Money for Change (EN)

How can we create a fair and sustainable world? The Money for Change podcast explores how money shapes our economy and global progress. We do this together with systems thinker and chief economist at Triodos Bank Hans Stegeman.

COP30 is just behind us and the outcomes of the 30th conference on climate change are to put it mildly, very mixed. Slow progress has been made, but in the end no major breakthroughs: no global agreements on deforestation and the phasing out of fossil fuels have been made, illustrating the slow advancement of effectively combating climate change. On top of that, the United States had no formal delegation present, while fossil-fuel lobbyists outnumbered the representatives of any single country.

Does this mean it is all doom and gloom? We don’t think so. Together with Sven Renon, Impact manager at Triodos Bank, we speak what the near future could hold for us. We discuss the proposal of some countries to create a pathway for phasing out fossil fuels. In 2026, Colombia will host, in collaboration with the Netherlands, a separate conference next year dedicated to shape this pathway. What potential does a ‘coalition of the willing’ have to accelerate the energy transition? We also reflect on the role of other agents; what can we as Triodos Bank, other financial institutions and you as a listener do to enhance the most important transition of our time?

Find out in this episode of Money for Change!

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us! 

How can we create a fair and sustainable world? The Money for Change podcast explores how money shapes our economy and global progress. We do this together with systems thinker and chief economist at Triodos Bank Hans Stegeman.

On October 14th, Microsoft announced that it will end the free support for Windows 10. Yet, around 400 million computers still run on this operating system, and roughly half of them cannot be updated to Windows 11 due to outdated hardware. This is a clear example of the phenomenon planned obsolescence; a business strategy where products are intentionally designed with a limited lifespan, forcing consumers to buy replacements or upgrades.

Ironically, this obvious case of planned obsolescence coincided with International E-Waste Day, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about the growing problem of electronic waste. In this episode of Money for Change we reflect with Matija Kajic, sustainability researcher at Triodos Bank, on the broader negative impact planned obsolescence has on our society and the deeper issue it reveals in our economic system; the addiction to limitless growth.

We also explore what can be done to address this challenge, for example by advocating for legislation through initiatives like the Right to Repair and the push for corporate transparency to report about the lifespans of their products. Furthermore, we take a critical perspective by examining the difficulties of building a strong business case based on circularity and repairability

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Mark Clayton took over the reins of Triodos Bank UK in May of this year. He recently caught up with biologist, presenter and Triodos customer Gillian Burke to provide a flavour of what he has been doing in his first six months in the role and answer questions posed by customers.

Mark covers questions across a wide range of topics, including executive pay, business banking, community energy projects, and what prompted his decision to make the leap to a values-based bank. We hope you enjoy getting to know Mark better, and our thanks to the UK customers who submitted questions that helped shaped the questions and themes.

To find out more about Triodos Bank UK visit: www.triodos.co.uk

Or follow us on social media at:

www.instagram.com/triodosuk

https://www.linkedin.com/company/triodos-bank

www.facebook.com/triodosbankuk

Thanks for listening! 

What is needed on the road to a sustainable, just world? In the Money for Change podcast, we discuss the news, global developments, and science, with a special focus on the economy and the role of money. We do this together with systems thinker and chief economist at Triodos Bank Hans Stegeman.

Values-based banks has gained momentum over the past decade as more financial institutions put ethics, transparency, and social impact at core of their business models.Yet, despite this growth, it represents still a relatively small part of global finance and the member banks of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV, are often not the biggest players in their market. Why is that the case? And does the role of values-based banks differ in emerging economies? We discuss it today with Martin Rohner, executive director of the GABV, and Hans Stegeman, representing Triodos Bank as one of the pioneers of GABV.

We end by taking a look into the future; what are the goals for the GABV in the next decade? And how would the future look like if all mainstream banks adopt the principles of values-based banking? Tune in for this conversation about the future of money, values and systemic change!

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Welcome to Money for Change, the podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

In today’s episode, we’ll talk about the current state of the Arctic, a region which is known for its vital function within the Earth’s ecosystem, its unique wildlife and is inhabited by various indigenous communities. However, economic exploitation has put the Arctic under pressure, in particular by rare earth mining and trade routes that cut directly through ice-covered waters.

These activities create severe environmental risks, which makes it necessary to take measures that safeguard the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding ice caps. One such initiative is the Arctic Oceans Pledge, a voluntary commitment by companies to avoid using the sea-ice passageways in their global supply chains.

Joining us is Alex Shahbazi, Senior Manager Artic Programs at Ocean Conservancy, to discuss the role of money in the protection of the Central Arctic Ocean. As in our previous English episode, we critically examine the impact of voluntary corporate pledges. How effective are they in realizing a transition to a sustainable economy? And how well are the voices and interests of Indigenous Arctic communities meaningfully represented?

