Good Future

Berry Liberman is a passionate advocate for sustainability, she’s co-founder of the Small Giants impact investment firm, she’s the editor-in-chief of Dumbo Feather and, most importantly, she tells it how it is.

Berry and her husband Danny Almagor founded Small Giants in 2007 to support a new breed of businesses, that are focussed on empathy and building strong communities. They fund and manage a portfolio of companies as tools for social and environmental impact, to shift away from blind faith in economics, and instead embrace ecology as the path to living a life of passion and purpose.

Berry pushed me to think really deeply about the issues that are core to this podcast, and while the result was cathartic for me, I hope there’s lessons in there for you too.

As always you can find the show-notes on my website at www.Johntreadgold.com

And if you have a moment please do leave me a review on iTunes.

Enjoy!

I had a very special guest on the podcast this week. Paul Brest, has come all the way from Stanford University in California. He was previously the Dean of Stanford Law School, specialising in constitutional law, he then moved over to head up the Hewlett Foundation where he focussed on philanthropy and began to explore whether investors could contribute to social impact.

After 12 years there he returned to academia, to Stanford, where he remains as Professor Emeritus.

He’s in Sydney to talk and share ideas about all things philanthropy. He’s here as a guest of Perpetual Investments, and I was lucky enough to get some time to ask some questions of my own.

It was Paul’s writing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review that I first came across his work. His definitions and dissection of impact investing helped to strike a path for the sector’s development. And he continues to fuel debate with his unapologetic views on what it means to have genuine, enduring impact.

If you enjoyed it leave me a review on iTunes.

And for all the links you can head to the website at www.johntreadgold.com

You’ll also find all the links to social media over there as well.

Enjoy!

Andrew Kuper is the founder and CEO of Leapfrog Investments, he’s a pioneering impact investor, and he’s long been a hero of mine.

In this episode we go deep on what made his investment approach stand-out from the crowd when so many investors are adopting the impact investing label. He talked about his record breaking fund which has raised one billion Australian dollars (that’s billion, with a B), it’s the world’s biggest impact fund by a dedicated impact investing fund, and it’s estimated to impact some 70 million emerging consumers.

Ever since I dived headlong into the world of impact investing so many years ago, I’ve been interested in Leapfrog Investments. It has all the sophistication of the major Private Equity companies, but it’s led with empathy and inclusiveness at its core.

This focus allowed Leapfrog to identify opportunities in emerging markets, where poverty was a problem, but where a fresh and agile business model has proved to be a good solution.

Have a listen, if you have some feelings please share them on iTunes by leaving a review.

Also, all the links and book recommendations are on the website, www.johntreagold.com

Enjoy!

Mark Reading is head of the Atlassian Foundation, he’s the bridge between Atlassian, and the charities they choose to support through their Pledge-1% model.

The Foundation is pushing back against the most restrictive norms of the Not-For-Profit sector to drive new projects and funding models in the field of educating disadvantaged youth around the world.

I was introduced to Mark by, Adam McCurdie who’s the founder of Humanitix. You see Mark and the Atlassian foundation are supporting Humanitix through an innovative model of charitable impact investing, which he discusses.

So please have a listen.

You can check out all the links at www.johntreadgold.com

And, to get this podcast out to as many people as possible, please leave us a review on iTunes.

Enjoy!

Today’s guest is Pablo Berrutti. He’s head of Responsible investment (Asia-Pacific) at Colonial First State Global Asset Management and he’s a passionate advocate for the power of financial markets to change the world. There’s lots of optimism and there’s a really great explanation of ESG investing which is all about considering environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions.

Pablo’s passion for these issues comes through really clearly, I had a great time chatting with him. And was glad to help him get the word out about another venture he’s working on, it’s called Altiorem and it’s a cross between a library, a database and a search engine for all things related to sustainable investing.

You can find all the links and details from today’s show on the website at

Johntreadgold.com/goodfuturepodcast

Anna Crabb is General Manager of B Lab Australia. The team work tirelessly to manage the B Corp certification: assessing the sustainability credentials of purpose-led companies and giving them the B Corp tick if they’re up to scratch.

But, they’re also working to bring Benefit Companies to Australia. A Benefit Company is a new type of legal structure that offers Australian companies more options to permanently embed a mission and a purpose into their corporate structure.

