Sustainability Leaders

Designing flexible plastic packaging that is recyclable or compostable is a growing sustainability trend. At the forefront of this trend are consumers who are increasingly noticing the impact of plastics on air pollution and marine life. In response to this trend, governments around the world are passing legislation to minimize packaging waste, including Canada, which has committed to zero plastic waste by 2030. The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable circular economy where plastic never becomes waste, and rather can be reused, repaired, and remanufactured.

Today’s guest, Magali Depras, Chief Strategy Officer at TC Transcontinental, talks about how sustainable packaging can positively impact the economy, the environment and the future, and TC Transcontinental’s commitment to sustainability.

On this episode, Michael Torrance speaks with report co-author, Tytti Kaasinen Associate Director, Engagement Services at Sustainalytics and Simon Chorley, International Programs Manager at UNICEF Canada.

In 2019, UNICEF and Sustainalytics partnered to develop Investor Guidance on Integrating Children’s Rights into Investment Decision Making. The resulting guidance is directed at investors and ESG research providers interested in exploring how companies and investors can mitigate risks and identify opportunities that advance children’s rights while generating both societal and upside financial benefits. It aims to help investors ensure that child rights impacts linked to business activities do not constitute a blind spot within their approach to responsible investment and active ownership.

For full transcript and links, go to http://www.bmosustainabilityleaders.com/.

On this show, Whitney McWade, a Senior Advisor in a Sustainability Group at BMO, talks with Careen Abb from the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative. 

Careen leads the Positive Impact Initiative (PII), which is a think and do tank at the United Nations. The PII aims to capitalize the finance sector’s ability to finance sustainable development and the transition to an impact-based economy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the PII, Careen has co-authored “Rethinking Impact to Finance the SDGs”, a seminal paper which sets out the PII’s unique theory of impact. She led the development of the principles for the positive impact finance, which proposed a holistic approach to impact management. Careen talks about this holistic approach, the PII’s theory of impact, and how it can influence the financial sector.

For full transcript and links, go to http://www.bmosustainabilityleaders.com/.

Today’s guest, Dr. Mekala Krishnan, is one of the author’s of the Mckinsey Global Institute’s ground-breaking report, “Climate risk and response - Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts”. Dr. Krishnan’s research focuses on various topics related to inclusive growth and economic development, including climate risk, globalization, productivity growth in advanced economies, and women’s role in labor markets. Her most recent research focuses on the near-term impact of physical climate risk across sectors and geographies, including its implications for companies and countries. 

In this episode, Dr. Krishnan talks with Michael Torrance about how physical climate risks can impact economies, and financial and social systems. She also talks about the physical climate risks that could influence investors, businesses and governments in the next 10-30 years. 

The Paris Agreement target to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is widely discussed, but there is also a less cited part of the Agreement - the Preamble, which mentions that the transition to a net zero carbon economy should be a just one. Underpinning the concept of a just transition is the inclusive wealth model. On today’s episode, special guest host Rani Pooran will take the listener through conversations with two leading thinkers, William Irwin, Policy Analyst, The Grantham Research Institute at the time of recording Steven Stone, Chief of the UN Environment Programme’s Resources and Markets Branch on why investing in a just transition is critical to achieving the economic potential and managing the social impacts of the net zero carbon challenge, and how measuring dimensions such as human and natural capital can further countries’ progress.

Our guest on this episode is Diane Damskey, Head of the Secretariat of the IFC’s Operating Principles for Impact Management. Diane is a senior member of the team that developed the Operating Principles for Impact Management that established a framework to bring greater discipline and transparency to the impact investing market. Prior to joining IFC, Diane was an Adviser to the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group. 

Michael Torrance leads a conversation with Diane on today’s episode about the differences between impact investing and traditional investing, and how impact investing fits into the broader sustainability ecosystem. 

The fight against COVID-19 has seen border closures, trade disruptions and restrictions on foreign workers, putting unprecedented strain on the food supply chain, including in Canada, where we hear stories of dairy farmers dumping milk as restaurants closed and demand plummeted; restrictions on temporary foreign workers have dramatically impacted the production of everything from strawberries to seafood.

John Uhren, Head, Sustainable Finance, Products and Strategy for Sustainable Finance at BMO, recently recorded an episode of Sustainability Leaders with Vittoria Varalli, Chief of Staff and VP for Sustainability at Canadian grocery chain Sobeys to discuss how COVID19 has disrupted food security and supply chains around the world. Varalli also discusses how here at home, even as the pandemic intensified the importance of essential services, Sobeys’ unwavering focus was on keeping its staff and customers safe and its store shelves stocked.

In this episode we are joined by Jon Hale, Head of Sustainable Investing Research for Morningstar in a discussion on how COVID-19 has impacted ESG funds, and how Morningstar goes about assessing and examining this type of investing.

Our episode today focuses on a company’s purpose and why it matters for sustainability. A company’s purpose matters now more than ever, and social purpose and social impacts have taken a front seat these days as COVID-19 changes the landscape for all economies.

Our guests today are experts in creating purpose statements and leading companies on the journey to find their purpose. Cathy Carlisi, President-America, Ashley Grice, CEO, are with BrightHouse, part of the Boston Consulting Group. They've helped many companies, including BMO, to develop a purpose strategy and drive it towards sustainability outcomes. They discuss what a discovery process for purpose looks like, how culture, business strategy and brand alignment are needed for executing purpose well and who should be involved. We also discuss how purpose and ESG are linked and how getting uncomfortable is necessary to discover purpose. 

Michael Torrance moderates a round table discussion with BMO sustainability experts Manju Seal and David Sneyd to discuss the role that sustainable finance can play in our current environment.