Professor Jane Stout talks to Chris Caldwell about biodiversity, natural capital accounting, and bridging the economy-ecology divide  So many of the tenets of modern economics – from commodification and simplification to substitution and maximisation – seem to run counter to foundational truths of ecology such as holism, complexity, and the incommensurability of value.   As we face both the climate crisis and the sixth mass extinction (in large part due to the excesses of capitalism) we have...

To take us through the global tax earthquake, in this episode we welcome Marcel Olbert, Assistant Professor of Accounting at London Business School. Marcel is a rising star in the world of sustainable finance academia – and the youngest professor we’ve had on the podcast so far! An expert in global taxation, disclosure and transparency, and carbon policy design, Marcel is rapidly making his mark publishing fascinating papers on everything from the sustainability of Private Equity to the...

We are in the middle of a revolution in the infrastructure of modernity. The plumbing of the 20th-century economy – the fossil fuel infrastructure that is in everything we do – is being ripped up. New, clean energy networks are being laid down. It is the most remarkable transformation in the economic substructure in history. And yet…for all the celebration of the transformation in demand around climate solutions, infrastructure is fundamentally a supply-side puzzle. And that means...

This episode we welcome Randall Peterson, author of Disaster in the Boardroom: Six Dysfunctions Everyone Should Understand. A widely cited expert on corporate governance and leadership, Randall has made a career out of analysing the worst of corporate behaviour. Professor Peterson has spent the last decade as the founding director of the Leadership Institute at London Business School, where he is also Professor of Organisational Behaviour. His teaching and research draws on organisational...

Clothes for pets.  Some things will never make sense. Faced with the more absurd side of modern civilisation, what are we to do?  The secret, according to this week’s guest, is to find the funny anyway. In fact, he’s made it his job.    Integrating Matt’s green split personality: Climate chaos isn’t funny (but we should still make jokes about it)  …and here’s what it means for politics: Counting trees, pricing yachts, modelling CCS and other economic puzzles  The art of climate...

Our expert in this episode is Rajesh Chandy. He has achieved the remarkable feat of holding an academic Chair in two fields – marketing and entrepreneurship – and is currently Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development at London Business School.  An award-winning teacher and thinker, Rajesh has worked around the world, including as advisor to the US and UK governments, the WEF and the Global Innovation Forum. His current interests centre on innovation and...

With so many potential technologies and applications vying to shape the future, it can be hard to keep on top of the latest trends. But reading the runes is more important than ever, as the technologies we choose for transforming of our energy system will shape business forever. Energy storage, carbon capture, bioenergy, geoengineering, hydrogen in all its rainbow colours – there are a lot of calls to get right. To stay on top of this every-changing landscape you’ll need an expert guide. Our...

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance and Academic Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance at London Business School. Alex specialises in the integration of classical financial theory and ESG, from worker pay and diversity to climate and sustainability.   His book Grow the Pie: how great companies deliver both purpose and profit won the Financial Times award for Excellence in Sustainable Finance Education, and his TED talk ‘What to trust in a post-truth...

If you want to find the future of clean energy, where should you look?  This week’s guest is here to tell us that tomorrow’s climate revolution is already here – and it’s Africa that is pointing the way.   It’s not a question of billions in government support, ethical consumerism, or benevolent foreign aid. This is clean technology and innovation blazing a trail as the best possible solution for energy markets in the Global South, thriving on their own merits – and leapfrogging older, western...

Linda Yueh is an economist, broadcaster, and author. She is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School and a Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. In this episode we are fortunate enough to spend some time with Linda discussing the biggest economic challenges of our time. Chris Caldwell asks how these challenges are exacerbated in the face of climate change, including the cost of adaptation, the transition to a low-carbon economy, and we discuss the impact...

Investment bankers are consummate middle-men. The wonderful thing about being in the middle is it trains you to look at problems from all sides – and when ‘all sides’ takes you from Europe to South America to Canada to Asia, you develop a truly 360° perspective. In this episode, we survey global ESG trends from great heights with the help of one of the world’s leading green energy bankers, Eduardo Famini Silva. Eduardo Famini Silva is Director of Renewables and Utilities at RBC Capital...

Julio Dal Poz. He is a true veteran of the industry: from his beginnings as an engineer on deep-water drills; through stints as analyst and consultant for upstream explorers and energy markets (including a brief covering digital tech and transformation in the sector); to his years at Equinor, where he finished up head of the Advisory Board for Strategy, working on the clean energy transition. Today, he turns his experience and expertise towards helping energy firms design their own transition...

This episode's guest is Tom Gosling. After nearly twenty-five years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as an expert on executive pay and board policy, he set out to create a new portfolio career with ESG at the centre.   He is currently Executive Fellow in the Department of Finance at London Business School, and holds fellowships, advisory and consulting positions at a number of other major organisations, including the FCA and The Purposeful Company.   Tom bridges high-level experience and deep...

