In this episode, Bruno Sarda, host of the EY Sustainability Matters podcast, meets with prior guests to talk about the significant developments in sustainability over the past year, ahead of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference or COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, later this November.

Amy Brachio, EY Global Vice Chair for Sustainability, and Matt Bell, EY Global Leader for Climate Change and Sustainability Services, share their experiences from the 2024 New York Climate Week . They discuss the transition from addressing environmental issues in siloes to a comprehensive view that acknowledges the interdependence of various sustainability factors that must be addressed together.

The speakers share their expectations for the upcoming COP29, underscoring emerging trends, such as the increased emphasis on finance and carbon markets to support the transition.

In the final part of the episode, Amy and Matt express optimism about the future, talking about the businesses' desire for innovation, investment in new technologies and a collective willingness to undertake systemic change.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

With the upcoming 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, also known as COP16, this episode of the Sustainability Matters podcast explores the critical link between nature, biodiversity and human wellbeing. EY leaders Alex Banks and Ana Luci Grizzi join host Bruno Sarda to discuss the challenges and the key decisions that should be taken for meaningful progress to be made.

The thought-provoking discussion emphasizes the need to integrate biodiversity conservation into our economic models and addresses the interconnected threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. Also highlighted is the importance of protecting the rights of vulnerable communities who are most affected by these environmental challenges.

• There is an inseparable relationship between climate change and biodiversity loss.

• It is necessary to integrate biodiversity strategies into existing economic growth models.

• Clients need to understand their nature-related risks, impacts and dependencies.

• Sustainable solutions have to uphold human rights, cultural sensitivities and community impact considerations.

• The transition to a nature-positive approach is both an imperative and an opportunity.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

When we sit down to enjoy a meal, at home or in a restaurant, we're rarely aware of the environmental toll our food choices may take. However, the reality is that the journey from farm to table carries a significant environmental cost, often unseen but deeply impactful. This episode of the EY Sustainability Matters podcast delves deeper into the impact the global food system has on climate change, biodiversity and land use. It also explores how digital innovation can be leveraged to make food production more sustainable without sacrificing quality or taste.

Join host Bruno Sarda, EY Americas Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, and Hanne Thornam, EY Nordics Head of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, as they interview two leaders in the food sustainability sector to uncover the challenges facing this industry and how technology is playing a key role in addressing them.

Stephen Nolan, CEO of Nutritics and the 2022 EY Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year, shares his insights on integrating sustainable practices within the food and hospitality industry. He debunks myths that equate sustainability with compromised quality or financial viability. Alongside him, Pete Statham, Head of Sustainability and Government Relations at Sysco GB, the world's leading broadline food distributor, discusses the practical applications of Nutritics' software in making large-scale, impactful changes. He shares how even a slight change in one menu item can multiply its positive or negative environmental effect, when delivered to thousands of customers across the world.

The discussion closes on a hopeful note, with the guests discussing the vast potential and opportunity that exists within the market to create a more sustainable and resilient food industry for the future.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

For the people of Palau, a nation of over 300 small islands in the Western Pacific, climate change is not a future threat, but an immediate and pressing reality. Rising temperatures and sea levels have changed their way of life and are already impacting communities. How are they confronting these changes, and what can the rest of the world learn from their experiences?

In this episode, host Bruno Sarda is joined by Mikayla Etpison from the Palau Office of Climate Change, and Martine Crowe, a member of the EY team that codeveloped a broad climate strategy with the government of Palau.

Mikayla emphasizes the disproportionate impact of climate change on Pacific nations, which, despite contributing less than 1% of all global emissions, are experiencing some of the most severe consequences. Warmer oceans, typhoons and coral bleaching threaten delicate ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Mikayla points out that Palau has limited resources for mitigation projects and the need for support from the larger emitters is critical.

The discussion also covers Palau's proactive measures, including a government climate policy, codeveloped by EY teams and Mikayla's team, that integrates traditional Palauan marine conservation practices.

This episode is a testament to the resilience of island nations and the critical role of collaboration in forging a path toward a sustainable future. Listen to understand the challenges faced by Palau, the innovative strategies they employ, and the lessons they offer to the world in the fight against climate change.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

The case for climate action is often presented in terms of facts and data: detailing scientific evidence and financial risk. But is it time to explore different ways to communicate the message; to try an approach that focuses more on human stories and emotions?

