Good Future

We talk a lot about impact investing on this show, and while we tend to focus on the deals and the companies, we often gloss over the more challenging process of impact measurement and management.

Right now is an important time to explore these issues, because the structures of impact investing are at an inflection point. The market has realised the importance of using consistent systems, and the frameworks are starting to consolidate, they’re harmonising.

Today we have Dean Hand on the show to help us explore impact measurement and management, she’s Chief Research Officer at the GIIN (the Global Impact Investment Network), and she’s had long experience with impact reporting, both at the GIIN, which is a pivotal player in developing these impact measurement and management systems.

In this episode Dean explains both the origins and the utility of the leading frameworks that the GIIN manages. But we also explore the broader alphabet soup of frameworks, standards and principles that are out there.

And, on this important topic, I want to take the research further. So I’m going to take the insights from this episode with Dean, and from the next few episodes with other leading practitioners, and pull it all together into a special report.

It’ll have input from global leaders in the space, with case-studies highlighting leading practice in the market.

It should be out soon, but if you don’t want to miss it sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll get it in your inbox as soon as it’s released.

You can sign-up on my website at www.johntreadgold.com and of course that’s where you’ll find all the show notes from the podcast, and all my other various writings and work.

Enjoy!

If there’s one person you want to speak to, to get the lowdown on everything impact investing in Australia as well as round the world, it’s Rosemary Addis.

She’s been a guest on the show before, and it’s great to have her back to talk about everything from Australia’s new government, the growing pains facing ESG investing, how impact will integrate with the global disclosure rules, as well as her new venture, Mondiale Impact.

Rosemary has been pivotal to the development of sustainable finance, she co-founded Impact Investing Australia, she’s our representative on the G8’s Social Impact Taskforce, and she has her ear to the ground on the trends and innovations in this rapidly developing world of impact finance.

For all the show notes jump on to my website at www.johntreadgold.com

And if you’d like to leave a review, iTunes is the best place for that, because it helps more people find the show.

Enjoy

This episode is a little different, because Cory Ames interviews me.

Cory hails from San Antonio in Texas, he hosts the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation podcast, and when he invited me back onto his show, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share it with you all. To offer a different perspective on my work, my ideas, and how the Good Future podcast has evolved.

You’ll hear a lot more of my voice in this episode than usual, but I did try to turn the questions back to Cory, to dig into the social enterprise sector in the US and understand the opportunities and challenges he’s seeing to drive positive change, through business and innovation.

Now this is a different format for me, so please do let me know what you think. I’m always open to feedback, so feel free to send me an email, all the details are on my website at www.johntreadgold.com.

I’m really eager to hear from you all, you can also reach out to me on my personal LinkedIn page, as well as the Good Future Instagram account.

Enjoy!

This week, I’m speaking to Reece Proudfoot, he’s Head of Innovation & Impact Investment at WWF Australia.

That’s right, the charity with the Panda as it’s logo, that’s worked hard for decades on conservation and saving animal habitats. They’re going beyond their projects in the field and they’re also investing in systems change by supporting high-impact enterprises.

And that’s what we’re all about here on the Good Future podcast, I’m your host John Treadgold, and I’m asking the big questions about the business of sustainability, the new economy, and how your spending and investment decisions can have an impact.

Reece found his way to WWF as a campaigner, but he knew all too well the challenge of raising awareness as the world has grown noisier, as well as raising money when people have so many worthy causes in front of them.

Like all good startup founders, he made a pivot, and helped launch Panda Labs, WWF’s impact accelerator program. Since them they’ve seeded and grown enterprises like OpenSC, a supply chain platform that tracks food sources on the blockchain.

And more recently, the business ImpactIO, which brings people together around a central challenge, and then links project leaders, with both supporters and investors.

Their most recent Challenge is called Innovate to Regenerate and it’s a partnership with Damon Gameau who has released a new short film, all about bringing people together to Regenerate Australia.

Now I’m sure you’d hear Reece talk about it, so let’s get into it.

All the links and show notes are on my website at www.johntreadgold.com, and if you’d like to leave a review, which would be greatly appreciated, you can do that over on Apple podcasts.

Alright here’s my conversation, with Reece Proudfoot, here we go!

Rachel Halpern is the newly installed Head of Sustainable at asset consulting firm Jana.

Now asset consultants like Jana have an important role for big investors like super funds and insurance companies. They analyse and recommend which investment managers would be a good fit for their portfolios. And now, with the addition of a head of sustainability, it becomes very clear that ESG and Impact are essential considerations for institutional investors.

It was useful to explore the business of asset consulting, to understand the role it plays in advising Australia’s biggest investors, and how they’re integrating sustainability issues into their analysis.

When we dug into Rachel’s background it becomes clear why she’s a great fit for this new role. And we discussed the skills that are most useful if you’re trying to shift your career towards ESG and the new world of sustainable finance.

Have a listen, I really enjoyed this one. You can find all the links and show notes on my website at www.johntreadgold.com

Enjoy my conversation with Rachel Halpern.

Liza McDonald is head of Responsible Investment at Aware Super, one of Australia’s largest super funds, which means she and her team are not only responsible for the retirement savings of millions of Australians, but they also have shareholdings in companies all over the world, which gives them an opportunity to engage, and maybe even influence these companies to make positive change.

Aware Super is not only leading in being one of the largest funds in Australia, it’s also leading in terms of its approach to sustainability. They committed to net-zero last year, they’ve divested from coal, and they’re expanding their impact investment footprint.

I spoke to Liza about all these topics and more. She was generous in helping us understand her investment and analysis approach, as well as her philosophical view of using investment capital to drive change.

