Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy

Guest: Vanessa Gray Much of what’s written critically about the fossil fuel industry focuses on the effects of climate change, but there are significant human rights and human health costs as well that don’t get as much coverage. And the effects of the industry on Indigenous communities receive even less attention. Vanessa Gray is the divestment campaign coordinator with Indigenous Climate Action. Growing up on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation near Sarnia, Ontario’s “Chemical Valley,” Gray witnessed first hand the serious effects unchecked industry can have on people’s well-being, so much so that she built an app which allows members of her community to track the nearby polluting companies and even trace health symptoms back to specific chemicals these companies were using or manufacturing. On this episode of ‘Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,’Gray speaks with host Tim Nash about the push to divest from fossil fuels and the importance of reinvesting toward climate solutions. More information about “Chemical Valley” can be found here, and the Aamjiwnaang struggle here.

Guest: Avery Francis What do the terms "diversity," "equity" and "inclusion" (DEI) mean in a practical sense, and how can investors ensure that companies aren't simply ticking the box to earn points for a better environmental, social, and governance (ESG) score? “Work should work for everyone,” says Avery Francis. She is the founder and CEO of Bloom, a Toronto-based consulting firm that helps companies implement changes to improve productivity by making their workplaces more accommodating to all their staff. On this episode of ‘Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,’ she talks with host Tim Nash about the “diversity debt,” and what workers can do if they want to find a job that better aligns with their values. Francis is also the host of Girlboss Radio.

Guest: Andria Barrett Canada's institutional banking system has been traditionally difficult to navigate for new immigrants to the country, leading many to utilize an informal, women-led savings collective based on the principle of mutual aid. Known as a "partner" in Jamaican culture, a "susu" in the Ghanaian community or a "hagbad" in Somali, a rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) fosters a sense of community in many immigrant groups and opens doors to funding frequently not available elsewhere. In this episode of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,” host Tim Nash speaks with Andria Barrett, a consultant and speaker at The Diversity Agency, and former president of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, about how ROSCAs work and why they're spreading beyond immigrant networks. More information at The ROSCA Federation.

Guests: Chandra Ramadurai and Tim Stoate According to a recent study, the transportation sector worldwide is responsible for approximately 16 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while building and infrastructure account for 21 percent. Why then, does transportation receive 61 percent of all investment funding aimed at making it greener, while building and infrastructure receive only four percent? Is this an overlooked opportunity? Enter Chandra Ramadurai and Tim Stoate, the CEO and Vice President of Development respectively of Efficiency Capital, a spin-off from The Atmospheric Fund. In this episode of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,” they talk to host Tim Nash about how they've turned financing greener building initiatives into economic success.

Guest: Anshula Chowdhury As more and more Canadians enter the sustainable investment realm, the most common question is, "How do I know my investments are having a net positive benefit?" This is where analysts like Anshula Chowdhury, CEO of Sametrica come in. In this episode of 'Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,' Chowdhury and host Tim Nash dig deep into how to accurately measure the massive growth in sustainable investing and social finance — including how AI figures in.

Guest: Victor Beausoleil When Victor Beausoleil was growing up, his mother was instrumental in organizing the finances in the expatriate Saint Lucien community in Toronto. Today, as the executive director — or "steward" — of Social Economy Through Social Inclusion, Beausoleil applies the same collective principles to help ensure diverse representation in the social finance ecosystem.

Guest: Sally Miller The food industry in Canada has been traditionally dominated by a handful of huge corporations, but small- and mid-level independent food producers are starting to have an increased market share. In this episode of 'Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,' host Tim Nash speaks to Sally Miller, executive director of the Fair Finance Fund about the concept of impact investing and how it's directly contributing to a more diversified and sustainable food system in Canada.

Guest: Melissa Shin Despite the rise in popularity of do-it-yourself investing, most people still find comfort working with a professional investment advisor. But how do you choose the advisor that's right for you? And how do you know that your advisor really “gets” responsible investing? In this episode of 'Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,' host Tim Nash speaks with journalist and editor Melissa Shin of Advisor's Edge and Investment Executive about how to find the right advisor and how to avoid those who are simply 'greenwashing' their investment opportunities. She suggests, among other tips, to use the Responsible Investment Association's online advisory tool to help you find the best person when it comes to managing your investments.

Guest: Tori Dunlap With a good background knowledge of money management instilled in her by her parents, Tori Dunlap resolved to save $100,000 by the time she was 25. With that goal achieved, Dunlap used what she'd learned to empower other women to manage and invest their money wisely. In this wide-ranging interview with host Tim Nash, Dunlap talks about her book "Financial Feminist," why women are less likely to invest than men and why she believes you're losing money every day you don't invest.

*This episode is a re-release, originally released Friday, Feb 18, 2022* Guest: Bruce Sellery, CEO of Credit Canada Many people are excited about responsible investing and eager to dive in. But there is some groundwork and approach that needs to be in place before you start. Bruce Sellery, CEO of Credit Canada and host of the “Moolala” podcast, joins host Tim Nash on “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy” to discuss the mindset of having money. As Bruce shares, the better you are about managing your money, the better you’ll be able to experience more about what you love. Got a question about responsible investing? Tim is taking questions and will endeavour to answer them on a future episode of the podcast. Need something answered? Email info@goodinvesting.com Host Tim Nash is the founder of Good Investing and has been a leader in responsible investing, impact investing, and the green economy for more than a decade.

