In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re talking to Mastercard Chief Sustainability Officer Ellen Jackowski, who was just named to the TIME100 Climate list of the 100 most influential climate leaders in business for 2024. Ellen was on the ground in Cali, Colombia, for the UN’s recent COP16 biodiversity conference and in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the UN’s COP29 climate conference that wraps up today.   Mastercard is one of the world’s largest payments networks with more than 3...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re covering key takeaways from COP16, the UN’s major biodiversity conference that just wrapped up in Cali, Colombia.   The conference convened countries from around the world, and we hear about key outcomes of government negotiations in an interview with Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.   We also hear about the large private sector presence at COP16, which reflects companies’ growing...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore the role artificial intelligence can play in advancing sustainability outcomes — and how the energy demands from generative AI programs could change over time.  We talk with Hussein Shel, Chief Technologist and Head of Upstream Digital Transformation, Energy and Utility at Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud-computing and technology services company and a subsidiary of Amazon.  AI has been a major focus at sustainability events...

Today marks the end of COP16, the UN’s biodiversity-focused Conference of the Parties in Cali, Colombia. The UN’s climate change conference, COP29, is slated to begin Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  One common thread in these events is the challenge of addressing the big financing gaps for a range of sustainability issues — including climate, nature, and social equity.  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore how the fixed income market is evolving to help fill in some of...

The UN's big climate change conference, COP29, starts Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we're exploring technology solutions for the low-carbon transition, including in developing countries.  We talk with Vaishali Sinha, Co-founder and Chairperson of Sustainability at ReNew, a decarbonization solutions company deploying renewables and other low-carbon technologies in India.   "A global mindset is what is required in some of these very new and...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re talking climate finance ahead of COP29, the UN climate change conference taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024.  Scaling climate and clean energy financing will be a major focus at COP29, which many are calling the “finance COP.” Both the public and private sector will play a role in addressing the massive climate financing gap for developing countries, including through blended finance.   To learn more, we speak to Vijay...

  Throughout Climate Week NYC, we heard about the importance of collaborating across silos to find solutions to climate change, the energy transition and nature loss. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we hear concrete examples of what that looks like in practice.   We speak with two climate scientists about how their organizations are working to communicate across disciplines and build partnerships that can inform areas like policy and urban planning:   -Terry Thompson is...

At Climate Week NYC 2024, many conversations focused on improving public understanding of climate change — also known as climate literacy. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we explore how increasing climate literacy can help prepare the future workforce for the green job opportunities that will come with the low-carbon transition.  We sit down on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus with Kathleen Rogers, President of Earthday.org. This is a nonprofit that grew out of the...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we sit down with California State Senator Henry Stern at Climate Week NYC.  Sen. Stern introduced one of two climate laws that California enacted in 2023, Senate Bill 261, which requires certain companies to prepare reports on climate change risks. The other, Senate Bill 253, requires certain companies to estimate and publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.  The senator discusses the California laws and the future of climate...

  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we sit down at Climate Week NYC with Sue Jenny Ehr, the interim CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a nonprofit that develops standards, tools and guidance to allow companies to set greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets in line with what is needed to reach net-zero by 2050 at latest. Sue took on the interim CEO role in July 2024. In the interview, she talks about how SBTi is evolving — including its approach to...

One theme emerging from Climate Week NYC 2024 is the link between nature loss and climate change. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, National Audubon Society CEO Dr. Elizabeth Gray explains how nature can provide solutions to climate change.  Audubon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. The North American bird population has declined by about 3 billion since 1970 and climate change is putting the remaining...

In the latest episode of the ESG Insider podcast we sit down with CDP CEO Sherry Madera on the sidelines of Climate Week NYC.   CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Sherry talks to us about how the organization has evolved since she took the reins nearly a year ago. She explains how CDP fits into the broader landscape of standard setters like the International...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we sit down with Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson on the sidelines of the Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony Sept. 22.   Climate Group is the nonprofit that organizes Climate Week NYC in partnership with the UN General Assembly and the City of New York. In the interview, Helen explains the global to-do list Climate Group released at the start of Climate Week NYC, outlining concrete actions governments and businesses can take in the next year to...

