ESG Quick Takes

By ESG Book

What's ESG Quick Takes about?

ESG Quick Takes is a podcast from ESG Book that delves into some of the most pressing issues shaping sustainable finance today. In each episode, host Isabel Verkes interviews experts in ESG, climate, data and technology on the latest trends from across the global sustainability landscape. Isabel is Climate and Sustainable Investing Director at ESG Book.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

ESG Quick Takes episodes:

04.23.2024
The SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule on Pause: What Happens Next?
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...
04.02.2024
NYU Stern Professor Alison Taylor: Higher Ground - How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World
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...
01.22.2024
Todd Cort on the links between sustainability metrics and financial performance, and why the debate continues.
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...
12.12.2023
Professor Ioannis Ioannou: Why there is no such thing as a sustainable company (it's complicated...)
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...
11.14.2023
Damilola Ogunbiyi on Clean Energy in Emerging Markets - Anticipating COP28
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...
07.18.2023
Tom Gosling: sometimes being virtuous costs money
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...
06.30.2023
The next ESG reporting challenge: emerging markets and multi-national conglomerates
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...
05.25.2023
The role of nature in the corporate climate transition: with WWF-UK CEO Tanya Steele
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...
05.16.2023
ESG as common sense: Georg Kell on the future of ESG
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...
04.24.2023
The ESG Data Market: A US Perspective
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...
03.23.2023
Sustainable investing: According to UBS’ Amantia Muhedini
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.
03.16.2023
ESG policy digest: Regulatory developments that shape the future of ESG and Climate
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...
03.10.2023
Climate Financing with Bond Markets: An Optimistic Perspective from CBI's Sean Kidney
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...
02.06.2023
ESG Quick Takes 10 - Making an impact through climate VC investing
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...
12.09.2022
ESG Quick Takes 9 - Sustainability goals: a decade of delivery. How Google Cloud is helping corporates with their sustainability journey
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...
11.23.2022
ESG Quick Takes 8 - COP27 Debrief: What investors should know.
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...
08.22.2022
ESG Quick Takes 7 - US Climate and Energy Policy is behind
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...
08.19.2022
ESG Quick Takes 6 - Investing on a Net-Zero Emissions Budget is Investing
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...
07.22.2022
ESG Quick Takes 5 - All the Problems with ESG Investing
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...
06.08.2022
ESG Quick Takes 4 - Decarbonizing Heavy Industry
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...
02.18.2022
Quick Take 3 - Making Crypto More Sustainable
In this episode of our Sustainable Finance Quick Takes podcast, we talk about the efforts around making crypto more sustainable. Our guest is Doug Miller who is working on renewable energy solutions for crypto miners and exchanges. Doug’s work is...
12.20.2021
Quick Take 2 - Taking corporate sustainability local: the case of NYC
In this episode of Decoding Sustainable Finance Quick Takes, we look at the role of finance and businesses in local sustainability efforts – zooming in on NYC. Our guest is Marianna Koval from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business, who...
11.29.2021
4 - Navigating the ocean of ESG data
In the fourth episode of Arabesque's Decoding Sustainable Finance, Ulrika is joined by Dr Todd Bridges, Global Head of Sustainable Investing and ESG Research at Arabesque S-Ray, to discuss how to navigate ESG data, cut through noise and identify what...
11.16.2021
Quick Take 1 - The Evolving Language of Climate Change
For our first Quick Takes, we look into how we talk about climate change, and how that changed over time. "Climate change" is a loaded term. Its just two words, but people have very different connotations. What are the messages...
11.05.2021
3 - The Big Disruptor of the Finance Industry
In the third episode of Arabesque's Decoding Sustainable Finance, Ulrika is joined by Yasin Rosowsky, Co-CEO of Arabesque AI, to discuss AI and how it is transforming the world of finance.
09.27.2021
2 - The Rise of Climate Investing
In the second episode of Arabesque's Decoding Sustainable Finance, Ulrika is joined by Thomas Schafbauer, Partner at Arabesque Asset Management, to discuss climate investing and its impact on both finance and sustainability.
08.13.2021
1 - The Evolving Regulatory Landscape
In the first episode of Arabesque's Decoding Sustainable Finance, Ulrika is joined by Inna Amesheva, Arabesque Director of ESG Regulatory Solutions, to discuss the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

What's ESG Quick Takes about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

ESG Quick Takes episodes:

The SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule on Pause: What Happens Next?

NYU Stern Professor Alison Taylor: Higher Ground - How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World

Todd Cort on the links between sustainability metrics and financial performance, and why the debate continues.

Professor Ioannis Ioannou: Why there is no such thing as a sustainable company (it's complicated...)

Damilola Ogunbiyi on Clean Energy in Emerging Markets - Anticipating COP28

Tom Gosling: sometimes being virtuous costs money

The next ESG reporting challenge: emerging markets and multi-national conglomerates

The role of nature in the corporate climate transition: with WWF-UK CEO Tanya Steele

ESG as common sense: Georg Kell on the future of ESG

The ESG Data Market: A US Perspective

Sustainable investing: According to UBS’ Amantia Muhedini

ESG policy digest: Regulatory developments that shape the future of ESG and Climate

Climate Financing with Bond Markets: An Optimistic Perspective from CBI's Sean Kidney

ESG Quick Takes 10 - Making an impact through climate VC investing

ESG Quick Takes 9 - Sustainability goals: a decade of delivery. How Google Cloud is helping corporates with their sustainability journey

ESG Quick Takes 8 - COP27 Debrief: What investors should know.

ESG Quick Takes 7 - US Climate and Energy Policy is behind

ESG Quick Takes 6 - Investing on a Net-Zero Emissions Budget is Investing

ESG Quick Takes 5 - All the Problems with ESG Investing

ESG Quick Takes 4 - Decarbonizing Heavy Industry

Quick Take 3 - Making Crypto More Sustainable

Quick Take 2 - Taking corporate sustainability local: the case of NYC

4 - Navigating the ocean of ESG data

Quick Take 1 - The Evolving Language of Climate Change

3 - The Big Disruptor of the Finance Industry

2 - The Rise of Climate Investing

1 - The Evolving Regulatory Landscape