The Greener Way

Joining us for this episode is Maria Meinert, director of sustainability at Cochlear. Maria is an experienced sustainability professional and part of FS Sustainability’s inaugural ESG Power50 list, representing one of the 50 most influential sustainability professionals at ASX-listed companies.

Maria is joining us to talk about sustainability considerations at a leading MedTech company and Cochlear’s evolving approach to integrated sustainability and financial reporting.

On this episode brought to you by First Sentier Investors, we’ll be talking about biodiversity and natural capital and how investors are taking these massive topics on board.

Joining us is First Sentier Investors responsible investment specialist Joanne Lee. Recently First Sentier Investors shared its internal biodiversity and nature guide, which outlines which resources can be used at each step for investors to undertake nature-related company assessments and develop engagement approaches to biodiversity risks.

First Sentier Investors views fresh water and forests as two fundamental areas both to the global economy and the fight against climate change.

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The responsible investment industry had 1 point 3 trillion dollars in assets under management in 2022, a gigantic number representing around a third of total managed assets in Australia. That figure comes from the Responsible Investment Association Australasia’s annual benchmark report. Here to talk about the state of the responsible investment sector and where future growth comes from is CEO Simon O’Connor.

Joining today on The Greener Way is the Wide Open Agriculture CEO Jay Albany. Wide Open Agriculture is an ASX-listed company that focuses on a portfolio of regenerative food products and brands that aim to produce nutritious food at accessible prices as well as nurture the planet back to health. You know, the low-hanging fruit!

On this episode of The Greener Way, we’re talking with Alex Banks, a partner at EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services. Banks is co-author of a report commissioned by The Wilderness Society that found that financiers do not assess and disclose deforestation and biodiversity loss in Australia and may not even be aware of the risk when funding Australia's primary industries.

Stepping into the role of the Lorax, Alex talks about the urgent need for investors and financiers to assess deforestation loss and why Australia is such a blind spot.

Link: https://www.wilderness.org.au/following-the-money

On today’s episode, we’re talking with Ingrid Kukuljan, the head of impact and sustainability at Federated Hermes. Ingrid is responsible for the construction and management of the portfolios within Federated Hermes’ impact and sustainability strategy and, among other activities, is the non-executive director of Fair4All Finance, an organisation founded with UK dormant asset money to create positive impact by promoting financial inclusion in the UK.

We speak with Ingrid about climate and biodiversity and where Australia stands in terms of action on both.

On this episode of The Greener Way, we’re speaking with the Investor Group on Climate Change advocacy manager Michael Bones. IGCC has recently launched a two-year strategy to help investors put money in investments that will help our changing would adapt to the impacts of climate change, and we’re doing to discuss the task ahead, what investors can do and what it means professionally and personally to embrace the really severe negative impacts of climate change.

Link: Road to Resilience: An investor action plan for an adaptive and sustainable economy https://igcc.org.au/road-to-resilience-an-investor-action-plan-for-an-adaptive-and-sustainable-economy/

What message do Aussie farmers have for the corporate world? And what opportunities are out there for investing in innovative climate solutions within the agricultural sector? In this podcast we hear from Dr Anika Molesworth, Founding Director of the organisation Farmers for Climate Action. Anika is a farmer, scientist, author, and public figure on issues of food systems, climate change, conservation, rural community development and women in STEM. FS Sustainability Senior Journalist Rose Mary Petrass chats with Anika about the challenges and opportunities Aussie farmers face, and what a utopian future sustainable food system could look like.

Joining us for this episode is Amarjot Bagga, head of environmental and social impact at Iress, a financial services software provider. Amarjot is an experienced sustainability professional and part of FS Sustainability’s inaugural ESG Power50 list, representing one of the 50 most influential sustainability professionals at ASX-listed companies.

Amarjot talks to us about setting a sustainability strategy and making it integral to company performance.

On this episode of The Greener way, we’re speaking with Forever Wild CEO Fiachra Kearney. Forever Wild is an innovative social enterprise with activities in Australia and around the world, seeking to protect wilderness ecosystems in conjunction with the land’s Traditional Owners and broader community members, supported by a blend of philanthropy and private investment.