Podcast appearances and mentions of mark tercek

Joe and John talk to Mark Tercek about the changing climate and the challenges it presents. Mark is well-qualified to discuss the "issue," having served as CEO of the Nature Conservancy for over a decade. It's a very informative discussion, entirely due to Mark's encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter. Listen and learn. You'll learn a lot. 

When the ESG framework— standing for Environment, Social and Governance— was first introduced among investors and business leaders, it was intended to inspire or demonstrate a greater concern for the environment and society upon which major corporations depend. It has most often been a vehicle for influencing organizational decisions around resource consumption, staff diversity, and overall carbon footprint. Over the past year, there has been mounting opposition amongst state treasurers and legislatures, particularly in the Ten Across region, to private and public ESG initiatives. For example, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama are now part of a growing number of states that have either introduced or signed legislation prohibiting state involvement with organizations that have factored ESG criteria into their operations. While the industry term continues to occupy media and political attention, this conversation between Ten Across founder Duke Reiter; the former CEO of The Nature Conservancy, Mark Tercek; and current Senior Vice President of ESG Strategy at The Howard Hughes Corporation, Gautami Palanki, seeks to provide greater insight into the practical and proven applications of ESG performance metrics.

I met Bob at a conference on climate at my old school, Columbia Business School. He knew another participant, Gernot Wagner, with whom I recorded an episode I'll post soon, and was a peer with past guest Mark Tercek. I didn't work in finance, but I understand Bob and Mark were like dieties there.Bob brings two huge new things to climate (he talks about climate almost exclusively among our environmental problems, though we touch on others briefly in the conversation). First, he knows risk management. Most of his career, he didn't think much about the environment, but when he learned about it, he identified that we have to manage risk, so he dove into the issue.Second, he connected with a group of conservative politicians promoting what he sees as the most effective solution: a carbon tax. That he's working with groups normally seen as resisting climate action could bring people together.Also, just after we recorded, the New York Times published a big piece on Bob: A Renowned Economist's New Idea for Stopping Climate Change.A personal note: I don't challenge his views because I'm learning them and meeting him. I agree our economic system doesn't account for pollution and depletion. Without proper accounting, no business can stay in business that long, nor can any government. So I consider proper accounting essential, but it's only extrinsic. It doesn't change our culture or the values driving it. Since our culture has abandoned, at least regarding how we treat each other when mediated through the environment, Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You, Live and Let Live, and Leave It Better Than You Found It, a tax won't fix a values problem.I didn't challenge Bob in it in our conversation, but I find when people focus on climate and greenhouse emissions they nearly always "solve" them with "whack-a-mole" ideas that increase biodiversity loss, deforestation, and other problems. They claim they're solving one thing at a time, but I see them not addressing the culture causing everything.I look forward to more conversations with him.A New York Times piece on Bob: A Renowned Economist's New Idea for Stopping Climate Change Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a banker end up leading the world's largest environmental organization? What resources did he use to build his sustainability knowledge and what frameworks did he learn from 11 years leading the organization? In latest episode of TNZL, Nathan speaks with Mark Tercek to understand how he unlocked his inner environmentalist and how he thinks everyone needs to do the same.  During the episode Nathan and Mark discuss Mark's climate journey, his unique perspective on the intersection of finance, capitalism, and the environment. They get into disclosure and carbon accounting with some added history of GAAP financial accounting and other lessons from his career for how to move the world closer to net zero emissions.  Mark R. Tercek is the former president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. He is co-author of the book Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. Prior to The Nature Conservancy, he was a manager director and partner at Goldman Sachs for 24 years and was a member of the faculty at New York University Stern School of Business. Today Mark spends his time advising companies, investors, and NGOs on ambitious environmental initiatives and also writes a bi-weekly newsletter on Substack "The Instigator." If you'd like to get in touch with Mark, you can follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.  Keep up with the show by following The Net Zero Life on Twitter and Instagram (@thenetzerolife). You can also get in touch at www.thenetzerolife.com or via email at nathan@thenetzerolife.com. Season three of The Net Zero Life is powered by Climate People. If you are a software engineer looking to get into climate tech, Climate People is the best place to start. You can reach Brendan Anderson, CEO of Climate People, at brendan@climatepeople.com. Other Show Notes  -ETFs for the Amazon (blog post) -Stewart Brand Biography -Mark's Book Recommendations   

