''Our financial system has failed us on so many fronts. 

• Why do we have the scale of the climate change challenge?
• Why do we have the health challenge that we are facing?

In order to finance innovation we need to innovate the financial system. Money is not always going where it is most needed. There is a lot of hoarding mentality. There is, as you say, a lot of short-termism. The risk return metrics are built around a rather flawed economic system. Metrics used are actually outdated''.

Our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Shiva Dustdar, Director Head & Dean of the EIB Institute. Together they will explore questions around:

1. The concept of the Brain Economy and its connection to the broader economic and health challenges we face
2. The need to rethink financial structures to foster innovation and address global Brain Health challenges
3. The importance of systemic investing and the role of diverse perspectives in solving complex issues

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''So I said to Dan (Ariely), look, if people are the most important asset, do you think there’s a chance that we could measure the connection between employees and their employer? And if that connection was predictive, and this is predictive of performance, do you think we could make it investable? And by predictive and by measuring what we were talking about was the ultimate measure of performance, could it have impact on a public company’s future equity value? Its stock price.”

Listen to the 17th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast to get the full story of how the Human Capital Factor® was born. Our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to David van Adelsberg Co-founder and CEO of Irrational Capital. Together they will explore questions around:

1. The link between human capital and company share price performance
2. Extrinsic and intrinsic factors and their link to equity value
3. Attention paid to this topic by investor and HR communities

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“The way that we think about this in economics is around the notion of externality. That’s one of the long-standing concepts in the discipline of economics and finance, and this is still one of the most important issues that we deal with today. Externalities relates to ''what do my actions generate for others''? This could be positive or it could be negative.''

In this 16th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Juan Palacios, an assistant professor at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and currently a visiting assistant Professor at the MIT Center for Real Estate. 

Together they will explore questions around:

1. Changing investor attitudes with regards to human sustainability
2. Pricing of externalities for the cost of capital (and brain capital)
3. Why average buildings are struggling (both with tenants and valuations)

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''We tend to think of health as a risk, which it is, but what about thinking about health as an asset? Then it will become our duty to also understand that we have an opportunity to account for everything that provides an opportunity to a business, not just the risk''.

In this fourth episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn and Elizabeth Bachrad, Head of Programme Strategy at Business for Health in the UK go broad and deep into the topic by discussing

1. The need to reprioritise health as an investment issue
2. How to rethink investors' role in building more resilient financial systems
3. ESHG: the role of health within ESG

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“A lot of people think that sport is a nice analogy. It’s really an outstanding analogy. World-class athletes have natural breaks in their schedule. Corporate athletes don’t. I mean, look at the HR data on executives taking vacations. They don’t do it. And if they do, they keep working. So there’s no downtime. And then when you do have downtime, what are you doing with that downtime?''

In this 15th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Jack Groppel, a world-renowned expert in human performance, co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, and a pioneer in applying the science of sports training to the business world. 

Together they will explore questions around:

1. The birth of the Corporate Athlete and energy management
2. The importance of understanding the concept of periodisation
3. Sustainable human performance as a business imperative

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''From an ESG perspective, we're looking at the environment, we're looking at social aspects, and we've got increased level of reporting requirements and regulations that have come in. But we've sort of forgotten about the most critical part that sits at the core of every organisation - that's the human being''.

In this 14th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, the host Linda Jarnhamn is interviewed by Patricia Erhardt-Lewis a seasoned executive coach and organisational development professional. Together they will explore questions around:

1. The importance of the Human elements in ESG 
2. The definition and interpretation of Human Sustainability
3. Factors impacting brain health and performance potential

...and a lot more plus a few giggles.

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''What may hurt somebody, or what somebody may find unacceptable, might not even bother me. We’re all very subjective in that way. But I think coming from a neuroscience point of view, it's the damage that we know that it (bullying) does to the brain. However it manifests itself, however people experience it and whether they call it out or they don’t, there is really serious damage that’s actually going. It’s not like you hurt your leg and you can see that it’s sore. When our brain is damaged, nobody else really sees it.''

In this 13th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Soraya Shaw, Applied Organisational Neuroscientist and MD of BrainShaw a Brain Potential & Coaching Consultancy. Together they will explore questions around:

1. A neuroscientific perspective on the impact of bullying
2. The impact of bullying on business productivity and performance
3. The potential cultural context of mental resilience

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''Are we making enough progress when it comes to the social elements of sustainability? I don't think we are because we're overly stressed, we're burnt out, we're anxious, we don't spend enough time in nature, with our families, with ourselves really. And from an economic point of view, I also think we're far from where we'd like to be. I think we only get greedier''

In this 12th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Julion Gallagher, sustainability professional currently pursuing a Doctorate in the fields of behavioural economics and environmental policy at University College Dublin. Together they will explore questions around:

1. Human sustainability challenges - is progress too slow? 
2. Disclosure and penalties, or vision and impact-based triggers for change?
3. Why going through pain might be necessary to experience the positive?

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''From an investor's perspective, it's hard to identify intangible benefits from the financial statements. So, when we talk about human sustainability, we need to be clear, because investors pay more attention to actual numbers than whatever term we put those numbers under. The key challenge for evaluation is that we sometimes have to rely on economic theories to turn intangible benefits (such as a more productive human brain, or overall satisfaction of employees), into a dollar amount so that investor communities can easily understand''.

In this 11th episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Minjia Yang,  the Vice President & Head of Sustainable Finance at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Together they will explore questions around:

1. What's top of mind for investors with regards to human sustainability?
2. Are sustainability regulations key drivers of investor behaviour?
3. Green bonds, social bonds and is there a market also for human bonds?

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''Air quality is periodically horrible. Periodically, when needed to be good, it's horrible. When the office is empty, it's pretty good. When you put people in a meeting room, close the door and ask them to start thinking about problems and investments, that's when air quality starts getting really bad. That's when it starts affecting their cognitive skills. So, the air quality, when it needs to be good, it's bad''

In this tenth episode of the Sustainable Human Podcast, our host Linda Jarnhamn talks to Mazen Jamal,  an expert on indoor and outdoor air quality for corporate performance. 

Together they will explore questions around:

1. The business case for measuring air quality
2. Why the air in the office tends to be of poor quality when we need it the most
3. CO₂ as a key indicator of cognitive performance potential

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