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we hear from the world’s largest asset owner, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM).    NBIM is Norway’s $1.7 trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund and owns almost 1.5% of all shares in the world’s listed companies. To understand how NBIM is exerting that influence, we speak to Chief Governance and Compliance Officer Carine Smith Ihenacho.  Carine explains how NBIM is approaching engagement and divestment. She tells us about the climate...

In recent episodes of the ESG Insider podcast, we explored the role of carbon markets in reaching climate targets, and how the voluntary market is evolving. In this episode, we're exploring the intersection of climate change and biodiversity through the lens of the voluntary carbon market.   Carbon credits come from different types of projects, and we’re exploring the role that biodiversity can play in nature-based carbon credits such as those that sequester carbon in trees by planting a...

With Climate Week NYC just around the corner, this episode of the ESG Insider podcast explores what to expect from a week that will convene thousands of stakeholders for hundreds of events across New York City Sept. 22-29.    The ESG Insider podcast will be on the ground covering many of these events, starting with the Opening Ceremony hosted by Climate Group. This is the nonprofit that organizes Climate Week in partnership with the UN General Assembly and the City of New York. The theme...

The US is heading into Labor Day weekend, and at the ESG Insider podcast we’re turning our focus to the topic of jobs. Specifically — how is the talent landscape changing for ESG and sustainability professionals?   To learn more we speak to Ellen Weinreb, founder of Weinreb Group, a boutique recruiting firm focused on ESG and sustainability candidates. Ellen points to an increasing focus on compliance, data governance and regulation, which she says is leading to a “big rise” in ESG...

On the ESG Insider podcast, we often hear that achieving the low-carbon transition on a global scale will require a mix of solutions. Carbon markets are one key tool available to companies and countries. In this episode, we bring you the second of a two-part miniseries on carbon markets. In part one last week, we explored how voluntary and compliance carbon markets work. We also heard that voluntary carbon markets have faced some recent challenges and criticisms that have eroded...

On this podcast, we often hear how achieving the low-carbon transition on a global scale will require a mix of solutions. Carbon markets are one key tool available to companies and countries.  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we bring you part one of a two-part miniseries on carbon markets. We dig into voluntary and compliance markets, including how they're structured and used, how they're evolving, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.  We talk with Roman Kramarchuk,...

Even as society becomes increasingly reliant on computers and digital technologies, billions of people around the world lack access to the internet and related services. And this matters because this lack of access can have a negative impact on the economy and exacerbate existing inequalities, particularly in developing countries.  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we're exploring how to close the global digital divide in an interview with Michele Malejki, Global Head of...

The automotive sector is going through big transformation thanks to a variety of factors — everything from new technologies to the evolving way consumers think about their cars. In this latest installment in the ‘Women in Leadership’ series of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re talking with Fedra Ribeiro about leading through times of change.   Fedra is Executive Vice President at Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, and she speaks to us about her long history in the auto...

It's opening day for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, and at the ESG Insider podcast we're continuing our Sustainability in Sports miniseries.   This week we're talking with Julia Palle, Vice President of Sustainability at Formula E, the motorsport championship launched a decade ago for racing electric vehicles. She explains how Formula E is taking a holistic approach to  sustainability that includes environmental and social issues, how EV technology is evolving, and the central...

Sports lovers have countless ways to enjoy sporting events this summer, from last week's Wimbledon tennis and EURO 2024 football finals to next week's launch of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.   At the ESG Insider podcast we're continuing our miniseries on Sustainability in Sports. This week we’re talking with Rocío Torres, Head of Sustainability and Responsible Business at Atlético de Madrid, a Spanish professional football club with more than 100 years of history.  ...

Summer is in full swing, the finals of the UEFA Euro 2024 European Football Championships take place this weekend and the Summer Olympic Games kick off later this month. So at the ESG Insider podcast, we’re turning our attention to sustainability in sports.    Professional sports are big business, and as we hear from today’s guest, the sporting world is facing pressure to become more sustainable from many sources, including spectators, fan associations, investors, sponsors and even...