The Sustainable Finance Podcast

Shivanth Pande is the founder of NIMB ACE Capital, the first investment bank in Nepal to offer systematic sustainable investment plans and other financial services for employees who work for the bank's corporate clients as well for the large underbanked population. Using a strategy that includes a variety of sustainable mutual funds, the bank now has more than 600,000 clients. In addition, Pande is the co-founder and current chairman of M! Nepal, a social venture that facilitates banks and microfinance companies in extending outreach of financial products to the poor urban and rural populations in Nepal.

Aniket Shah is Managing Director & Global Head of the Sustainability and Transition Strategy at Jefferies, a global financial services firm ranked #1 in the Institutional Investor Survey for Sustainability in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia in 2022-2024. Shah talks with us about using a face-to-face approach to advancing the energy transition: investors walking the streets, visiting the plants, talking to the people and learning the business culture. Shaw explains how in the current economic environment, climate adaptation and resilience-related investments are critical to continuing the global agenda on sustainability and human rights. Shah serves on the Board of Directors of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and teaches as an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

The story of Salish Elements began when one man gifted a bundle of tobacco to another. Rueben George and Omar Kassem first met at a gathering designed to provide Indigenous communities with the support of technology and business activists. Omar, is an energy industry engineer, working towards safely deploying hydrogen into British Columbia's utility infrastructure. Rueben is a globally recognized environmentalist and best-selling co-author of "It Stops Here", the story of the spiritual, cultural, and political resurgence of an indigenous nation taking action to reclaim their lands, waters, and food systems in the face of colonization. The gift of tobacco from Omar to Rueben led to discussions of how a green hydrogen energy business could provide an alternative to oil as well as share an economic opportunity with other Indigenous communities and First Nations in Canada. The idea of producing green hydrogen across B.C. with other Indigenous communities has become the story of Salish Elements, which Omar and Rueben have graciously agreed to share with our followers.

In 2022 alone, 4.1 million hectares of tropical forest were lost due to drought, deforestation, and wildfires, contributing significantly to global carbon emissions. Viridis Terra is addressing this urgent issue by focusing on the restoration of significantly degraded lands in the Ucayali and Loreto regions of Peru. Today's SFP guest, Martin Beaudion Nadeau, is Viridis Terra's Founder and CEO. In the program he talks about more sustainable farm management systems, including establishing biodiverse forests and agroforestry practices, and integrating native tree species and crops like cocoa and citrus. This aids in carbon sequestration and provides a sustainable source of income for local farming communities, empowering them toward long-term economic stability.

Low-carbon infrastructure projects that rely on proven technologies are often overlooked as too early-stage or lacking the scale to attract infrastructure investors. My guest today, Joshua Kaufman, CEO and Co-Founder at Khasma Capital, explains how his company bridges the divide between available capital and the urgent needs of climate-critical projects, specifically Circular Economy and Emerging Energy Transition technologies. These are industries with tremendous potential but high early stage requirements. Khasma Capital works with project developers to de-risk opportunities, attract large-scale funding and successfully reach commercialization.

What's happening with climate-focused investment strategies given current market uncertainty? Today's program reports good news. Schroders Capital, with $97 billion of AUM in global private capital, is applying decarbonization strategies to every asset class in its portfolios. My guest is Holly Turner, Climate Specialist at Schroders Capital. She walks us through how her team works with the companies in its portfolios to evaluate four levers for decarbonization. These levers consider both the portfolio and real-world outcomes an investment can achieve and which private market asset class is most likely to achieve each outcome, as well as contribute to a company's net zero commitment.

The textile and fashion industries are responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions, second only to Oil and Gas. 73% of clothing products end in landfills or get incinerated and 63% of products are plastic. The women who make up 80% of the textile industry workforce need decent working conditions and economic growth opportunities. These are the social and environmental impacts about which today's podcast guest creates daily awareness and an urgent call for industry transformation. Marci Zaroff is the Founder & CEO of Ecofashion Corp. She devotes her days to advocacy with consumers, corporates and policy makers for end-to-end sustainable textile manufacturing. Her efforts and those of many others calling for a more sustainable apparel industry are working and I'm very glad to have her join me for this conversation.

“What do investors want?” is the primary question motivating Graham Sinclair, my guest today and one of the pioneers in sustainable investing: from launching the PRI (Principles in Responsible Investment) into emerging markets in 2007, to working with iconic firms like KLD, IFC, Parametric and AIG on Wall Street. We sat down to talk about Sinclair's course at Harvard Extension School, “Making the Sustainable Investment Case,” which is one half of the Sustainable Finance micro certificate and a benchmark for candidates in the Masters of Sustainability program. New for 2025 is a two-part deep dive on Nature x Investment, drawing on the cutting-edge work of Irina Likhachova in biodiversity and fixed income. Sinclair is once again using “Fund Labs” projects for hands-on experiential learning with four specialist sustainable investment managers: Bill Page + Liz Simmie + Garvin Jabusch + Christofer Halldin. Listeners are in for a treat as Sinclair offers a unique perspective on what investors want.

The “Valley of Death” has become a popular term to describe a challenging period for sustainability focused startups. Bridging this “valley of death” in commercialization of sustainable technologies is a key role today's guest believes her company can play for their clients. Cindy Jia is Head of the Sustainable Solutions Group at ING Capital. Her goals for the ING team include accelerating adoption of sustainable tech and facilitating an easy transition between the different capital pools that are available. Today we're going to discuss the challenges in achieving these goals and how ING has progressed.

DeepSeek AI is unquestionably the media darling of the global information technology sector this year. News from the company in January about why DeepSeek is cheaper, faster and better at reasoning than other platforms roiled the NASDAQ technology stock market index and raised multiple questions, including: Will leading companies in the sector continue to increase their already frenzied build out of energy center capacity? Dr. Elham Kheradmand, today's guest on the Sustainable Finance Podcast is the CEO and Co-founder of Lucid Axon and a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Montreal. She has over a decade of experience in AI and financial technology research, and was a North American AI Leader of the year in 2022. Dr. Kheradmand also has some insights for our followers into just how good DeepSeek is.

On today's program we talk about how universities are key innovators in solving the climate crisis. At the same time, as we read daily in the news, they're dealing with tremendous uncertainty. So how is Lisa Sachs, the Director of the Columbia University Center on Sustainable Investment and the recently launched Columbia Climate School MS in Climate Finance, coping with these uncertainties in U.S. climate policy and sustainable finance? And what about the volatility in career opportunities that graduates of these programs will face during the next four years? For Sachs, these are just two of the stress points she is managing in today's university environment. Sachs is also an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at the Columbia Climate School, where climate science and climate change are engaged in the 21st Century's existential challenge for supremacy.

How does an “immigrant kid” become the Founder of a firm that provides sustainable solutions for institutional investors, including ESG market analysis and education, regulatory risk management and investment process design? Allison Binns is the Founder and Principal of Peregrine Strategy, She is also a Senior Advisor at Danu Venture Group, which provides early-stage investment access to technology companies focused on national security, new infrastructure and their enabling industries. Allison says her background as an “immigrant kid” has shaped the way she approaches investments and sustainability in general. We're fortunate to have her as our guest for this episode of the SFP.

There are $200 trillion of investable assets across the global financial system, affecting the decision-making of businesses and the lives of billions of people. So in this challenging financial environment, how are major banks, asset managers and investors focusing on adaptation and resilience to guide investment decisions? On today's program, Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at the World Benchmarking Alliance, walks us through their process for benchmarking how 400 of the largest companies in the global financial system are scaling adaptation to climate risks in the next decade.

U.S. companies doing business in the EU who need to comply with their emissions trading rules will be interested in what Andrew Eckhardt, CAP2's Chief Sales Officer, has to say on today's Sustainable Finance Podcast program. Almost 50% of CO2 emissions in Europe are controlled by the EU Emissions Trading System. CAP2 buys carbon certificates for their investor clients that incentivize businesses not only to reduce emissions but also to retire them from the EU market forever.

According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), sustainable food and plant-based innovations will grow in market share from $39B today to $290B by 2035! My guest today is a global player in helping transform the food system. Elysabeth Alfano, the CEO of VegTech, consults with public sector companies up and down the industry supply chain. Today, Alfano is talking about her role as advisor to EATV, an ETF which invests in the founders, disruptors and trend-makers with the vision and technology to create a food secure future.

Did you know that your employer-qualified retirement plan can negatively impact the company's growth potential and profit margins? We're talking about the carbon footprint of a firm's qualified retirement plan investments, insurance premium payments or bank loans. This is a critical topic because financed emissions are linked to the activities of financial institutions like the investment managers, banks and insurers, which are employed by 60 million SMEs in the U.S. Scott Ryan, CEO of Investature is an impact investment advisor and financed emissions expert. On today's program Ryan tells us how company owners and employees can use employer-sponsored investment and retirement plans to catalyze sustainable impact and growth goals.

The US healthcare system is under siege, financial distress and rising frustration and dissatisfaction by the public to name a few challenges. My guest today is leading the way to a different approach. Rob Roy is SVP, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability for AdventHealth, a non-profit healthcare system which employs 3,800 physicians and provides healthcare services to over 8 million patients through 52 hospital campuses in 9 states and 22 home health and hospice agencies. Rob, who has 36 years of institutional investment experience, oversees AdventHealth investments, which include operating capital and employee retirement portfolios totaling approximately $20 billion.

For real estate investors and owners, figuring out how to reduce carbon emissions without raising the cost of building new or retrofitting is a major challenge. My guest today, Laura Rapaport, founder and CEO of North Bridge, is leading the way in providing financing that does just that. C-PACE is a long term, fixed-rate credit product secured by a special property assessment, and North Bridge has recently secured a $1 billion commitment from the Carlyle Group to originate C-PACE loans. Rapaport explains how this financing can ensure that resilient and sustainable real estate projects have the flexibility required for completion while reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption, and benefiting local economies. All PACE projects to date are expected to reduce carbon emissions by 3 million tons.

For listeners interested in cutting edge climate tech and investment opportunities for 2025, the Wall Street Green Summit is your one stop shop. My guest, Peter Fusaro, a leader in the clean tech sector, launched his first Summit in 2002. On today's episode Fusaro gives a preview of what will be happening at this year's gathering on March 18 and 19th, when leading investors, asset managers and founders in climate tech will convene to share their knowledge about clean energy solutions and solving new problems in sustainability. In our wide ranging conversation, Fusaro discusses his perspective that the train has left the station and climate tech innovations will continue during the next administration. The 24th Wall Street Green Summit: NYC, March 18-19th, in person only, at the Cornell Club (one block from Grand Central Station). TheWallStreetGreenSummit.com

The big shift in ESG data analytics is from opaque ratings to key design principles for meeting regulatory demands and stakeholder expectations. My podcast guest today, Lise Pretorius, talks about ESG data's influence amid the current industry backlash and sustainable investing's potential to shape a future in financial markets focusing on accountability, trust, and meaningful impact. Pretorius is Chief Sustainability Analysis Officer at Matter, which provides ESG and sustainability data and analytics solutions to the investment industry. She discusses using new types of data to supplement company disclosures, including forward looking analyses, geospatial data, and third-party insights.

The Climate Talent Initiative was the brainchild of Roshan Paul during his third major career change, designed to de-risk pathways for skilled people to enter the global climate change workforce. Roshan used his own experience in the climate change sector to create opportunities for others, especially to answer the following question; “How can I earn a good living and have a positive impact on global climate change issues”?

What can VC and PE companies do when faced with pressures from investors, customers, and regulators to report ESG metrics more accurately and dedicate more resources to the process? SFP guests Charlie Mahoney, Head of U.S. Sales at Novata, and Simone Wren, ESG and Sustainability Director at New Relic, bring first-hand experience and insights to how private companies can achieve their sustainability and business goals, like increasing employee retention, reducing their carbon footprint, and building more financially efficient business systems.

Today's guest, Francisco Roque de Pinho, does a deep dive on how regenerative agriculture is addressing land degradation and water scarcity across Latin America. Roque de Pinho, who began his career as a banker at https://www.linkedin.com/company/edmond-de-rothschild/. and co-founded The Land Group in 2016. The company is an independent and fully integrated real asset manager and farmland operator of 40,000 hectares in South America focusing on soil management, animal welfare, natural resource conservation, and water system resilience. With €120 million of assets under management, The Land Group is now ramping up its focus on adaptive-grazing based approaches to regenerative agriculture.

GaiaLens is an AI-powered Sustainable Analytics Platform for institutional investors and financial services firms. My guest, CEO and Co-Founder Gordon Tveito-Duncan, and team offer cutting-edge technologies through this innovative platform and a suite of tools that support asset managers and owners throughout the whole ESG investment lifecycle. Tveito-Duncan tells us how their platform saves significant time and helps fulfill ESG portfolio reporting, investment screening, and deep-dive research capabilities.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with its diverse economies, regulatory environments, and cultures, presents unique challenges and opportunities for businesses, investors, and regulators. On today's program, Jeanne Lee, Head of APAC Sales and Kyle Flick, APAC Advisory Lead at Novata talk about how their platform is simplifying and streamlining data collection to help businesses create a competitive edge, stimulate long-term growth and prepare for regulatory reporting.

In 2016 the founding partners at Cibus Capital merged their first-hand experience of the impacts of the current food production industry on the planet and its people. By combining their skills in finance and agriculture they formed the Cibus Funds to invest in more sustainable food systems. Rob Appleby, Cibus Capital's CIO and Founder, believes that by identifying companies that are category or local champions, with proven track records, a cost advantage and that pay specific attention to sustainability criteria, Cibus makes investments that will outperform over the next decade.

The single serve coffee industry has a recycling problem: too many pods, not enough recycling providers. My guest today is going to tell us how his company aims to solve this problem by manufacturing compostable coffee pods. Matthew Martin is the VP of Innovation at Pod Pack Int'l. He's second generation, growing up in the business with his father, who co-founded Pod Pack in 1996. In 2018 Pod Pack Intl. joined LongueVue Capital (“LVC”), which galvanized the company's potential to generate attractive returns while being accountable for their social and environmental impact.

In 1989, Ron Dembo founded Algorithmics Inc., which he grew from a start-up to the largest supplier of enterprise financial risk systems, serving 80% of the world's largest banks and insurers. Fast forward to 2020, with just three employees, Dembo embarked on and even bolder mission, launching Riskthinking.AI–a groundbreaking simulation engine capable of modeling the world's largest financial institutions, the most complex corporations, and even entire countries, all to assess the impact of climate change on their futures. On today's program, Dembo talks to us about developing a platform that is scientifically rigorous, mathematically sound, scalable, computationally efficient and evolving alongside advancements in data science.

Tim Gocher's adventures in Nepal started 20 years ago when he left his job in London's financial markets. Gocher is founder and CEO of Dolma Fund Management, the first international private equity firm to focus on empowering Nepal's startups. Under Tim's strategic leadership, Dolma has successfully raised over $100Million in two funds and created over 15,000 jobs in Nepal and other developing countries. Tim has pioneered renewable energy investment throughout Asia. He is also founder and chairman of Dolma Foundation, a charity focused on fostering education-related changes in Nepal.

My guest on today's program is Marie Clara BUELLINGEN, Head of Sustainable Finance Americas for Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, one of the largest foreign banking organizations in North America. She is charged with solving the challenges of making public and private capital work together to scale clean energy solutions in the required timelines. The Societe Generale sustainable finance team develops ESG strategies and programs that meet with key stakeholder expectations and best practices such as TCFD, SASB, GRI, UNPRI and the CDP. We talk about approaches to clean energy technology solutions that she has seen work across multiple sectors of the global economy.

It's Climate Week 2024 in New York, and all eyes are on the decarbonization and climate transition trend, with climate mitigation investing often taking center stage. But as the physical effects of climate change on people and the global economy continue to escalate, it's increasingly obvious that investments in climate adaptation and resilience are also critical. And insurance, particularly the insurability of assets across different regions is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting avenues for meeting this need. Three investment experts from Schroders join us on today's program to discuss what's happening, including climate and crop insurance industries, insurance linked securities, and private market opportunities. Irene Lauro, an Economist at Schroders, focuses on climate issues; Christophe Etienne, is a Senior Natural Catastrophe Specialist on the Insurance Linked Securities team at Schroders Capital; and Martin E. Diaz Plata is Head of Private Equity Investments at Blue Orchard, an Impact investment manager owned by Schroders that runs the only private equity strategy in the world solely dedicated to climate insurance.

The sustainable finance markets in Latin America are developing rapidly, and Sandra Carrillo Hoyos has led more than 50 projects funded by multilateral banks and focused on renewable energy, construction, water management, cement, mining, and forestry. Carrillo Hoyos is an ESG & Sustainable Finance Consulting Partner with ERM, which has been working in the global sustainability markets for decades, and on today's program she talks with us about the opportunities for scaling the sustainable finance markets in Latin American Countries and connecting climate mitigation ambitions with the employment and social gaps in these economies.

The insurance industry, one of the largest money management and investment sectors of the global economy, allocates trillions of dollars across the capital markets every year. Axis, a global specialty insurer and reinsurer, underwrites insurable risks across multiple economic sectors. Joe Dutton, Energy Innovation Lead at Axis, talks with us about their recently launched Lloyd's syndicate that is underwriting the risks and opportunities of the energy transition.

In today's episode we're going to learn how Shariah investment compliance aligns with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, and the unique benefits this integration offers to investors and startups. My guest is Rina Neoh, Managing Partner at Ficus Capital and Secretary General for the ESG Association of Malaysia. Established in 2018, Ficus Capital is the world's first ESG-Islamic Venture Capital management company. The firm offers investors in-house Shariah financial structuring and an ESG Islamic framework integrated with the investment and monitoring process of its portfolios.

Insurance carriers are the second largest money management group and one of the most impactful regulatory industries on earth. How is Premiums for the Planet, a membership-based collective action movement, motivating this industry to incorporate more sustainable investment strategies? Join Founder and CEO Brad Stevenson as we discuss how the collective's companies are challenging the investment practices of their insurance carriers to support the climate adaptation efforts of the collective.

In 2023 Terra Alpha Investments financed 82% less carbon emissions, 88% less water usage and 35% less waste generation through the firm's investment portfolio. Tim Dunn is Founder and CIO of this firm that invests in forward thinking companies that are profitably leading the transition toward a sustainable global economy. Terra Alpha engages directly with portfolio companies through proxy voting, thematic campaigns and company-specific interaction. Last year the firm also included its Diversity, Equity and Income data disclosure expectations of companies in their initial engagement letter and had 92 active engagements with portfolio companies. Terra Alpha's ultimate goal is enabling a sustainable planet for society, which the firm does through portfolio construction, corporate engagement and thought leadership.

Private equity, blended finance, new regulations like the SFDR, lack of infrastructure, government instability: these are just some of the challenges investors face in financing and executing impact projects in emerging markets. My guest today, Paul Hailey, Head of Impact and ESG at responsAbility Investments AG, walks us through how the company's projects in South America and North Africa are achieving competitive returns while making significant impacts on climate mitigation, healthcare, education, manufacturing, financial inclusion and quality jobs for the younger generation. Since its inception in 2003, responsAbility has deployed over USD 15 billion in impact investments and currently manages USD 5.0 billion in assets.

As companies and investors continue to navigate the 3D-reset themes of decarbonization, deglobalization and demographic change, Schroders believes that it is important to consider the practical investment implications of these broad trends. In 2024, Schroders sees investors transitioning from simply thinking of ESG risk management and integration to an increasing focus on sustainable opportunities and themes to harness for value creation. To shed more light on this rich and exciting investment area, we have three portfolio managers with us today. Chris Damm is an Assistant PM on the US Multi-Sector Fixed Income Team at Schroders; Valerie Harrington is a Fund Manager at BlueOrchard, an Impact Investment manager owned by Schroders and Uzo Ekwue is a Fund Manager on the Global Thematic and UK Equity teams at Schroders.

James Kench is Head of Insurance at Kita, the company that insures carbon. He is a global finance, (re)insurance & climate risk executive with a career spanning Europe, Asia & the Americas. Carbon insurance provided by Kita unlocks financing and de-risks projects in the carbon markets, a source of investment opportunity and potential liability when not insured. Carbon insurance contracts issued by Kita are backed by leading re-insurance companies like Lloyd's of London. They swap the uncertainty of future losses with the certainty of insurance premiums to insure transfer of contracts, unsustainable business models and the cost of doing business. Carbon insurance can cover risk assessment, management and risk taking and James joins me today to discuss how Kita improves financing and lowers the cost of capital in the carbon markets.

Bair Financial Planning has been offering investment and lifestyle financial advisory services to clients for 20 years! Initially focused on the LGBTQ community in San Diego, CA, Marci Bair broadened the scope of her firm's life planning and asset management advice when Victor Orozco joined the firm a decade ago. They now have clientele across multiple family generations and offers sustainable and ESG investment strategies as well as more traditional portfolio diversificaiton, and sometimes both to generations within the same family. We discussed the ever-changing list of acronyms and definitions in the asset management industry, all of which are finally about the same objectives of long term financial security that matches and compliments the lifestyle choices of their clients. Marci and Victor are actively growing their firm and adapting the services provided to their clients to meet today's financial needs and tomorrow's aspirational goals.

Courtney Thomas is a passionate advocate for social and economic justice. In her role as Senior Policy Analyst at HOPE Policy Institute, Courtney coordinates and leads public policy efforts to advance economic opportunities for working families in the Deep South. She uses research, outreach and advocacy to advance fair and equitable public policies that center on the experiences of black, brown and indigenous communities of color. Her research interests include fair lending, fair housing and transportation equity policies, where federal and state decisions can impact the allocation of resources and facilitate an environment to ensure that all people prosper.

Craig Coulter has 12 years of experience with EY delivering strategy and advisory services to clients large and small with a focus on the environment and sustainability. In Episode 259 of The Sustainable Finance Podcast (SFP) he and I discuss his passion for building businesses, organizations and teams that incorporate sustainability to make it business as usual. Craig is currently responsible for Sustainability Services and Strategies in the advanced manufacturing and mobility sectors, paying special attention to decarbonization in manufacturing, sustainability in supply chains and procurement compliance. Craig excels at combining technical know-how with go-to-market strategic vision, so don't miss his perspective in this SFP episode.

In 2023, FuelCell Energy commenced operations of the company's Tri-gen system for Toyota North America at the Port of Long Beach, California, where neighboring communities have been significantly impacted by decades of emissions from the ships, trucks, locomotives, and cargo-handling equipment. Betsy Schaefer, FuelCell Energy's Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer joins me for this SFP episode to discuss how the Tri-gen system produces renewable electricity, renewable hydrogen, and water from directed biogas. This will allow a reduction of air pollution in the neighboring communities and will avoid more than 9,000 tons of CO2 emissions from the power grid and more than six tons of grid Nitrogen Oxide gas each year. FuelCell Energy sees sustainability as an essential part of the company's business strategy. And Betsy joins me today to give us more details about the firm's sustainability strategy.

Investors and asset managers need quality data that they can compare across companies, industries, and indexes. The critical need for convergence and harmonization of ESG frameworks and metrics globally is the topic of today's program. Laura Callaghan, Associate Director of ESG Services at Novata, is going to take us behind the scenes into the Service team's important role in moving Novata beyond the sustainable investment industry perception that this is just a technology platform. We will explore the ESG convergence initiatives and frameworks that are key for market transparency, and what barriers exist in achieving this convergence.

Alison Taylor, Clinical Professor at NYU Stern School of Business and one of the world's most compelling experts on business ethics, has a new book, and after having read it, I recommend it to every executive, entrepreneur and student I speak to. In Higher Ground, with laser focus and insight, she lays out the reasons why businesses can no longer treat ethics as “a legal and reputational defense mechanism.” In our conversation today she walks us through her blueprint for how leaders can navigate our incredibly complex, messy, and volatile global business, social and political environment. Taylor, who has spent decades advising large multinationals on sustainability issues, organizational culture, and various forms of business model risk, tells us how we can rethink and reshape our practices.

Today's SFP guest believes that in the future energy will be clean, resilient, abundant, and free. Harnessing that energy will allow us to preserve wild places and protect the magic of our natural world, while propelling us to the far reaches of our solar system and beyond. Nick Davis, CEO at GridMarket.com, believes that we all have a role to play in the giant leaps that AI and energy abundance will produce for humanity. Nick also believes that harnessing the power of GridMarket's subscription service in partnership with companies like GRP/Wegmanm will redefine clean energy projects, embracing state-of-the-art technology and AI to pinpoint, optimize, and execute renewable energy solutions with unmatched precision.

Andrea Longton is an award-winning author and professional social justice investor. She has raised over 1 billion dollars for social justice investments in the United States and has advised on another 1.5 billion dollars worldwide. Andrea's new book is titled The Social Justice Investor: Advance Your Values while Building Wealth and will be released this month on April 23rd. Her professional experience includes positions at Opportunity Finance Network, Freddie Mac, Capital Impact Partners, which is now Momentus Capital, and Delphos International. Andrea holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute and has worked in structured finance investments, capital markets and change management.

Today's podcast guest loves to speak with investors and asset managers interested in the sustainable food space. Shila Wattamwar, Founder and CEO of Radiant Global Advisory, is an adviser to companies that are optimizing logistics, reducing supply chain costs and emissions and fostering community engagement as sustainability goals they expect will produce greater ROI and profitability and help them become preferred companies to work for in their industry. She is a Fast Company Impact Council member and a contributing writer on sustainability themes. In a recent article Shila highlighted her framework that maps activities to positive actions, rather than just the issues we face, with the intention of making daily sustainability-focused action more tangible for consumers as well as investors and asset managers.

Tee Ganbold is Co-Founder and CEO at Improvability AI, the Generative AI improvement engine for sustainability. She was Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Clear AI, optimizing supply chains for sustainability utilizing knowledge graphs. Improvability AI enables companies to enhance their sustainability focus and increase profits through the power of AI automation - intuitive AI agents and applications that automate tasks and workflows to lower costs in the business model and supply chains. Clients use the Improvability AI RAG Platform to automate reporting, insights and research based on their private data and documents. They also work with Improvability AI to create their own platforms for clients or teams.

Sustainable Impact investing is at an inflection point in 2024, so where do Radhika Shroff and her Nuveen Private Equity team see value in this type of investing? Their investment thesis is rooted in addressing two critical and inextricably linked problems — inequality and climate change. They believe these problems create attractive impact investment opportunities outside of traditional developed markets that offer investors stability, competitive returns and liquidity for the right asset manager. Climate change knows no boundaries and will impact communities with varying levels of resilience. Nuveen also believes that by targeting the emerging low-income consumer segment, and providing that consumer with goods and services that mitigate carbon emissions and build resilience, they will select companies best positioned to grow and lead in the decades to come.

Many claim that ESG is dead. Our SFP guest today said that “ESG is broken” at NYC Climate Week last year. But ESG teams need ESG software in the same way that finance teams need finance software. Makes sense, but where should businesses start on this software adoption journey? Today followers of the SFP are going to hear from Marjella Lecourt-Alma, CEO and Co-Founder of Datamaran about “Smart ESG”, how it differs from other approaches and what are the benefits for businesses of different sizes and industries? Datamaran is the only software analytics firm in the world that can monitor external risks and opportunities (incl ESG) in real-time. The development of their patented technology is expert-led and fully transparent. Marjella and the Datamaran team believe that companies who care about their success - in an ever evolving world - incorporate material ESG risks and opportunities from the top down.