*This episode is a re-release, originally released Friday, Nov 5, 2021* Guests: Jessica Moorhouse, host of the More Money podcast, and Adria Vasil, managing editor of Corporate Knights magazine and author of the ecoholic book series On the premiere episode of the “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy” podcast, host Tim Nash speaks with Jessica Moorhouse, host of the More Money podcast, who helps us get into the mindset of a person at the start of their investment journey. He is also joined by Adria Vasil, managing editor of Corporate Knights magazine. Adria compares the rise of responsible consumerism to the rise of responsible investing. Host Tim Nash wants to help you understand how to invest responsibly. Join him every Friday to make sense of responsible investing.

Guest: Julie Segal With COP27 having recently wrapped, credible climate plans — both at the state and corporate levels — are once again at the forefront of investors' minds. Julie Segal is the senior program manager for climate finance at Canadian charity Environmental Defence. She just returned from the conference in Egypt and discusses the prevalence of corporate greenwashing and the report "Roadmap to a Sustainable Financial System in Canada," which she co-authored.

Guest: Chris Turner With the news flooded with stories of wildfires, unprecedented droughts and rapidly-shrinking glaciers, it can be tempting for even the most ardent environmentalist to throw up their hands in despair. Calgary-based author Chris Turner joins host Tim Nash on this episode of 'Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy' to provide some much-needed good news on the climate change front. In his latest book, "How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World," he highlights places around the globe that are making remarkable environmental progress.

Guest: Patricia Fletcher Last week, the Responsible Investment Association released the 2022 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report. This much-anticipated annual offering shows how the biggest investors are approaching responsible investing — currently a $3-trillion sum in Canada. In this episode of 'Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,' RIA CEO Patricia Fletcher joins host Tim Nash to unpack this year's findings.

Guests: Armine Yalnizyan and Darryl Brown With inflation spiking and a recession looming, it's a difficult time to be thinking about investing. In a frank discussion, economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers Armine Yalnizyan digs into the root causes of the country's current economic pain and the road ahead. On the back end of the episode, You&Yours Financial's Darryl Brown offers some practical tips for investors navigating turbulent times.

Guest: Sarah Keyes Environmental, social and governance metrics have been a going concern for investing for close to 20 years, but what do these metrics actually mean? And who determines how an investment qualifies as "green" or "sustainable?" Sarah Keyes is the CEO of ESG Global Advisors. In this episode of "Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy," she walks host Tim Nash through new and developing guidelines and ratings being set up for ESG investing. She believes that ESG funds are moving out of their awkward teen years and into adulthood — with all the growing pains that comes with.

Guest: Seth Klein, founder of Climate Emergency Unit Fighting climate change is the existential crisis of our times. Why can't we seem to coordinate en masse the same way we have with other crises of massive scale? When Canada entered World War Two in 1939, the country radically transformed its economy and its very society in a matter of months. In fact at its peak, one in 11 Canadians was directly employed in military production—and a similar number was actively fighting. Seth Klein is a lifelong activist, the founder of the Climate Emergency Unit and the author of "A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency." He argues the same type of mass mobilization needs to take place in this country to combat climate change.

Guest: Jonathon Porritt, Founder, Forum for the Future Jonathon Porritt, a noted environmentalist and writer, has been at the forefront of the British green movement for five decades. And though he acknowledges the environmental precipice the Earth is currently perched on, he also admits to a sense of hopefulness he hasn't felt in a long time. In this episode of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,” Porritt talks about navigating that path between despair and hope and the work that his organization, Forum for the Future, is doing promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

GUEST: Lesley-Anne Scorgie, founder of MeVest For young people, investing can be daunting enough, but add the terms “ethical” or “sustainable” in front of it and it's enough to dissuade all but the most diligent first-time investors. Fortunately, personal finance guru Lesley-Anne Scorgie has a few tips and tricks for new investors to build their portfolios while not compromising their values. As the founder of MeVest, a financial educational company providing money coaching for Canadians, Scorgie has accumulated a wealth of valuable information tailored for new investors. In this episode of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy,” Scorgie recounts buying her first bond as a 10 year old with money she earned babysitting as well as navigating sketchy stock tips as a first-year university student, all while determining how to best keep her portfolio green.

GUEST: Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School Welcome to Season Two of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy!” The guest to kick off our sophomore season is Dr. Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School, noted TED speaker and author of “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.” In this wide-ranging interview, Edmans expands on the book's opening sentence, “Capitalism is in crisis,” where he explains that the system may work well for corporations, but doesn't always trickle down to individuals — or the planet. Instead, Edmans believes that “growing the pie” does not necessarily exclusively mean increasing the profits, but enhancing social value as well. And if that's the case, does that change the commonly-accepted definition of environmental, social and governance, or ESG?