Devin: What do you see as being your superpower? Mark: Well, I hesitate to use the word superpower. I mean, I’m proud of the stuff I’ve been able to accomplish. It’s all been done with great teams at great organizations by and large, so there was always a team effort behind it. And so perhaps the smartest answer and the most honest one would be, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of harnessing what my colleagues and my teams can do to ensure the best outcome, and I probably did learn that in my rookie days at Goldman Sachs.Superpowers for Good is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber.The partners at Goldman Sachs chose Mark Tercek to be the first head of sustainability at the firm. After several years in that role, he left to run The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest environmental nonprofit. Today, he advises companies, investors, nonprofits and others. He also publishes The Instigator, a bi-weekly newsletter here on Substack.While at The Nature Conservancy, TNC, he authored Nature’s Fortune, one of my favorite books about the environment. It is replete with examples of how protecting the environment brings economic and financial benefits. One example he reviews in the book is how New York City faced a threat to its water supply. As development and extractive industries encroached on the Catskills, from which it gets water, the city recognized a choice between building an expensive water treatment plant or spending money to protect the watershed. The city chose the conservation approach for much less money than the water treatment plant would have cost. New York still has famously good water.TNC was able to leverage that model to help Coca-Cola and Pepsi do the same kind of thing to protect their critical water supplies. When nature is protected, the economic benefits are only a tiny part of the puzzle. The approach also saves the native flora and fauna of the area.Mark led TNC through a transition to using impact investing as a tool. One example he shared was buying $400 million of land in Montana and Washington. The team financed 90 percent of the purchase with borrowed funds at a 0 percent interest rate and five percent as subordinated debt with a low-interest rate. TNC only had to raise 5 percent as donations. His investment banking background showed when he described the deal as being like a leveraged buyout (LBO).Mark plays in a rarified world. He describes Blackrock’s Larry Fink as a “friend” and a “hero.” He says, “He’s been a great champion of Impact Investing. He’s the biggest institutional fund manager in the world. He’s really used his bully pulpit to push investors to think harder about addressing environmental challenges.”Fink faces criticism, I’ve seen, from both the left and the right. From the left, there are calls to do more and accusations of greenwashing. From the right, I see folks suggesting that he’ll ruin financial returns if he considers climate change, a hoax in their words, in the screening for investments. Perhaps the fact that he gets it from both sides suggests he’s doing it right. It certainly means he’s doing something that matters at Blackrock.During our conversation, Mark repeatedly referred to the teams he worked with at both TNC and Goldman. He credits his colleagues with the success sometimes attributed to him. He conceded that his ability to get the best outcomes from teams was his superpower.How to Develop Ensuring the Best Outcome From Teams as a SuperpowerMark explained some of the early training he received at Goldman Sachs. Assigned to value the various business units of a conglomerate for possible sale, his boss told him to talk to the senior people in the firm to gather their input. When Mark presented the findings to a top banker, he challenged Mark name by name about the judgments he’d collected. “He starts saying, ‘Did you ask Mr. X? Did you ask Miss Y?’ naming partners at the firm. And I’m thinking, Oh good, I did ask these people,” Mark says. “Then he said, ‘Did you ask Mr. A.? Did you ask Mr. B?’ And these were names I wasn’t familiar with, so I said, ‘So I said, no, I didn’t ask them, who are they?’ It turned out they were retired partners from Goldman Sachs.”The expectation for involving large numbers of colleagues in the dialog proved to be a foundational lesson that he has sought to apply to throughout his career. Interestingly, in evidence of genuine humility, Mark quickly added something he needs to learn to do even better: listen. In that regard, he identified a specific action he could do to improve. He recognized that there are people who are circumstantially less able to share negative feedback, and so they don’t. He learned that he needs to create a vehicle or pathway to enable people whose voices may not be heard because of their relative junior status or a personality trait to speak up and be heard.He also shared a powerful insight about the relevance of continuing to learn to develop new skills even in middle age and beyond. He suggested that learning to get more from teams or be a better listener could be worth trying, even if you have gray hair.One of my duties, of course, at TNC was, of course, to be attentive to and get to know our volunteers and our donors and supporters. A lot of them are senior people. And so for the first time in my life, really apart from relatives, I had a lot of friends who were in their eighties, even their late eighties. Often these events would be organized on social basies, dinners or receptions. And my wife, Amy would go to them with me. It was really fun for both of us. Amy and I would often say to one another, 'You know, Frank there, even though he's a pretty old person, he's one of the most youthful people we know, energetic, interested in others.' The reason, I think, is he, he and others like him. They found the secret of a long, joyous, happy life. Find a cause that you care about and get to know people who can help you make a difference in that cause. So some of these people, they wanted to be important in the environmental space and whatever the way they could, that required them to spend time with younger people to ask for help, to stay highly engaged. And by the way, when you're doing that kind of stuff, you quit worrying about yourself so much you're worrying about something bigger and more important. And these people, they're happy, they're engaged. They're having they're living great lives. I don't see why anyone can't choose to do that.So, young or old, you can develop your passion for solving problems and learn to collaborate with others. You can make ensuring the best outcome from teams your superpower. Get full access to Superpowers for Good at devinthorpe.substack.com/subscribe