This episode's guests are Giorgia Granata and Eli Khrapko. After excelling as a haute couture fashion director  and air force pilot (who flew missions in Afghanistan) the journey to developing an eco-friendly intimate cleansing product may not have been an obvious one. But Giorgia and Eli met whilst studying for their MBAs at London Business School and there they came up with the idea of  a truly biodegradable, organic alternative to wet wipes, and a herald of the next stage of green consumer...

In the highly anticipated Episode 1 of Season 2 of Conversations on Climate, Christopher Caldwell, CEO, Entrepreneur, and host of the show, sits down with François Ortalo-Magné. Together, they discuss the latest insights and trends in business sustainability, how companies can thrive in a world increasingly concerned about the environment, and, of course the future of London Business School. There’s only one person to talk to about the future of LBS: the Dean himself. Since the appointment of...

This isn’t your father’s workplace anymore. Not since the industrial revolution has the world of work undergone a such radical change, at such breakneck speed, as we are seeing today. Technology, the pandemic and decarbonisation are completely re-writing the rules across every industry – and there will be blood. So how can you – as a leader and in your own career – ride these changes?  To find out, we turned to someone who has literally written the book on the future of work – Professor Lynda...

Will ESG survive the next recession? Should we divest from all fossil fuels? Can sustainability truly coexist with profitability? We all have our own unique ideas of what ESG really means in this way. But when you are part of a team managing $1.5 trillion of other people’s money, the stakes get higher. A lot higher.  This is the reality for Cathrine de Coninck-Lopez, the guest on our latest episode of Conversations on Climate. Fortunately for us, it’s a pressure that has forged some very...

Human beings are social animals. We love – we need – to communicate.  But when we don’t agree (which, let’s face it, is all the time!) then it’s the how of communication that matters.  That’s where negotiation really shines; and in the words of our guest, negotiation is the ultimate problem-solving technology.  To sharpen up your negotiation skills and really SHIFT your communication impact, you need to listen to this Conversations on Climate episode, with Professor Kathleen...

Treeapp is the brainchild of our guests Godefroy Harito and Jules Buker (along with their co-founder Leo Ng) You could say that Treeapp's USP is that it lets anyone plant a tree, for free, every single day.   In doing so, it is bringing together eco-conscious individuals with green businesses, and regenerating ecologies and communities around the world at the same time. It is both simple and rigorous in its approach to tackling climate, even as it raises fascinating questions about moral...

Zoe Chance wants you to be charismatic on climate  What really changes people’s minds? Is it passionate argument, cold hard facts, or winning over the most famous people on the planet?  Climate folk have been trying all of the above for decades: with mixed results. But the most powerful tool of all is one we so often discount: speaking our personal truth to those closest to us.   Zoe Chance is Assistant Professor of Marketing and Senior Lecturer at Yale School of Management, where she teaches...

Amory Poulden wants to do Venture Capital differently. You’ll want to find out why. What does it take to put everything on the line, to search out the next green start-up superstar? Venture capital is not for the faint-hearted; your entire career rests on how well you can predict the future. So, what happens when that future disappears before your eyes? What happens when climate changes everything? Amory Poulden had a successful career as a Principal at Shell Ventures. Then his first child...

Competitive advantage is essential for success in any field. But what if there was a different way to achieve competitive advantage? One that didn't involve ruthless tactics or underhanded strategies? According to Professor Dan Cable, the answer is emotions. By understanding and embracing our emotions, we can create a competitive edge that is unrivaled. In episode 14 Professor Cable provides an in-depth analysis of what creates a competitive advantage and how it can be sustained. His findings...

Money makes the world go round. But can the banking system build a different, better world in the process? Tara Schmidt, of Lloyds and Bank of Scotland, has bet her career on it. She argues that, after the turmoil of 2008 and Covid-19, finance can be the ‘tip of the spear’ in the drive towards a sustainable future. Tara Schmidt is Head of Climate and Sustainability Strategy, Sustainability & ESG Finance at Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland. An engineer by training, Tara moved out of the...

Do you find yourself leaving the office after another hectic day and wondering – what is this all for? What is the point of work – does it actually do any good in the world? And perhaps most importantly – what can I even do about the things that really matter? If those feelings sound familiar, then this episode of Conversations on Climate was made for you. It’s the frankest and most heartfelt discussion we’ve ever put out as a podcast, and we have the remarkable Sam Baker to thank for...

Everyone is talking about sustainability in the last few years – and it feels like businesses have finally joined the discussion in earnest. But what does sustainability actually mean – and is the current conversation really up to scratch? Scrutiny around CSR is on the rise - the greenwashing debate, for example, has heated up in recent years – but we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, according to our most recent guest. Its time for talk to meet scientific reality. Get ready for one of...