Sustainable Views

In this episode, Silvia speaks to the founder of AWorld, the official app of the UN Act Now campaign that encourages individual action towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Alessandro Armillotta, who is also AWorld’s chief executive, believes in the power of the individual. He created the app after working in the fashion industry and seeing the environmental damage it caused in the countries producing garments. AWorld is, in a way, Alessandro’s own individual action towards a more sustainable economy. Technology, says Alessandro, can help influence consumer behaviour by providing information about the environmental impact of each purchase or lifestyle choice. The more targeted the information, the higher the chances of improved habits. But, the more data app users share about themselves, the higher the risk this could be misused. Alessandro talks about the need for safeguards around data, the risk of greenwashing, and how AWorld could go as far as influencing the way people vote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Silvia speaks to the founder of AWorld, the official app of the UN Act Now campaign that encourages individual action towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Alessandro Armillotta, who is also AWorld’s chief executive, believes in the power of the individual. He created the app after working in the fashion industry and seeing the environmental damage it caused in the countries producing garments. AWorld is, in a way, Alessandro’s own individual action towards a more sustainable economy. Technology, says Alessandro, can help influence consumer behaviour by providing information about the environmental impact of each purchase or lifestyle choice. The more targeted the information, the higher the chances of improved habits. But, the more data app users share about themselves, the higher the risk this could be misused. Alessandro talks about the need for safeguards around data, the risk of greenwashing, and how AWorld could go as far as influencing the way people vote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, the Sustainable Views team reviews some of the hottest topics of the year, and points you towards the trends to watch in 2024. From new obligations and reporting rules, to sustainable investment definitions, climate lawsuits, greenwashing and clean technologies - we have you covered. Listen to your host, Silvia Pavoni, as she talks to Philippa Nuttall, Alex Janiaud, Claudia De Meulemeester and Florence Jones. And read their reports online at sustainableviews.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evidence suggests that different ages and genders engage in varying degrees with climate change. Our latest episode's guests tackle how these factors can benefit or hinder progress - from young people’s tech nous to the influence of figures like psychologist Jordan Peterson, who has disputed climate science and has broadcast this message to a significant following. Mira Manini Tiwari, a research associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, and Akil Callender, youth lead at UN Sustainable Energy for All, talk to Alex about their activity and experience, and discuss the impact of disinformation on the young. Akil discusses his UN work and the organisation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals - also known as the SDGs - while Mira talks about the social theory that suggests a more collective mindset among women, and the relevance of this to climate change. As humanity continues to debate how it should tackle the climate crisis, policymakers may need to consider more bespoke approaches to the transition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Working in sustainability is almost by definition a “career change”, given the recent nature of this area. As far as career moves go, however, few may feel as far apart as those of elite football and niche science. French international footballer Mathieu Flamini has done just that, co-founding GF Biochemicals at the end of his playing days. Football aficionados will remember Flamini’s time with the French national team, England’s Arsenal and Italy’s AC Milan. These days, his focus is on developing a version of levulinic acid, a plant-based alternative to the oil-based chemicals used in paints, cosmetics and other products, that can be mass-produced from agricultural waste. Flamini believes this could transform industries and cut carbon emissions; investors seem to agree with him. GF Biochemicals has secured €15mn of funding for this development, and has already a couple of hundred patents for plant-based substances. In an interview at the Financial Times studio in London on October 2, Flamini talks to Alex Janiaud about the need to channel capital into the climate transition, his work with the French government, and ESG regulation. He also shares his views on the UK government's watering down of climate targets. - Register to our daily newsletter here: https://www.sustainableviews.com/sv/request-free-trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you work in sustainability, you'll already be familiar with Desiree Fixler. If you're new to this area, Desiree is the whistleblower who instigated multiple investigations into the ESG credentials of DWS, the asset manager part of Deutsche Bank. At one point, the German police got involved too. The company’s shares dived; its CEO stepped down. This is arguably the biggest sustainable finance scandal to date. Desiree, who used to be DWS’s global sustainability officer, accused her former employer of greenwashing. In September this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission concluded she was right. It fined the asset manager a whopping $19mn for ESG misstatements - the SEC's largest ever ESG fine. In this new episode of Sustainable Views, Desiree talks to Silvia Pavoni, your host, about how sustainable finance should change to actually be sustainable – and avoid misleading investors. She also shares her views on regulators’ role in this area (she’s not a fan of the EU’s sustainable finance disclosure rules, which she says are a “train wreck”); and calls on companies to build solid ESG expertise internally, rather than outsourcing the work – and the responsibility – to consultants. Desiree also gives advice on how to tackle greenwashing within companies, and how to deal with life as a whistleblower. - Links: https://www.sustainableviews.com/csrd-under-attack-as-eu-gears-up-for-elections/https://www.sustainableviews.com/should-article-9-funds-invest-in-transitioning-companies/https://www.sustainableviews.com/uk-government-seeks-industry-views-on-issb-scope-3-standards/https://www.sustainableviews.com/european-commission-urged-to-align-eu-reporting-standards-with-issb/https://www.sustainableviews.com/sv/request-free-trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last episode of our first season, Silvia takes you through our more popular shows – from our very first recording, where Alison Taylor of NYU Stern School of Business examined the “language” of ESG; to a close look at carbon markets, credits and offsetting; to a conversation with Mathias Wikström, the founder of Swedish climate tech start-up Doconomy, about education, inclusivity, and activism. Our top shows: How to speak ‘ESG’Should you offset your carbon emissions?Meet the green tech activists Alison Taylor's opinion piece: Incentivising ESG: What does it really take? Our carbon market coverage: Kenya carbon offsetting project has ‘serious failings’, report findsIntegrity Council launches global benchmark for carbon creditsBuilding up the voluntary carbon markets Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Sustainable Views, Silvia talks to Lubomila Jordanova, the founder and CEO of Plan A, a carbon reporting start-up with offices in Berlin, Paris, and London. Lubomila says that Europe, rather than the US, is the best place to raise “quality” capital for climate companies. Much of this is due to investors’ closer familiarity with the challenges at hand, she says, as well as because of the ever-growing set of European regulations that are shaping the environmental, social, and governance space. Lubomila talks about some of the industries that are more deeply affected by new rules – and gives advice to entrepreneurs looking to enter the green tech space. In addition to leading Plan A, she is also the co-founder of the Greentech Alliance, an organisation that supports and connects founders. - Silicon Valley Bank collapse and its impact on green tech financing. Find Silvia on LinkedIn here and Twitter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Silvia talks to Paul van Zyl, the co-founder and chief creative officer of The Conduit, a private members’ club that organises events and social gatherings centered around sustainability themes: climate change, human rights, the circular economy. The Conduit has a big pulling power. It has hosted talks with Nobel laureates Malala Yousafzai and Maria Ressa, Russia expert and former US presidential adviser Fiona Hill, climate activist Clover Hogan – and many other well-known names. It promises members an array of opportunities to make connections and, for those interested in putting their money where their values are, access to impact investments too. But the prerequisite of any private members’ club is an often costly physical location, and a hard-to-scale food and drink offering. This is where things get tricky. Can a private members’ club actually be sustainable? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the next few episodes, Silvia Pavoni, your host, will introduce you to some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs creating solutions and galvanising efforts to address climate change. There are more than 800 of them in Europe alone! In this episode, you will hear from Mathias Wikström, the founder of Doconomy, a Swedish start-up that, among other things, helps consumers measure the carbon footprint of the products they buy through their credit cards. Since it was launched in 2018, Doconomy has grown rapidly, partnered with MasterCard as well as with the United Nations, and secured relationships with banks that, combined, reach about 850mn potential users of Doconomy’s varios ‘calculators’. Have a listen. And if you’d like to find out your carbon footprint number (like Silvia did), the link to Doconomy’s “lifestyle impact calculator” is in the show notes. - Want to find out what your number is? https://doconomy.com/lifestyle-impact/ More on green tech companies here: https://www.sustainableviews.com/climate-tech-sector-fills-carbon-reporting-gap-for-smaller-companies/ And here: https://www.sustainableviews.com/meet-the-esg-disruptors/ And you can read about “competence greenwashing” here: https://www.sustainableviews.com/demand-for-esg-expertise-reveals-competence-greenwashing-risk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They are meant to help us transition to a greener economy but carbon offsets, and the markets where they are traded, are fraught with controversy. The quality of carbon credits is under scrutiny, as is their use by companies, which may purchase them in lieu of real action towards net zero. Consultancy McKinsey estimates that this space will be worth as much as $50bn by 2030. Used judiciously, carbon offsetting can channel funds towards activities that help prevent or remove CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Used cynically, the practice risks becoming a sophisticated form of greenwashing. Which way is this market heading? We have some answers. Listen to Silvia Pavoni, your host, as she talks to Marie Kemplay, one of her colleagues who has recently written about the controversy surrounding carbon markets. You’ll also hear from Gilles Dufrasne at Carbon Market Watch, an expert in this field with some strong views. - Links: Marie’s article on the voluntary carbon markets: https://www.sustainableviews.com/building-up-the-voluntary-carbon-markets/ Another interesting article on carbon offsets: https://www.sustainableviews.com/environmental-law-ngo-calls-for-ban-on-carbon-offsets-marketing/ And, for the geekiest among you, here is a report on how to evaluate carbon market products in financial accounting: https://www.sustainableviews.com/iasb-should-look-at-carbon-markets-says-study/ For more of our Sustainable Views content, register here for a free trial: https://www.sustainableviews.com/sv/request-free-trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the environmental impact of certain materials to the huge waste problems caused by discarded clothing, the fashion industry is problematic. Even more so if social factors are taken into account – after construction, fashion is the world’s second biggest driver of modern slavery, according ot the Global Slavery Index. Women represent over three quarters of people involved in abuses. Yet sustainability