Mark Tercek is the former CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Prior to his work at TNC, he was a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs for 24 years. He is the author of the Washington Post bestselling book - Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. Mark advises corporations, investment funds and NGOs on ambitious environmental strategies that make business sense.  He also serves as a board member, investor  and advisor to startups focused on environmental problem solving.  Mark publishes a newsletter ("The Instigator") available on Substack. Check out the Climate Finance Podcast website for more information.   Topics discussed: Mark's journey from teaching English in Japan, studying at Harvard Business School, and working at Goldman Sachs to moving to The Nature Conservancy. NatureVest - TNC's internal investment bank / brokerage. KPIs for Conservation Finance (Stanford Natural Capital Project) What can Private Equity do? Biden Administration's Infrastructure Plans Prospects for US-China Climate relations. Endowment Funds for Water (Ecuador and New York examples) Debt for Nature Swaps (Seychelles example) Biodiversity Financing Gap Climate Finance Philanthropy Voluntary Carbon Offsets How to increase capital flows from Institutional Investors? Considerations for Emerging / First time Climate Finance Fund Managers. Personal advice: ‘Your critics are your friends'. Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The interview took place on 24th September 2021.

Mark Tercek, former CEO of The Nature Conservancy, speaker, author, and "chief instigator," talks about the power, both for the economy and wellness, of our planet. Be it the Norwegian study under discussion or his own highlighting of "Shinrin Yoku," (aka “forest bathing”), green spaces have been well documented to refresh, revitalize, and build resiliency.  You can learn more about resiliency and stress recovery on our website, http://verdantconsulting.net.  

John interviews Mark Tercek, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who left the world of finance to become the CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) – the world's largest environmental nonprofit organization. During his 11 years at TNC, the organization raised over $7 billion dollars to fight climate change and protect land and water around the world. Tercek is also the author of “Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.”John and Mark discuss the move from investment banking to environmentalism, why he brought a business approach to the organization, and how the private sector can be one of the leaders in the fight against climate change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“It's true that there's a cost to addressing environmental problems but it's also true that there's a much higher cost to not addressing them.” And in Mark Tercek's view, everyone can and should play a part. The former CEO of The Nature Conservancy believes that the best outcomes for the planet will come at the intersection of government, corporate, institutional, organizational, and individual effort. The common Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are important but not enough and there are rewards for going above basic compliance levels. It's a familiar place to Tercek. With more than 1 million members, $1 billion in revenue, and active in 70+ countries, The Nature Conservancy is the world's largest environmental nonprofit. With TNC, Tercek established NatureVest, their impact capital fund, drove a $7 billion capital fundraising campaign, and established a permanent department focused on gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion (GDEI). Prior to The Nature Conservancy, Tercek was partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs. He built Goldman's environmental practice to help clients pursue initiatives that achieved positive financial and environmental outcomes. These days, Mark is a speaker, writer, advisor to business, institutional investors, and climate startups. He also publishes The Instigator which is intended to push the private sector to take bold action on the environment. His goal is to tackle huge environmental challenges in ways that make business sense. In this episode of What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw, Mark shares a blueprint for CEOs, organizational leaders, and individuals to maximize their positive environmental impact. What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw... Life and career rarely go to plan. Breakthroughs happen on the ragged edge when things aren't quite going as expected. What I Wish I Knew podcast hosts Mike Irwin and Simon Daw explore lessons learned by leading athletes, creators, entrepreneurs, leaders, and difference makers. They all have three things in common: none are perfect, all are humble, and they've learned a few things along the way. In What I Wish I Knew, they share their lessons with you. http://www.whatiwishiknewshow.com Connect with Mark Tercek: https://marktercek.com/

In this episode, co-hosts Thomas Obermeier and Hamza Zafar interview Mark Tercek, author of The Instigator newsletter and former Goldman Sachs partner and CEO of The Nature Conservancy to discuss his work advising private sector leaders on ambitious environmental strategies that make business sense and how having a climate focus maximizes shareholder value.