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Emma de Leeuw

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Alex Shahbazi

Welcome to Money for Change, the podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

Within the financial sector, various mechanisms can be used to help accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. These vary from mandatory regulations to voluntary pledges. However, geopolitical influences are weakening these initiatives to move the financial sector towards sustainable activities.

This raises the question: Without mandatory governmental actions will the financial sector take meaningful voluntary action? We discuss these important questions with Bevis Watts, former CEO of Triodos Bank UK, to figure out what should be done to fundamentally change the financial sector.

Emma and Hans also brought some interesting news items to the table. This time covering the extreme climate related events in Switzerland and India, structural underestimation of the world population and its implications and Texas’ removal of Blackrock from their investment blacklist.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Emma de Leeuw

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Bevis Watts

Welcome to Money for Change, the podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

As we near the end of May, many European countries have already had their Earth Overshoot Day. This means that if everyone lived like a person from, for example, the United Kingdom, we would have exhausted all of the Earth's available natural resources for the year. Part of the solution to reducing our consumption of natural resources and push Overshoot Day to later in the year, is financing the restoration and conservation of nature.

Nature based solutions are initiatives aimed at restoring, enhancing or protecting ecosystems by changing the intended use of the land. For example, reforestation projects on land which was previously used for agricultural purposes can create positive outcomes for the biodiversity and the storage of carbon. While the environmental benefits are clear, creating viable revenue models for these public goods remains a major challenge.

Together with our colleague and Nature-based Solutions expert Simon Scholl, we’ll tackle the complex question; Can financing nature help protect the wild places on earth, or are we chasing a fantasy by commodifying it?

We kick off this episode by discussing some worrying news about how our global economy is becoming less circular, the (not so) green investment funds in Europe and the downgraded credit score of the United States.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Emma de Leeuw

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Simon Scholl

Welcome to Money for Change, the podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

When assessing the societal value of a business, we should not only consider its net profit but also its so called ‘externalities’. In this sense, externalities can be explained as the unintended side-effects for people and planet created by business activities. However, it can be challenging to quantify these externalities. For example, how can you put a price tag on the eroding biodiversity of a region? One way of doing this is by ‘monetizing’ the environmental and social impact of activities. With monetization we can put a monetary term on the cost or the benefit that a certain activity has on our society. This can be done with negative externalities like air pollution, but also positive externalities like wellbeing and social connectedness can be monetized. In this podcast, we chat with Megan Roux, manager at the Impact Institute, about examples on how we’re currently putting economic values on externalities. Next to this, we also take a bit more critical perspective. While including externalities in our economic calculations is a step forward, it bears the risk of oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, can the negative environmental effects of the fossil fuel industry stay justified as long as they make high enough profit to offset the damage?

Just as any other week, Hans has brought some very interesting news as well. In the beginning of today’s episode, we’ll also discuss current developments regarding climate resolutions, put a bright perspective on the current state of Europe and talk about the public support for climate change policy.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Emma de Leeuw

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Megan Roux

Welcome to Money for Change, the weekly podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. It can be about creating affordable housing, making the care sector more inclusive or financing nature conservation. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

New EU legislation has now mandated that producers of electronic devices must repair their products for a reasonable price after the legal warranty period has expired. A supporter of this law? The Right to Repair Coalition, an initiative that advocates for legislation and directives that try to promote the repairing of products on both the producer as consumer side. This legislation is crucial, as the right to repair is a key driver for advancing a circular economy. However, the resistance of manufacturers, alongside economic considerations, poses significant challenges to this important shift. In this episode we’ll discuss the effectiveness of Right to Repair Legislation with Cristian Ganapini, coordinator of the coalition. Together with Hans we’ll also dive into the core question of our podcast; what role does money play in all of this?

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Emma de Leeuws

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Cristina Ganapini

Welcome to Money for Change, the weekly podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world?

Each episode, we will dive into specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. It can be about creating affordable housing, making the care sector more inclusive or financing nature conservation. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show.

A topic that has gained much attention in recent years - and in the last few weeks due to a case in the Netherlands – is the fact that court cases against governments and corporates to enforce climate action are on the rise. By now, hundreds of court cases, often filed by NGO’s and groups of citizens, are being processed by national and international courts in different stages. Some cases are won, some are lost. Three weeks ago, Greenpeace won a court case that is meant to enforce the Dutch government to abide by its own law regarding nature protection. The key question here is whether these court cases help to accelerate climate action, or that they may also be an increasing source of climate hesitance, forming even an obstacle to the climate transition. In this episode we’ll discuss this topic with Eefje de Kroon, a legal expert and lead campaigner at Greenpeace, involved in several court cases.

At the end of the episode, Hans will share his thoughts on the recent trend of large companies pulling back from their sustainability commitments, a move that could signal the end of what we call ‘green capitalism’

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us!

Host: Sanne van Keulen

Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman

Guest: Eefje de Kroon