The Sustainability Omnibus Podcast

In the final episode of this series, Simon Nixon talks to Annika Ramsköld of Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat. The Swedish-based company employs over 21,000 people.

Ramsköld explains reporting and regulation actually helps larger companies to deal with SMEs, and how trustworthy data is the key to competitiveness for small and large companies alike.

She points out that Europe is already lagging behind Asia in renewable technology and says that the EU must urgently lean in to investment in fossil-free energy if it is to keep up. But, she says, uncertainty around regulation is causing unnecessary delays.

Ramskold says she is “puzzled” by French and German attempts to roll back CSDDD due diligence regulation, despite the fact both countries already have their own stringent due diligence laws.

She says companies like Vattenfall have welcomed CSRD and CSDDD for creating a level playing field across Europe, allowing companies to focus on performance.

Key topics:

The role of regulation in supporting SMEs

The risk of Europe falling behind in the race for renewables

The need for clear pan-European regulation and reporting to simplify red tape and promote competitiveness.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking, Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon speak with Hans Stegeman, Chief Economist and Group Director for Impact and Economics at Triodos Bank. 

Stegeman discusses the need for disclosure rules, and how the proposed limited scope of the CSRD will make reporting more difficult for financial institutions.

As well as delving into the negative implications of the Omnibus package for financial institutions, Stegeman explains how financial institutions are still funding unsustainable activities, believing they will be protected from the risk. Although some reporting requirements are complicated, Stegeman says sustainability rules help on an ethical level to protect people and the environment from harmful externalities. He says Europe is different to the US and therefore must have a different economic model, emphasising the importance of a circular economy and renewable energy to boost European competitiveness.

For Stegeman, sustainable finance regulation should be simpler, but not weaker. He calls for transparent public data, a broader Omnibus scope, and deeper value chain accountability.

Key Topics Discussed:

Why regulation must distinguish between administrative burden and necessary transition costs.

The risk of weakening CSRD and value chain requirements.

Why the EU’s economic model must be competitive through circularity and sustainability.

How the financial sector currently underprices climate risk and over-relies on eventual socialisation of losses, leaving taxpayers to pick up the bill.

Guest

Hans Stegeman, Chief Economist and Group Director for Impact and Economics at Triodos Bank

Resources & Further Reading:

Green Central Banking on the EU Omnibus Proposal

European Commission: Omnibus Proposal Announcement

Triodos Bank, European Commission’s Omnibus proposal weakens sustainability framework

Simon Nixon in Prospect: Business is not against Net Zero

Connect With Us:

Follow Green Central Banking on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and XSubscribe to the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast on Apple Podcasts and SpotifyContact us at: [email protected]
Call to Action:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon talk to Sirpa Pietikäinen, a Member of the European Parliament from Finland aligned with the National Coalition Party, part of the European People's Party. 

Speaking to some of the political dynamics that are driving the shifts in the European Union, Pietikäinen voices concerns that the Commission’s proposal to simplify the CSRD and CSDDD sits at odds with the EU Green Deal climate targets and risks damaging European competitiveness.

The MEP also warns that raising company size thresholds for reporting and narrowing the scope of value chain disclosures to tier one suppliers could hinder investment and make reporting more rather than less burdensome for companies. Pietikäinen speaks to high levels of support among many businesses and investors across Europe for sustainability disclosure rules that ensure meaningful and comparable reporting in a coherent EU-wide framework.  

Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament (EPP, Finland), former Minister of Environment of Finland.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon speak with Héléna Charrier, Head of Socially Responsible Investment at La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBPAM), a firm with over €74 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM), about how the Omnibus could harm EU competitiveness and drive up the costs of securing accurate ESG data. 

With new amendments aiming to simplify the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Héléna highlights how the value chain cap in the proposed rules would constrain investors from seeking information from companies to check they are appropriately managing risks in line with international standards such as the OECD guidelines. She argues that this would limit companies’ access to investment flows by putting up barriers to dialogue, and put EU investors at a competitive disadvantage by driving up the costs of gathering essential data. 

Héléna supports the EU in its goal to optimise the disclosure framework to improve consistency across regulation, and hopes that investors are consulted during this process to identify which data points are most needed to guide investment decisions, but warns that rewriting the rules again will bring compliance costs for companies in the short-term. 