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Mark Tercek, longtime investment banker at Goldman Sachs, a former CEO of The Nature Conservancy, and a current member of the President's Council at Resources for the Future (RFF). Tercek talks about his current work advising private companies on how to take more ambitious steps to address environmental problems—particularly climate change. He and Raimi discuss some examples of what companies are doing, why they’re doing it, and how a skeptical public can evaluate the veracity of corporate climate commitments. References and recommendations: "The Instigator" newsletter by Mark Tercek; https://marktercek.substack.com/ "Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire" by Rebecca M. Henderson; https://reimaginingcapitalism.org/ "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/530626/playing-the-enemy-by-john-carlin/ Amy Harder's interview with Bernard Looney via Axios on HBO; https://www.axios.com/bp-ceo-climate-reinvention-axios-on-hbo-624c3a9c-9ad4-4fb1-9b38-552c558a3544.html

Mark Tercek stands tall in environmental action. He was president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy for 11 years.From Wikipedia: "Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has over one million members, and has protected more than 119,000,000 acres of land and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide. The largest environmental nonprofit by assets and revenue in the Americas, The Nature Conservancy ranks as one of the most trusted national organizations in Harris Interactive polls every year since 2005. Forbes magazine rated The Nature Conservancy's fundraising efficiency at 88 percent in its 2005 survey of the largest U.S. charities. The Conservancy received a three-star rating from Charity Navigator in 2016 (three-star in 2015)."Before then he was a partner at Goldman Sachs. Curious how someone goes from investment banking with Hank Paulson to the Nature Conservancy? He describes that calling.We also enjoy that we both are reaching new audiences---I share about Magamedia and he about talking about global warming in Alabama.As much as the content he shared, I loved his emotion of, as I read it, enthusiasm and expectation of success, knowing the challenges andthe likelihood of catastrophe, whatever progress he makes.Green Is Good, The New Yorker profile of Mark See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Canadian federal government has committed to using "nature-based solutions to fight climate change, including by planting two billion trees." But is reforesting an area the size of a European country and managing that forest, naturally a good form of climate/energy policy and public investment? On Episode 7 of Energy vs Climate, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham unpack the growing (but still abstract) field of natural ecosystem protection and climate mitigation with special guest Mark Tercek, former president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy and co-author of "Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature." Get on the email list at www.energyvsclimate.com

Leadership: what works and what doesn't from on an 11 year run as CEO of TNC.

Island and coastal nations need to protect their waters in order for our oceans to stay healthy. But they often have lots of debt and aren't able to prioritize ocean protection over other needs. Mark Tercek and his team at The Nature Conservancy see a way to solve both problems at once: buying a nation's debt at a discount and restructuring it to give them lower payments, in exchange for the government's commitment to protect its coastal areas. Learn more about how "Blue Bonds for Conservation" work -- and how you can help unlock billions of dollars for the oceans. This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change. (Voiced by Ladan Wise) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Compassion Towards All: Moving toward a Plant Based Diet (2019-05-15) - For most of human history it’s been “normal” to eat non-human animals. This is now changing. We are awakening to the massive suffering of the billions of animals killed each day for food, the horrors of the animal-food industry, and the impact it has on climate change (second only to fossil fuels.) In this short talk Tara shares her personal story of transitioning to a vegan diet, and invites listeners to investigate, without judgment, their own choices in this domain. (note: given at a special class on "Loving Life with a Plant-Based Diet." Tara was joined by guest speakers, Mark Tercek and Brenda Sanders, and hosted by Jonathan Foust. Full video available at Tara's Facebook page and soon at IMCW.org.)

Mark Tercek is the CEO of The Nature Conservancy, the world's largest environmental organization. He is a former Managing Director and Partner at Goldman Sachs and is the author of the bestselling book Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.   Some interesting insights from this episode:  We all have an inner environmentalist inside of us.  His executive coach taught him some valuable lessons early on including how to listen better and how to not sweat out the details.  In the nonprofit world, he had to learn how to understand employees' psychic income and use that as motivation to drive behavior.  Saving nature isn't just the morally right thing to do, it's also the smartest investment we can make.  Learn how he pivoted his 4,000 employee organization from pure land conservation toward embracing climate change as a top priority.  “Excellence is matching ambition with a good dose of reality.”  We all have a tendency to overestimate risks in our lives. The returns are greater than perceived and the risks less that perceived.  More of us should just go for it.

