ESG Currents

There’s a $10-trillion opportunity in nature-positive investing, says Ingrid Kukuljan, head of impact and sustainable investing at Federated Hermes. About half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature, yet relentless exploitation has led to risks ranging from labor productivity to the global supply of oranges. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI analyst Grace Osborne talks to Kukuljan about the risks of biodiversity loss, corporate champions of a regenerative economy and her hopes for COP16 next month.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her forthcoming book, “What if We Get Right?: Visions of Climate Futures,” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson interviews 20 climate thought leaders across disciplines to answer the critical question posed in the title. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane is joined by Dr. Johnson to discuss the book, her work with the Urban Ocean Lab, finding inspiration in biophilia and a climate-action Venn diagram. They also talk about the absurdity of having constant growth and scarcity as fundamental principles, what we can learn from Marvel’s “Black Panther” movie, and much more. This episode was recorded on Sept. 6. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ESG has come under fire in recent years as investors have struggled to understand the tradeoffs and benefits of including “values-based” factors in their investment process. On this episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior ESG analyst Andy Stevenson is joined by Lukasz Pomorski, Senior Vice President at Acadian Asset Management and author of “The Puzzle of Sustainable Investment,” to discuss how data related to governance, climate and wages may help investors build their portfolios. This episode was recorded on Sept. 3. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid growing concerns over ESG risks, today’s investors are taking a more active role as owners or lenders in corporations, whether through engaging with management, voting at annual meetings or just choosing to divest. This is especially true for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the owner of one of the largest stakes in almost every listed company in the world. On this episode of ESG Currents, senior ESG analyst Rob Du Boff is joined by Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer of the fund’s manager, Norges Bank Investment Management, who leads ownership and responsible investment activities.

This episode was recorded on Aug. 6.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturna Capital views the “the consideration of environmental, social and governance factors as essential in forming portfolios of high-quality companies that are better positioned to reduce risk and identify opportunities.” In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane and senior ESG credit analyst Chris Ratti are joined by Elizabeth Alm and Levi Stewart Zurbrugg, senior investment analysts and portfolio managers at Saturna Capital. They discuss how the consideration of ESG factors differs across equities and credits, why the energy transition will be messy, the overlooked impact of bonds, the truths and falsehoods in critiques of ESG, and much more. This episode was recorded on August 18.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most controversial topics in sustainable finance is the voluntary carbon market. On paper, these offsets can match companies seeking to cut emissions with projects that can reduce carbon in the atmosphere. But the industry has faced allegations ranging from greenwashing to outright fraud. On this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI Senior ESG Analyst Rob Du Boff discusses the future of this market with Tom Montag, who runs carbon-credit management firm Rubicon Carbon after a storied career on Wall Street. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Corporate sustainability takes many shapes and forms, and nothing articulates this better than looking through the lenses of a commercial fishing company and a credit reporting agency. On this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane talks with American Seafoods Chief Sustainability Officer Tim Fitzgerald and Cristina Banahan, the global head of citizenship and sustainability at TransUnion, at the recent Bloomberg Green Festival. They discuss broad topics, such as impact vs. materiality, and company-specific areas of focus including decarbonizing fishing fleets, protecting data privacy and more.

This episode was recorded on July 11.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As sustainable fixed-income markets continue to develop, debt instruments can actively drive impact. On this week’s episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast Stephen Liberatore, head of ESG & Impact for Global Fixed Income at Nuveen, joins host Chris Ratti, BI ESG credit analyst, to discuss the state of green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds.

This episode was recorded on July 10.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climeworks began operations in May at its largest direct air capture and storage facility to date. The Iceland plant has capacity to remove 36,000 metric tons of CO2 from the air per year. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane is joined by Climeworks CFO Andreas Aepli to discuss the company’s technology and how it plans to scale up to collect 1 million metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere a year by 2030. They also talk about the energy requirements of direct air capture, how the cost of the technology is changing, the importance of removal credits for CO2 and more.

This episode was recorded on June 20.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a very clear green premium for new operationally net zero carbon buildings, says Tom Walker, co-head of global listed real assets at Schroder Property Investment. With buildings accounting for 40% of global emissions, real estate is under pressure to stay ahead of environmental legislation. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI analyst Grace Osborne is joined by Walker and Vincent Van Bijleveld, the director of the Global Real Estate Engagement Network, to discuss the role of technology, relationships and capital spending in building a net zero world.
This conversation was recorded on July 2. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.