Key Topics Discussed:

Guest Speaker:

Héléna Charrier, Head of Socially Responsible Investment at La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBPAM)

Resources & Further Reading:

• Green Central Banking: https://greencentralbanking.com/2025/02/26/eu-sustainability-omnibus-proposal/

• European Commission’s Omnibus Proposal: https://commission.europa.eu/news/commission-proposes-cut-red-tape-and-simplify-business-environment-2025-02-26_en

• Héléna Charrier speaks to the Financial Times’ Sustainable Views about why high-quality, comparable, and timely data provided by the CSRD are essential for investors to assess risks effectively. https://www.sustainableviews.com/disclosure-is-not-pie-in-the-sky-it-is-about-actively-boosting-business-competitiveness-0c46b2d6/

Connect With Us:

Follow Green Central Banking on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X

Subscribe to the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Contact us at: [email protected]

Call to Action:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review! Next week we hear from EPP MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon speak with Mathilde Dufour, Head of Sustainability Research at sustainable asset management firm Mirova, a firm with over €31 billion in assets under management (AUM), about the far-reaching implications of the proposed Omnibus reforms.

As the EU moves to simplify key regulations, investors are warning that the changes risk undermining the quality, comparability, and availability of ESG data. Mathilde Dufour offers an asset manager’s perspective on why credible, standardised data is essential - not only for compliance, but for effective capital allocation and long-term economic competitiveness.

The conversation also explores the importance of maintaining double materiality and sector-specific disclosures, how voluntary reporting for smaller companies could create data blind spots and the potential risks of introducing a value chain cap on reporting. Mathilde Dufour makes the case that even with lighter regulations, the demand for ESG data will persist as sustainability risks accumulate in the financial system.

The episode examines how artificial intelligence could transform sustainable finance by enhancing data processing and decision-making provided that robust, high-quality ESG data is in place to power it, and why Europe must ensure its data gathering infrastructure sets a global benchmark. With the EU at a crossroads, Mathilde sheds light on what’s truly at stake in the Omnibus negotiations, and why regulatory stability and leadership are vital for driving the green transition across Europe and beyond.

Key Topics Discussed:

Guest Speaker:

• Mathilde Dufour, Head of Sustainability Research at Mirova

Resources & Further Reading:

Connect With Us:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon speak with Tessa Younger, Stewardship Lead at CCLA Investment Management. As one of over 200 investors with €6.6 trillion in assets under management who signed an open letter urging the EU Commission to maintain robust sustainability disclosure standards, Tessa Younger shares her insights on why these regulations are vital for the investors and the EU’s long-term competitiveness. 

Tess Younger shares how these standards provide essential clarity for investors, helping to track corporate climate transition efforts and ensure accountability. As the EU continues to debate the simplification of its reporting framework, Tessa emphasises the need to reduce complexity without sacrificing transparency.

This conversation dives into the implications for investors and businesses. Tessa Younger warns that the proposed reduction of the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in terms scaling back the size of companies required to report would create significant data gaps for investors, undermining their ability to assess risks and track corporate progress on climate and sustainability goals. These gaps could also increase the risk of greenwashing, as companies may exaggerate their sustainability efforts without proper oversight. She warns that weakened rules would also reduce pressure on companies to align their lobbying activities with their climate commitments, risking inconsistencies between their public stance and behind-the-scenes influence.

Key Topics Discussed:

Resources & Further Reading:

Connect With Us:

Call to Action:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we dive deeper into the role AI technology could play in sustainability reporting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon explore the potential impact of the European Commission’s Omnibus package on the EU’s sustainability disclosure framework with guest Ophélie Mortier, Chief Sustainable Investment Officer at Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM).

As part of the broader simplification agenda, proposed changes to key sustainable finance regulations including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy, could have profound consequences for investors and asset managers striving for greener business practices.

Ophélie joins Simon and Moriah in looking at how these regulatory shifts could affect investment strategies, corporate transparency, and Europe’s long-term economic competitiveness, and whether companies really see sustainability reporting as a burden on business. 

Key Topics Discussed:

Guest Speaker:

• Ophélie Mortier, Chief Sustainable Investment Officer, Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM)

Resources & Further Reading:

Connect With Us:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review! Join us next time where we look into how financial institutions are responding to the shifting landscape of EU sustainability regulations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking. This podcast, presented by award-winning journalist Moriah Costa, and author of Wealth of Nations and former chief Europe commentator for the Wall Street Journal Simon Nixon, will help you understand the complexities of the EU’s simplification agenda on sustainability reporting. At a time when transparency, stability, and certainty are needed more than ever, we’ll be talking to experts who will help untangle what’s happening and why.

In this first episode, Moriah and Simon speak with Richard Gardiner, Public Policy Lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance, to explore the EU’s Omnibus Proposal and its potential impact on the sustainable finance framework. With key legislation—including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and EU Taxonomy—facing revision, we discuss what’s at stake for businesses, regulators, and financial markets.

Key Topics Discussed:

Resources & Further Reading:

Connect With Us:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we dive deeper into how investors are navigating the EU’s evolving sustainability landscape.

This is a Podmasters production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices