With COP 27 taking place this week it's a perfect time to get into the UN's many efforts in aligning countries and company goals to achieve net zero.  While we get into country-wide goals, Jes also runs the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance, one of many alliances for financial institutions. It sets and encourages concrete ambitious targets based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and how to integrate these into their day-to-day business practices. These companies are pledging to be net zero by 2050.  Listen to find out how targets are monitored and what happens if they're not met.  

LSEG’s Group Head of Sustainability Jane Goodland speaks to Sven Utermöhlen, RWE Renewables’ Offshore Wind Chief Executive Officer, to discuss the company’s roadmap towards net zero and the values of offshore wind. The conversation highlights RWE’s ‘Growing Green’ strategy, which includes ambitious plans to triple offshore wind capacity by 2030, and also how it intends to become a net positive employer when it comes to biodiversity.  The Net Zero Conversations series was filmed at the Net Zero Delivery Summit, hosted by the City of London Corporation in association with the COP 26 UK Presidency 2022 and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

LSEG’s Group Head of Sustainability Jane Goodland speaks to Heather Buchanan, Executive Director/Founder of the APPG on Fair Business Banking/Bankers for Net Zero initiative, to discuss the roadmap towards net zero, and the critical relationship between business and the financial services sector in delivering climate action. The Net Zero Conversations series was filmed at the Net Zero Delivery Summit, hosted by the City of London Corporation in association with the COP 26 UK Presidency 2022 and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).