In this episode of the Sustainability Matters podcast, Bruno Sarda is joined by two colleagues from EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS): Managing Director Karima Zedan at Ernst & Young LLP and the Gareth Jenkins, EY Global CCaSS Head of Creative at Ernst & Young LLP, to discuss ways to reframe the sustainability narrative.

Behavior change is not happening fast enough to meet climate change realities. The guests suggest that engaging the hearts as well as the minds of businesses, and bringing to life the impact on people, culture and society, is a more compelling narrative. Gareth points out that people, whether at home or the boardroom, respond to stories instinctively, and can be challenged and inspired by them.

The guests discuss the importance of engaging with different audiences, from the C-suite to investors and employees. Karima emphasizes how sustainability initiatives may have a positive impact not only on the company and the brand but also on the employees and wider community.

Gareth then gives some fascinating insight into the innovative EY Four Futures experience that was first presented at COP28 — an immersive installation that explores different outcomes from four potential future scenarios. Through the power of hearing each of the four stories, Four Futures can inspire joint action today.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

As more businesses focus on net-zero targets, voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) need to play an increasingly crucial role. The VCMs are a necessary and important tool for offsetting hard-to-decarbonize emissions, and there is a vital need to scale them; however, there are many challenges in their current state. In this episode of the Sustainability Matters podcast, Bruno Sarda and EY Sustainability Global Account Lead for Microsoft, Alissa Byersdorfer, examine the VCMs' growth and how they needs to evolve with Brian Marrs — Senior Director for Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft.

Bruno sets the scene with a brief history of the VCMs and carbon as a commodity. He shares that VCMs are growing and are now a key component of many businesses' decarbonization strategies but there are some significant challenges around credibility and quality. Alissa explains how the alliance between Microsoft and the global EY organization helps other businesses achieve their own decarbonization goals through sustainable strategies and data management solutions.

With a commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030, Microsoft is a pioneer in this space. Brian discusses the challenges Microsoft has faced and how the VCMs need to evolve to focus more on quality carbon removal products. Brian covers why Microsoft's strategy is solely focused on investing in carbon removal programs and how they have approached the challenges of the carbon market with their four north stars on quality.

Lastly, Brian shares some first-hand advice for companies exploring VCMs to achieve their net-zero goals.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

In this episode of the EY Sustainability Matters podcast, the spotlight is turned to the often underestimated impact of the global building and materials industry, specifically cement production, on climate change. Despite playing a crucial role in our everyday lives, this industry's significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and extensive energy and natural resource consumption is often overlooked.

Host Bruno Sarda is joined by EY Latin America Climate Change and Sustainability Services leader Ruth Guevara and Vicente Saiso, Global Vice President of Sustainability at CEMEX, a global leader in the building materials industry, to talk about bold decarbonization strategies in such an important sector.

Vicente acknowledges the cement industry's significant contribution to global emissions but highlights its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, mentioning key strategies involving alternative fuels, use of waste materials, and adoption of innovative technologies such as hydrogen in production processes. He explains how, through this process to decarbonize, CEMEX has found business opportunities and cost benefits.

Ruth and Vicente discuss the role of waste management in creating a circular economy in the cement industry. Vicente shares how CEMEX turned waste repurposing into a business opportunity by providing services to construction customers to manage their construction and demolition waste, which contributes significantly to global waste management.

The episode then explores the innovative and ambitious technologies CEMEX is pursuing to help them play the opposite role and actually reduce environmental impact through cement production.

Lastly, the guests shed light on how stakeholder support is crucial for companies' decarbonization initiatives.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

In this episode of the EY Sustainability Matters Podcast, host Bruno Sarda discusses with Mary de Wysocki, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco, how companies can leverage technology for a more sustainable future.

The intersection between business, technology and sustainability is accelerating, with companies increasingly digitizing their operations. This can significantly reduce waste, energy and materials required to deliver products and services. However, de Wysocki warns that if digital transformation is not done in a sustainable manner, it could have a damaging effect on our planet due to the large energy needs of cloud service providers and data farms.

Companies need to integrate sustainability into their digital transformation strategies and harness the value of data to drive these initiatives. De Wysocki also emphasizes the importance of deploying emerging technologies like Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation responsibly, considering the social dimensions such as ethics, privacy information, security, digital equity and human rights.

Cisco is already embedding sustainability into its operations and moving towards a regenerative, green future. They have set three priorities in its environmental strategy - accelerating the transition to clean energy, evolving the business from linear to circular, and investing in resilient ecosystems. Cisco is also working on developing a data strategy to create consistent sustainability data across the enterprise, with rigorous reviews to ensure reliability and trust.

De Wysocki concludes by highlighting the importance of partnerships and collaboration for achieving sustainability goals and emphasizes the need for inclusivity and a healthy planet for future generations.

• Digital technologies, like AI and automation, have the potential to transform the environmental impact of companies, reducing waste and lowering energy use.
• There are environmental impact risks posed by intensive energy users like the Information and Communications Technology sector and cloud service providers if not powered by clean energy.
• Sustainability needs to be integral to business strategy, with an emphasis on a "regenerative future".
• Challenges include managing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing digital equity issues and appreciating the role of nature-based solutions in mitigating climate change. Companies should increase their commitment to transparency and accountability, and look to create partnerships in their value chain.

© 2024 Ernst & Young LLP

Thought leaders, global decision-makers and policymakers will be convening in Dubai in late-November for the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP28, to assess and address the state of global affairs on the climate agenda.

In this episode of the EY Sustainability Matters podcast, host Bruno Sarda is joined in person by Amy Brachio, EY Global Vice Chair for Sustainability, and Matt Bell, EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader. They explore COP28 and the importance of the first-ever Global Stocktake - a checkpoint discussion on the progress made since the Paris Agreement adoption in 2015.

With just seven years left to cut emissions by half and limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world has reached a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change. Amy and Matt share their views on the possible learnings from the Global Stocktake, as well as on the business and government perspective of COP28, and why it is so vital for those stakeholders to be represented there.

With a record number of people - 90,000 - set to attend the summit, the podcast looks at the progress since last year's COP. It also explains why, in these tumultuous times with one global crisis following another, more voices outside of governments must be part of the dialogue on climate change. The guests end on a hopeful note agreeing that the upcoming COP28 is likely to bring more positive outcomes and cross-sector collaborations.

• COP28 includes the first Global Stocktake to assess progress to address and adapt to climate change on a country-by-country level.
• The dialogue and collaboration between government and business across sectors are vital for meaningful progress.
• Recent extremes in climate have created more urgency for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
• New reporting standards are driving greater transparency and accountability.
• Global tensions, economic uncertainty and political landscapes impact progress, but businesses are still driving climate action through net-zero commitments.
• EY and other businesses attending COP28 are looking to have an authentic impact and play a role in driving meaningful action.

© 2023 Ernst & Young LLP

As businesses prepare to meet the growing demand for transparency in emissions reporting, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is leading the way in setting global standards for climate target setting. In a recent episode of the EY Sustainability Matters podcast, host Bruno Sarda is joined by Alberto Carrillo Pineda, cofounder and CTO of the SBTi, and the two members of the EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Rob Bradley, Managing Director, Ernst & Young LLP, and Miranda Nayyar, Manager, Ernst & Young LLP.

Setting, reporting and delivering on credible climate targets is becoming increasingly important as mandatory climate regulations come into effect. EY teams and the SBTi are collaborating in this area to support clients in committing to and setting science-based targets, and in developing decarbonization pathways to meet these goals. The EY organization and the SBTi recently co-authored research on the landscape of corporate measurement, reporting and verification related to science-based target setting, which is available to read (SBTi-EY-Landscape-Analysis-of-Measurement-and-Reporting-of-Science-Based-Targets.pdf (sciencebasedtargets.org)).

Pineda emphasizes that the SBTi's focus is on setting the global standard for science-based climate targets to promote accountability and transparency. The speakers address the challenges companies face in climate target setting, particularly in gathering robust data and achieving set targets.

The discussion also explores the impact of emerging climate disclosures, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission (SEC), and how companies can prepare for these.

Looking to the future, Pineda is optimistic about the actual implementation, and notes that the SBTi standards will continue to evolve.

• The importance of setting climate targets has increased, and with more companies making public disclosures, issues of standardization have arisen.
• The SBTi is evolving standards to provide a globally standardized way to set climate targets and assess decarbonization progress.
• Setting of targets should go hand in hand with a robust decarbonization strategy to deliver on commitments.
• Key challenges are data collection and access to data across the value chain.
• The SBTi is moving toward a formal standard-setting structure and remains dedicated to continuously evolving and revising their standards to ensure alignment with the most up-to-date scientific research and evidence.

© 2023 Ernst & Young LLP