We also dug into how Aware Super works with outside fund managers. We discussed the criteria they look for in terms of ESG and sustainability, and their plans to bring more of it in-house.

And, a small update on some of the numbers mentioned in the conversation. When we discuss Aware’s Impact investment portfolio the current status is 14 assets, valued at $2.9 billion.

I really enjoyed this one: I hope it offers insights to both the retail crowd, who are looking for a super fund that’s aligned with their values, as well as institutional investors who are keen to understand what Aware Super looks for in their ESG mandates.

You can find all the links and show notes on my website at… www.johntreadgold.com

Enjoy

Sally Mccutchan has been a vital leader and catalyst for the growth of impact investing in recent years. After a career in investment banking and consulting, she took on the role of CEO of Impact Investing Australia, an organisation dedicated to catalysing growth in the sector.

We go deep in this one, we discuss Sally and the team’s hard work to try and get an impact wholesaler off the ground in Australia. That’s a work in progress, and Sally explains the huge opportunity there.

But we also look forward, and dig into the exciting news that Sally will be bringing the hugely influential Bridges Fund Management to Australia. They’re already raising their first private equity fund, and running the impact ruler over companies poised for growth.

Bridges was originally founded, in the UK, by Sir Ronald Cohen and Michelle Giddens, they’ve both been guests on the show previously, so you can wind back and hear more about their journeys and the work they do.

So let’s get into it.

You can find all the show notes on my website at www.Johntreadgold.com, and, if you enjoy this one please do jump onto Apple Music and leave me a review, because that will help more people find the show.

Enjoy!

This week is the final episode in this series of conversations that explores impact investing in listed equities.

Impact investing has a long history in private markets, but when it comes to investing in public companies that are listed on a stock exchange, it’s a lot harder, to measure your impact, and to influence the companies you’re investing in.

Seb Beloe was an early guest of the show, and he’s back to tell us more about his fund, which is called the WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund. He’s head of Research at WHEB Asset management, and he’s a deep thinker about companies and their impact on the world.

We go beyond talking about metrics and frameworks, to explore the nature of the companies that are leaders in the space. And, when it came to the prickly issue of additionality, the discussion went deep, Seb has some very clear views on the issue.

And, I’d like to introduce you to the sponsor of this series and that’s, the ACCR, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. The ACCR engages with companies as a shareholder, advocating for them to improve their environmental and social practices, and in the process make the company more sustainable.

You can get all the show notes at www.johntreadgold.com

Enjoy

We’re continuing our series that explores how an investor can have impact in listed equity markets.

Impact investing has a long history in private markets, but when it comes to investing in public companies that are listed on a stock exchange, it’s a lot harder, to measure your impact, and to influence the companies you’re investing in.

Tim King is here to talk about his approach to impact at Melior Investment Management. Tim is chief investment officer, he has deep experience in wrangling equity markets, and as you’ll hear today, he’s applied his broad research and analysis skills to measuring impact and driving positive change.

Melior certainly focus on identifying the most high impact companies in Australia, but they also appreciate the importance of leading large, well-known companies in their transition towards impact, in adopting renewable energy, and re-aligning their corporate purpose beyond the narrow metrics… of financial reports, and towards broader societal outcomes.

The sponsor of this series is ACCR, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. The ACCR engages with companies as a shareholder, advocating for them to improve their environmental and social practices, and in the process make the company more sustainable. It’s no easy feat, but through a modest holding of shares, and with the help of a high-performing team, they put forward shareholder resolutions that focus on positive social and environmental outcomes.

They’re a group of pragmatic lawyers and finance experts, and by utilising shareholder resolutions, they approach some of Australia’s biggest companies in a forum they can’t ignore.

Now to put a resolution forward, at least 100 shareholders in a company must come together. So, if you hold shares in ASX-listed companies and want to be involved in holding them to account on their environmental and social impacts, then let ACCR know about it. Head to www.accr.org.au/shareholders to get involved.

They’re independent, not-for-profit and they’re taking action for more sustainable businesses in Australia.

Alright, let’s get going, here’s my conversation, with Timothy King.

Enjoy

Impact investing has a long history in private markets, but when it comes to investing in public companies that are listed on a stock exchange, it’s a lot harder, to measure your impact, and to influence the companies you’re investing in.

Today, I’m speaking with Tim Crockford, all about the Regnan Global Equities Impact Solutions Fund.

Tim is head of Equity Impact Solutions, he’s based in the UK, and he has a unique approach to analysing companies, and to measuring impact. He and his team go to remarkable lengths to explore not only companies of interest, but examining the market, and indeed the complete supply chain that surrounds the problem they hope the company is working to solve.

They use the problem as the baseline, and work to find the organisations that are best positioned to solve it.

Tim is really passionate about this stuff, and I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did.

I’d also like to introduce you to the sponsor of this series and that’s, the ACCR, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. The ACCR engages with companies as a shareholder, advocating for them to improve their environmental and social practices, and in the process make the company more sustainable. It’s no easy feat, but through a modest holding of shares, and with the help of a high-performing team, they put forward shareholder resolutions that focus on positive social and environmental outcomes.

They’re a group of pragmatic lawyers and finance experts, and by utilising shareholder resolutions, they approach some of Australia’s biggest companies in a forum they can’t ignore.

Head to www.accr.org.au/shareholders to get involved.

Now Tim was kind enough to go into a lot of detail about his approach, and so I do need to emphasise that, as always, nothing in this podcast is financial advice. Please do seek your own professional advice before making investment decisions.

All the show notes are at www.johntreadgold.com

Enjoy