Sustainability Leaders

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, host Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, sits down with Mike Richter, President of Brightcore Energy, to explore Richter’s unconventional journey from NHL Stanley Cup–winning goaltender to clean energy executive. Their conversation explores how Brightcore is helping commercial, municipal, and institutional clients reduce carbon emissions while cutting operating costs. Together, they discuss the fundamentals of geothermal ground-source heat pumps, the challenges and opportunities of deploying the technology in dense urban and existing buildings, the role of policy incentives and utilities, and why energy efficiency and electrification are critical to meeting rising energy demand and advancing the clean energy transition.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, the authors and reviewers of new research on climate risk and real estate discuss how to use quantified climate-risk insights to prioritize assets for investment, build the business case for adaptation, and treat resiliency not just as an aspiration, but as an investable strategy. Angela Adduci, Senior Advisor from the BMO Climate Institute, joins a panel moderated by Mike Williams (President and Co-Founder of ClimateFirst Building Solutions), including Kathleen Beaumont (Investment Management Corporation of Ontario), Natalia Moudrak (Aon), Holly Neber (AEI Consultants), and Olivia Pink (ClimateFirst).

Learn more about the case study discussed in this podcast: Investing in Resilience: Making Physical Climate Risk a Financial Priority for Real Estate • ClimateFirst Building Solutions Inc.

Aging power grids in the U.S. and rising clean energy demand are both influencing the outlook for buyers in 2026. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, host Angela Adduci from the BMO Climate Institute sits down with Rich Powell, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), to explore the evolving dynamics of corporate clean energy procurement. They discuss:

In collaboration with IBM through the IBM Impact Accelerator, the University of Illinois developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered flood forecasting system that improves rainfall prediction and flood forecasting in the Appalachian Mountains in the U.S., with the potential for the program to be applied and adapted in other parts of the world. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, BMO's Chief Sustainability Officer, sat down with two people who had a significant role in creating the solution: Ana Barros, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Michael Jacobs, Head of Social Innovation, IBM. They discussed their collaboration, what went into building the forecasting system, and the future of environmental adaptation and disaster mitigation.   

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Caroline Donlin, Managing Director and Head of Engineering and Construction at BMO, speaks with Kristal Kaye, Interim CEO of CarbonCure, and Marty Ozinga, CEO of Ozinga, about their partnership to advance sustainable concrete. Their conversation explores the economic, technical, and cultural shifts needed to decarbonize one of the world’s most essential building materials.

Climate goals, rising energy demands, and geopolitical pressures are transforming global energy investment strategies. Based on a panel discussion from the 2025 Toronto Global Forum, this episode of Sustainability Leaders examines the impact of industrial demand shifts—such as AI and data centers—on energy investments, effective policy frameworks for de-risking clean energy projects, and approaches to pricing climate-related risks while fostering innovation and private capital. Jason Peel, Managing Director and Head, BMO Radicle moderates a conversation with:

In an episode of the Sustainability Leaders podcast, Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, sits down with Kristin Milchanowski, BMO’s Chief AI and Data Officer, to explore how AI can become a cornerstone of corporate sustainability strategies. Their conversation covered practical applications, ethical considerations, and the steps required to integrate AI into corporate sustainability frameworks. 

Texas has grown to become a renewable energy powerhouse. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, is joined by Raina Hornaday, General Manager and Co-Founder of Caprock Renewables in Austin, Texas. A fifth-generation rancher, Raina has also been a pioneer enabling Texas to become one of the top states in U.S. for wind and solar energy production. They discuss the development of the renewable energy industry in Texas and what’s needed for the Lone Star state to continue leading in this space.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Stephen Uwazota, Director of Sustainable Finance and Clean Energy, BMO sits down with Raj DasGupta, Chief Executive Officer at Electrovaya, a global supplier of lithium-ion batteries. Their wide-ranging conversation covered the advantage of lithium battery chemistries, enhanced battery safety, and opportunities in the industrial, AI and security sectors.

As demand for clean sources of power has risen, so has interest in nuclear energy. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Jayen Veerapen, Senior Advisor with the BMO Climate Institute, explores the factors driving a resurgence in the nuclear industry and what innovations are on the horizon. Joining Jayen to share his insights is Chris Levesque, President and CEO of TerraPower, a company founded by business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates. TerraPower’s mission is to solve the world’s toughest problems in energy, climate, and human health through innovative nuclear technology.