LSEG Sustainable Growth

Will sustainability fundamentally change the shape of the investment industry? In this episode, Tim Hodgson, Co- Founder of the Thinking Ahead Institute, chats with us about the institute’s mission and their aim to change the investment industry for the end user by focusing on sustainability & long-term investing. We hear about the importance of working with asset owners and the findings from their Asset Owner Peer Study.

How can a Chief Sustainability Officer role become more influential? In the latest episode of the LSEG Sustainable Growth podcast, Alison Taylor, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, discusses the four key changes needed for the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), avoiding siloed thinking around sustainability and common mistakes companies are making around ESG.

As one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, how is Norges Bank Investment Management planning for a sustainable future? Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Management, joins us in this episode to discuss how they are generating returns in a responsible and transparent way including climate action plans, the importance of a long term outlook, and ESG risk management strategies.

How are APAC countries approaching the transition to net zero? In this episode, Yuki Yasui, Managing Director of the Asia Pacific Network of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) delves into the key focus areas, challenges and goals for the recently launched network, as well as how they help provide solutions to the three key gaps the finance sector currently faces.

What constitutes a material ESG issue – and who decides? In this episode, Robert Eccles, Visiting Professor of Management Practice at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, dives into materiality, the distinction between sustainability and ESG and why views on ESG are so polarised in the US. Robert also tells us what he thinks is the difference between financial and ESG reporting, and how we can find common ground to more efficiently fight climate change.

How can we keep Scope 3 emissions reporting consistent? With the launch of FTSE Russell’s latest research report ‘Scope for improvement: Solving the Scope 3 conundrum’, Jaakko Kooroshy, Global Head of Sustainable Investment Research at LSEG, unpacks the report’s findings including why Scope 3 emissions are so important for companies to measure and for investors to understand. Jaakko also explains why companies are confused about reporting, what should be considered a material category and how to drive better consistency for company reporting. Read the report here: Scope for improvement: Solving the Scope 3 conundrum | LSEG

David Atkin, CEO of the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), joins us this episode to discuss how PRI has evolved its strategic plans and received so much support from the investor community since its launch in 2006. As well as delving into PRI’s three-year strategic plan, David also talks about their key focus areas for the long term, the role of PRI today, and how they have approached the tensions created by the introduction of regulation in the ESG space.

How can we mobilise finance in support of a just transition? In this episode, Nick Robins, Professor in Practice of Sustainable Finance at London School of Economics discusses what a just climate transition looks like, the importance of putting people at the heart of transition plans and why this has recently become a priority. Nick also explores examples of innovative financial approaches in raising capital that align with climate transition including the formation of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs).

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a global initiative delivering a risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related risks, was launched in 2021 and delivered its final recommendations in November 2023. How did the TNFD publish their recommendations so swiftly, and how do they plan to scale its adoption? In this episode, Tony Goldner, Executive Director at TNFD answers these questions as well as explaining why they are at Davos this week, and their goals for 2024 and beyond.

In this episode we hear from LSEG's COP 28 delegation David Harris, Head of Sustainable Finance Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships and Adrian Rimmer, Director Sustainable Finance Capital Markets. They get into the latest COP agreement and the transition away from fossil fuels, how the conference has increased its focus on private companies and the finance sector, and what this means for Exchanges across the world. David also shares the recent launch of The Net-Zero Data Public Utility project (NZDPU) and its impact on climate reporting. Find out more: https://nzdpu.com/home

With 45% of the global population living in rural areas in developing countries, how can more capital be targeted to tackle poverty and food insecurity in these communities? The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is issuing bonds on the London Stock Exchange Sustainable Bond Market, is an international financial institution with this goal in mind. In this episode, Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, discusses how they decide where to invest, how they measure impact, and which projects they are funding. Alvaro also explains the link between small-scale rural agriculture in developing countries and global capital markets, and why poverty is often concentrated in rural areas.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) was the first bank in the GCC to commit to net zero, trailblazing sustainability in the region. In this episode, Sarah Pirzada Usmani, Managing Director, Head of Loan Capital Markets & Sustainable Finance at FAB discusses how they began to focus on sustainable finance, how their ESG strategy has evolved and how this shift has changed their relationships with their clients. Sarah also delves into the UAE’s recent actions following their 2021 pledge to reach Net Zero by 2050.

What are the benefits and limitations of ESG ratings? In this episode, Florian Berg, Research Scientist at MIT and co-founder of the Aggregate Confusion Project delves into the topic, talking about how ESG ratings have evolved, their strengths and weaknesses, and whether measurement creates tangible outcomes. Florian also discusses the largely-debated question about alpha in the ESG space and why we have aggregate confusion.

How can you discover the sustainability-related risks and opportunities impacting a company’s future? In this episode, Sue Lloyd, Vice Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), talks about their newly launched standards for corporate sustainability reporting, explaining their purpose and how they were developed so quickly. Sue also explains how different jurisdictions are approaching its adoption and how ISSB’s standards operate alongside previously established standards in Europe as well as climate transition plans.

Rising populations and water consumption mean the likelihood that water demand will outstrip the supply, also known as Day Zero, is much greater. In this episode, Craig Foster, CEO of Ondo InsurTech plc joins us to discuss how Ondo’s technology is saving millions of litres of water to fight this threat. Craig delves into how he realised Ondo could solve this key environmental issue at the same time as achieving its original purpose, how this technology prevents water waste and his experience listing as a public company and being awarded with the Green Economy Mark.

How will the energy transition impact future investment opportunities? In this episode, Helen Lees-Jones, EMEA Head of Corporate Strategy and Co-Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions at BlackRock defines transition investing, delves into the different transition strategies that BlackRock’s clients are applying and explains some of the roadblocks that transition investing is currently facing. Helen also reveals the mega forces she believes will shape the future and in turn the economy.

In this episode, Richard Scobey, Executive Director of TRAFFIC talks to us about the shocking scale of illegal wildlife markets, why the practice is so difficult to stop and what TRAFFIC and other organisations are doing to tackle this troubling issue.

This is our last episode before we break for the summer! This week on the LSEG Sustainable Growth podcast we speak to John Willis, Director of Research, Planet Tracker. We get into all sorts, including the difference between nature and biodiversity, the importance it plays for financial institutions and how is it being tracked. Can companies be doing more to look at their nature footprint and not just their carbon footprint?

Do we have carbon tunnel vision? In this episode, we talk to Musidora Jorgensen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft UK, about the role psychology and AI play in sustainability, the importance of a company’s sustainability strategy and Microsoft’s own sustainability goals, including becoming carbon negative by 2030. Musidora also explains why their focus is not just on carbon and delves deep into how Microsoft is supporting sustainability efforts through technology, from building a planetary computer to gather data about the impact of the rising temperature on nature to creating ecological digital twins of rivers in collaboration with the UK water sector.

How can we bridge the gap in financial inclusion around the world and ensure women are financially independent? In this episode, we chat to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women's World Banking, about what exactly we mean by financial inclusion, why women are a large focus for their financial inclusion efforts, and steps they are taking to achieve security and prosperity for women as well as inclusive economic growth for all.