claims are increasingly popular with fashion brands. In this episode, Silvia talks to author and campaigner Orsola de Castro, the co-founder of Fashion Revolution and one of the best-known voices calling for greater accountability in this space. Orsola argues that clothing labels should provide environmental and social impact information to consumers. She discusses upcycling, greenwashing and our favourite subject – regulation. - Links to Sustainable Views’ coverage of the fashion industry: https://www.sustainableviews.com/is-cmas-fashion-greenwashing-probe-start-of-a-wider-clampdown/https://www.sustainableviews.com/norway-declares-leading-sustainability-index-unusable-on-consumer-labels/https://www.sustainableviews.com/new-yorks-catch-all-fashion-act-aims-to-enforce-global-change/ Here is Fashion Revolution’s ‘Good Clothes, Fair Pay’ campaign: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/good-clothes-fair-pay/#:~:text=Good%20Clothes%20Fair%20Pay%20is,workers%20are%20paid%20living%20wages And here is the link to Orsola’s book, Loved Clothes Last: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/loved-clothes-last-how-the-joy-of-rewearing-and-repairing-your-clothes-can-be-a-revolutionary-act/9780241461150 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Though most of us would understand what the term ‘financial health’ means, there isn’t quite an official definition. That’s a problem if we want policymakers to pay attention to this area. Ensuring we have enough money at the end of the month should be a concern not just for individuals, but for employers and financial regulators too. This is what Queen Mȧxima of the Netherlands has been campaigning for in her role as UN secretary-general’s special advocate for inclusive finance, or UNSGSA. In this episode, you’ll hear the Queen’s views on financial health and why it matters to everyone, across all countries – not just developing ones. Then, Silvia speaks to Pia Roman Tayag, the director of the UNSGSA office about where the concept of financial health fits in their longer-standing work on financial inclusion. - Links: https://ftflic.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZWR6ep5IQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L56k2BlbBRU Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

London mayor Sadiq Khan wants more power and financing for cities so they can deal with and find solutions to climate change. Cities, after all, are responsible for over two thirds of emissions and local administrations, says Khan, are seen as the “doers”, while national governments are the “delayers”. He thinks that mayors should be part of the UN climate conference negotiations. In fact, COP27, which is wrapping up in Sharm el-Sheikh this week, will be the last without cities at the table, he says. Does he have a point? Hear what Khan told Sustainable Views and what our correspondent Philippa Nuttall makes of his green leadership for London as she talks to Silvia Pavoni, your host. - Read Philippa’s article on why cities struggle to go carbon neutral: https://www.sustainableviews.com/why-cities-are-struggling-to-go-carbon-neutral/ Find out more about Sustainable Views, here: https://www.sustainableviews.com And request a free trial to access all our content, here: https://survey.ft.com/jfe/form/SV_9RGu5ktcIREwMLA?_sp=3bd6bfcc-af1c-4833-b73e-3f4913d4dab7.1668705958866 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of this year’s UN climate conference, discussions over the responsibility of the world’s richest countries towards developing economies have intensified. Emerging markets’ contribution to climate change is miniscule, but they are disproportionately hurt by its effects. Think of the catastrophic droughts, floods and hurricanes directly linked to man-made climate change that have crashed infrastructure and cost lives and livelihoods across developing countries. With COP27 being hosted by Egypt, and African governments increasingly pushing back against requests to keep fossil fuels in the ground (as this would slow economic growth), will there be new solutions on the negotiation table? Will this be the Africa COP? Silvia chats to James King, one of our correspondents who has recently written about Africa, and to Gillian Marcelle, a development finance expert with sanguine views on the urgency of the issue - and on how to fix it. - You can read James’s deep-dive here: https://www.sustainableviews.com/african-governments-push-to-close-the-climate-funding-gap/ This is Gillian’s opinion piece on sustainable finance: https://www.sustainableviews.com/sustainable-investment-is-a-first-world-option/ Here are the views of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance chair Guenther Thallinger: https://www.sustainableviews.com/blended-finance-has-its-time-come/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Silvia and Alison Taylor of NYU Stern School of Business look into the language of sustainability and find it still has a pretty loose grammar and highly convoluted syntax. Most native speakers do not even agree on a common interpretation of environmental, social and governance factors. The good news is: more of us are trying to learn this language. And Alison shares a few tips on how she teaches it too. In the show, Alison mentions a piece she’s written for Sustainable Views. You can find it here https://www.sustainableviews.com/incentivising-esg-what-does-it-really-take/ To read more of our articles on ESG policy and regulation, you can register for a free trial here https://survey.ft.com/jfe/form/SV_9RGu5ktcIREwMLA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Confused about sustainability? You’re not alone. Environmental, social and governance factors, or ESG, are increasingly a headache for business, finance and world leaders alike. Now even policymakers are creating rules to govern this space. It’s hard to keep up and make sense of it all. So let us help you by sharing some of the most interesting views shaping this space. Join your host, Silvia Pavoni, as she talks to the people living and breathing sustainability – and a few critics too. (We can’t promise this will be a completely jargon-free space, but we shall try!) Want to talk to us directly? Email sustainable.views@ft.com. Want to find out more about Sustainable Views? Visit www.sustainableviews.com Sustainable Views is an intelligence service by the Financial Times Group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.