Early on in her career Anna worked for the government, but she made the switch to consulting as she wanted a more dynamic workplace. She worked at SVA and a number of other consulting firms, and as she began to appreciate the power of businesses to make a genuine change in Australia, she soon discovered the B Corp movement.

I really enjoyed this chat with Anna. She confident and passionate and she’s making a big impact here in Australia.

If you like what you’re hearing, please give us a review on iTunes.

And for all the show notes and insights, check out the website www.johntreadgold.com/goodfuturepodcast

Enjoy!

Claire Rogers made a big shift in her career, she went from being head of digital banking at ANZ to become the CEO of Australia’s largest charity, World Vision Australia.

Claire’s move gives us a good indication of where this hugely influential charity is directing its priorities. As it recognises the evolution in how social impact is measured, in how the public want to engage, and the growing importance of partnerships.

She’s had a couple of years to find her feet at World Vision and she shared some really personal insights about the challenges she faced and the lessons she learned along the way, but also about how she adapted her skills and experience earned at ANZ, to help steer the growth of World Vision.

It’s interesting to hear Claire describe World Vision as a business, and donors as investors. It shares the language we use a lot on this podcast, language of impact investing, and of impact measurement.

I was keen to hear more about the finance side of things. Claire explained there’s a World Vision Impact Bond on the way, payment systems are going decidedly digital and they’re working with DFAT to help fund entrepreneurs who are stuck, in “the missing middle”.

If you like what you’re hearing, please give us a review on iTunes.

And for all the show notes and insights, check out the website www.johntreadgold.com/goodfuturepodcast

Enjoy!

Adam Verwey, is Founder and Director of Future Super. In our discussion he offered some great insights about the Australian superannuation system. We dug into the importance of investment managers including a focus on sustainability, climate change and environmental factors in their analysis, and it’s not just for ethical reasons. It’s also, simply good risk management, and it’s at the heart of long-term thinking. And when it comes to funding our retirement, long-term thinking is pretty damn important.

And now, more than ever, there’s lots of options, and Adam and his team are thinking deeply about how to shake things up.

I enjoyed this one, and I hope you do to.

If you want more info head over to the podcast website at www.Johntreadgold.com/goodfuturepodcast

What will the world look like in 2040? That’s the question Damon Gameau asks at the start of his new film called 2040. It’s a documentary that has a big impact because of its optimism. It dispenses with the dystopian future envisioned by so many sci-fi films. Instead, he takes a trip around the world looking for the sustainable technology of the future, that’s available today.

The film’s framed around Damon’s four-year-old daughter, and it jumps between the present and an imagined future, the year 2040 when his daughter will be 21. He sees a world where traditional farming techniques are used to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, where fields of sea-weed are grown in the ocean to feed us, and where small scale solar power systems can help less-developed communities leapfrog the need for complex, centralised power grids and instead harvest power from the sun and sell the excess to their neighbours.

The vital point here is that this isn’t fantasy, this is technology that’s already online, and if we embrace it, then not only can we help shift towards a renewable and circular economy, but the businesses that lead the way, the pioneers, well they’re looking like pretty damn savvy long-term investments.

It was great to have Damon in the Studio at Hub Australia in Sydney. You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger advocate for a shift towards sustainability than Damon. He’s working tirelessly to spread the message and it’s all well aligned with what we’re trying to do here at Good Future.

Final all the show-notes at www.johntreadgold.com

You’ve probably heard the line before, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” But in a world where inequality and the scarcity of resources are both increasing, perhaps a better statement is, “measure what matters”.

Georgina Camp is CEO and founder of Huber Social, a social impact consulting firm that wants to enable all organisations to measure their impact.

It’s something her background has certainly prepared her for… she started out in the army, then she studied law, before she shifted into humanitarian work with a masters in development studies.

The culmination of it all is Huber Social, and in my conversation today we dig into the organisation’s path towards growth, why impact measurement is more important than ever, for all organisations, and the pro’s and cons of using surveys to gather data.

I also took the opportunity to ask how I might put together a questionnaire for YOU! my listeners! That’s right I’m keen to get some insights about why you listen, what you like and dislike, and maybe even start to measure the impact that I’m having as the Good Future podcast grows and evolves.

So here it is, my survey, to give you the chance to tell me your thoughts, and let me know the impact the podcast is having on you.

Plus! One lucky survey-participant will win a book from those recommended by my guests.

https://www.mysurveygizmo.com/s3/5003934/Listener-insights-Good-Future-Podcast

You can also find it at johntreadgold.com

Enjoy!