The Sustainability Agenda

In this episode of The Sustainability Agenda, host Tom Heintzman speaks with Kim Lauritsen, Senior Vice President at Ontario Power Generation (OPG), about the transformative potential of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in meeting Ontario's growing energy demands and advancing global decarbonization efforts. Kim highlights the benefits of SMRs, including their scalability, modular design, and ability to complement renewables, while also discussing OPG's plans to deploy GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMRs at Darlington and expand expertise internationally. The conversation underscores the importance of leveraging Ontario's strong nuclear supply chain, fostering Indigenous partnerships, and driving innovation to position Canada as a leader in clean energy and nuclear technology.

James Scongack of Bruce Power joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the opportunities for nuclear power innovation and expertise to meet rising electricity demand, including lessons learned from a multi-billion-dollar reactor refurbishment program and from partnerships with Indigenous stakeholders that will help to expand new nuclear capacity for the future.

Gayatri Desai of CIBC Corporate Banking Europe joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss key takeaways from CIBC's 2nd annual Electrification Summit, including observations on global electrification trends in the UK, Europe and the U.S.

Nat Bullard of Business Climate and former Chief Content Officer at BloombergNEF, joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the latest global trends driving the energy transition, and the progression and trajectory of electrification.

Rob Alexander of AlumaPower joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss battery storage systems, including the advances in battery storage technology, the use cases for zero-emissions long duration energy sources to meet rising electricity demand, and where the industry is headed.

Josh Wong of ThinkLabs AI joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss AI-driven approaches to grid management, including how this is helping to overcome traditional challenges to energy distribution, examples of long term and real time applications, and the impact of this automation on energy transition.

Teresa Sarkesian of the Electricity Distributors Association joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss electricity distribution, including the ways in which the demands on the distribution grid are changing, how local hydro utilities are navigating these challenges, and where the capital for grid modernization is coming from.

Apoorv Sinha of Carbon Upcycling Technologies joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets to discuss how carbon dioxide can be used as a resource to cement the foundation for a low-carbon economy and the role it can play in industrial decarbonization.

David Janashvili of CIBC Capital Markets joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the potential implications of Trump's second term on venture capital investment for US climate tech startups, how companies are adapting access to capital, and what our clients need to know as they engage in this space.

Mitchel Selby of Shopify joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) buyer's perspective in supporting first-of-a-kind (FOAK) carbon removal projects, including how buyers select projects and other important considerations.

Dr. Spencer Meyer of BeZero Carbon joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets, to discuss carbon ratings, including what it takes to assess carbon projects, how it helps carbon credit buyers to mitigate risk, and where the carbon ratings industry is headed. Learn more about the research mentioned in this episode here: https://cibccm.com/en/insights/podcasts/the-role-of-carbon-credit-ratings-providing-essential-market-infrastructure/

Zachary Kane of Oka joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets to discuss how carbon insurance can help sellers and corporate buyers allocate their carbon credit risk, the benefits of doing this, and where the carbon insurance industry is headed.

Ana Carolina Avzaradel Szklo of VCMI joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets to discuss the Claims Code of Practice, a rulebook helping to guide companies on how they can credibly make voluntary use of carbon credits as part of their climate commitments.

Michael Berends of ClearBlue Markets joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets to discuss the role of carbon pricing, including a closer look at Canada's carbon pricing policies, the potential impact of political uncertainty on its related programs, and how it is helping companies to accelerate decarbonization investments.

Eric Cooperström of Manulife Investment Management joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets, CIBC Capital Markets to discuss investment solutions with a natural capital thematic, including an investment strategy focused on forests for their carbon credit value, and how timberland assets are helping to diversify risks and generate new revenue streams.

Nathan Monash and Hugo Bonilla of Lundin Mining join Tarah Masniuk, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance, Global Corporate Banking, CIBC Capital Markets, to discuss environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges in the mining industry, what Lundin Mining is doing to meet its sustainability ambitions, and how sustainable finance is helping them to move the needle.

Luisa Fuentes of CIBC Capital Markets joins Tom Heintzman, Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the key takeaways from CIBC's inaugural Electrification Summit, including observations on financing electrification in North America and beyond.

Philippe Dunsky of Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director & Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the progress of electrification policy in Canada, the work of the Canada Electricity Advisory Council, and its recommendations to federal government that could accelerate investment in sustainable electricity systems.

Greg Payne of Mackenzie Greenchip joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director & Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of investing in grid suppliers and operators, and the game changers that can help to accelerate a clean grid.

John Redfern of Eavor Technologies joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director & Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss how a geothermal technology-based energy company is creating a scalable form of clean, baseload, or dispatchable energy for heating, cooling and electrical power, and the challenges and opportunities for the geothermal industry.

Marion Hill of DNV joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director & Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss the outlook for energy transition in North America, how energy demand is evolving across different sectors of the economy, and how this may be influencing the pace of corporate decarbonization.

Frank Pottow of GCP Capital Partners joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director & Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability, to discuss where the world's energy mix currently stands, what is driving energy demand, and how various forms of energy may evolve between now and 2050.

Dominique Barker of Lithium Royalty Corp joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability to discuss the latest developments in the market demand for electric vehicles, how this is impacting lithium's growth projections, and where Canada's ambitions stand in building a secure and sustainable lithium supply chain.

Felix Boudreault of Nordis Capital joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, CIBC Global Markets to discuss investment solutions with a carbon thematic, including a compliance market carbon fund, enabling investors to position for the transition and net zero carbon emissions.

Greg Adams joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability to discuss the market for nature-based credits, how these are evolving, and how one carbon project developer is delivering high-quality carbon removal credits to corporate buyers.

Sean Samson of EV Nickel joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability to discuss the development of a Clean Nickel business, the investment case for Clean Nickel production, how prices can be differentiated by carbon, and what is needed to scale its production.

Paul Needham of Arca joins Tom Heintzman, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Energy Transition and Sustainability to discuss the case for carbon mineralization as a climate solution, the technologies transforming CO2 from the air into solid carbonate minerals, and the potential marketplace benefits for companies producing carbon-negative minerals and metals.

Francisco Leon of California Resources Corporation joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets to discuss the opportunities and challenges of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for project developers, and how the Carbon TerraVault project is attracting investor attention and helping to scale CCS in California.

Ryan Fan and Tom Heintzman of CIBC Capital Markets discuss the key takeaways from CIBC's inaugural Carbon Summit and the importance of the carbon markets for companies on a net zero journey.

Larry She and Tom Heintzman of CIBC Capital Markets discuss different types of carbon markets and their prices, the influences that shape pricing, why liquidity is a challenge and how the markets are addressing price volatility.

Phil De Luna of Deep Sky joins CIBC Capital Markets' Tom Heintzman to discuss the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies landscape, the ‘what, why who and how' behind some of the most cutting-edge engineered solutions, and how these technologies will impact the energy transition.

Dr. Matthew Potts of Carbon Direct joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets to discuss a new criteria for high quality carbon dioxide removal (CDR). They explore the current challenges facing CDR, and how the common set of shared principles can help project developers and purchasers scale the CDR market.

David Janashvili and Tom Heintzman of CIBC Capital Markets, join Siddharth Samarth, Managing Director & Head, Sustainable Finance to discuss key observations from this year's Climate Week NYC 2023 conference, and the important takeaways to help companies accelerate climate action.

Duncan Rotherham of Deloitte joins CIBC Capital Markets' Tom Heintzman to discuss key trends in the carbon markets, how these are influencing the ‘velocity' of decarbonization and transition efforts, and what this means for companies over the short and long term.

Michael Bernstein of Clean Prosperity joins CIBC Capital Markets' Tom Heintzman to discuss the current challenges posed by carbon price uncertainty, the opportunities for a Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCFD) regime in Canada, and what this means for large emitters.

Charles-Antoine St-Jean joins Bindu Dhaliwal, Senior Vice President, ESG and Corporate Governance at CIBC to discuss the International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB) Sustainability Disclosure Standards, how they are expected to be implemented in Canada, the role of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, and what corporations should consider being prepared for.

Jonathan Belair of Power Sustainable Lios joins Ijeoma Madueke, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance, CIBC Capital Markets, to discuss the agri-food sector, including climate change's influence on food supply strategies, the role of Controlled Environment Agriculture, and how food companies can contribute to food system resilience.

Katarina Wangler Björk of Doconomy joins Ryan Fan, Managing Director and Vice Chair, Global Markets to discuss Doconomy's carbon calculator – what it does, how it is changing consumer and business behaviours, and why it's an important tool for climate action.

Ghada Nafie of Litus joins The Hon. Lisa Raitt, Vice Chair, CIBC Capital Markets, for a multi-part series profiling female entrepreneurs enabling Canada's energy transition. They discuss break-through solutions for selectively harvesting lithium from aqueous sources, and what this means for lithium producers and the future industry.

Beatriz Molero Sanchez of SeeO2 Energy joins The Hon. Lisa Raitt, Vice-Chair, CIBC Capital Markets, for a multi-part series profiling female entrepreneurs enabling Canada's energy transition. They discuss carbon capture utilization and storage (‘CCUS') technology that breaks down CO2 emissions into clean fuels, how this can be used for generating power or heat, and the benefits for high-emitting industries.

Ling Bai of VL Energy joins The Hon. Lisa Raitt, Vice Chair, CIBC Capital Markets, for a multi-part series profiling female entrepreneurs enabling Canada's energy transition. They discuss the next level of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Predictive Emissions Monitoring Systems (PEMS) and how this helps companies to achieve cost efficiency, regulatory compliance, and sustainability.

Natasha Kostenuk of Ayrton Energy joins The Hon. Lisa Raitt, Vice Chair, CIBC Capital Markets, for a multi-part series profiling female entrepreneurs enabling Canada's energy transition. They discuss the opportunities and challenges of hydrogen storage and transportation, and how new technology can enable clean distributed energy generation.

Goda Aglinskaite of ClearBlue joins Dominique Barker, Managing Director and Head of Sustainability Advisory to discuss the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) – what it means for EU and non-EU producers in carbon-intensive industries and the implications for global trade.

Henry Boucher of Sarasin & Partners joins Dominique Barker to discuss the stewardship role assets managers can play in sustainable investing – from changing the conversation on achieving returns, to active engagement with investee companies on ESG-related disclosures, and why it's important.

Debra Chen, Producer and Host of The Great Fail podcast series, joins Dominique Barker to discuss the lessons learned from companies who have failed, and why companies need closer engagement with their investors on sustainability to avoid the next Great Fail.

Roman Dubczak of CIBC Capital Markets joins Dominique Barker to discuss the growth of Sustainability Advisory, how we are evolving the conversation with our clients, and our priorities for 2023.

Dr. Torill Bigg of Tunley Engineering joins Dominique Barker to discuss Carbon Reduction Planning, and how businesses of all sizes can assess their carbon footprint, develop and implement a credible roadmap to net-zero.

Linda Scala of CIBC Enterprise Risk Management joins Dominique Barker to discuss the key takeaways from the Finance and Biodiversity Day at the COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity, and what it means for financial institutions.

Bruce Ander of Markham District Energy joins Dominique Barker to discuss why District Energy is important to the transition in Canada and the opportunities for city-owned utilities.