In this Takeover episode, two comedians and a writer — Pete Dominick, Travon Free, and Wajahat Ali — discuss politics, race, and a changing America. How should citizens and politicians talk about race? What is white privilege? And how can we, as a country, find solutions to the problems minority communities face? This lively and funny conversation touches on serious topics. Travon Free is an actor and comedian who writes for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.” Wajahat Ali is a New York Times op-ed contributor, a lawyer, playwright, and former TV host. Pete Dominick hosts SiriusXM’s “Stand Up with Pete Dominick.” Dominick also speaks with Mark Tercek, president of The Nature Conservancy, about the Paris climate accord. This episode contains explicit language.

Mark Tercek is the President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the author of the book Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. In our conversation we talk about the different ways TNC is investing in nature, it's latest programs and strategies to preserve precious land and marine resources, as well as how impact investors can become involved and begin to think about how to invest in the environment. We also talk about some of Mark's personal stories, travels, and two book that had a massive influence in his life.   When I read Mark's book Nature's Fortune, it was very intuitive and obvious to me. Nature has been evolving ways to handle and address all of the same issues that humans are facing today in regards to clean water, floods, and erosion.  Since then, I have found myself thinking deeply about how can we get investment dollars into environmental conservation and restoration efforts. How can impact investors leap frog past technologies and practices to encourage and deploy sustainable development and biodiviersity preservation?  These are some of the biggest things on my mind, and in this conversation I had the opportunity to hear from one of the biggest names in the game, some of the different ways groups are using innovative finance to approach these issues.   Links to the shownotes and resources discussed in the conversation can be found at www.impactinvestingpodcast.com  on Twitter @ImpInvPodcast  Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Impact-Investing-Podcast/1028492787190705?fref=ts

Alan Hart with various institutions to present a leadership series that highlights accomplished global leaders with invaluable insight and advice, from across various backgrounds and industries. Alan Hart sat down with Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, to understand what makes TNC unique, why they partner with notorious polluters and his reflections on leadership. TNC is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations. Mark is also author of Nature's Fortune and a former Goldman Sachs partner before taking the helm at TNC. This initiative is made possible due to a partnership with UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Support the show.

February 2, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1afJAf5. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. When Mark Tercek took the reigns as CEO of The Nature Conservancy in 2008 he brought a new perspective. As a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Tercek’s career evolved into a focus on sustainability, recognizing the vast economic value of nature and the ability of business to actually contribute profitably to the health of the planet. In Tercek’s book, Nature’s Fortune, How Business and Society Thrive in Nature, he explains how his experiences at Goldman Sachs and at TNC prove that protecting the environment makes economic sense. For example, he called attention to a shift in attitude at CocaCola, noting that in 2002 water was not listed as an important input in its annual report and by 2012, water had become a key focus. CocaCola has adopted a policy of “replenishment,” with the goal of creating ecological means of returning as much water to the environment as the company uses. Not to be outdone, Pepsi has promised to become “water positive.” Tercek explains the economics that have driven the shift and how preserving and restoring the natural environment can be much more affordable than “gray infrastructure,” man-made remedies like levies, dikes and sea walls. According to a Nature Conservancy Magazine article about Tercek, first sought to leave Goldman Sachs in 2005 to pursue work focused on the environment, but Chairman Henry Paulson convinced him to stay by inviting him to form a new group, the Goldman Sachs’ Environmental Strategy Group, where he could work on his passion. When the opportunity came up, however, to head The Nature Conservancy in 2008, he jumped at the chance. Tercek attributes his desire to work for the preservation of the environment to his role as a parent. “I want to be able to look my kids in the eye,” he says, “and tell them I did all I could to leave the world a better place.” Before beginning his 24 years at Goldman, Tercek completed an MBA at Harvard after earning a BA at Williams College. This interview is part of a series that will examine what can be accomplished in the fight to solve the world’s biggest challenges within the next thirty years. The solution to every big problem also presents opportunities entrepreneurs will exploit to change the world. From this series of interviews, a book, working title: Thirty Years to Peace, will emerge.

Mark Tercek - Why Saving Nature Is the Smartest Investment We Can Make - 04/18/13 by westminsterforum

Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy and author of "Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature."

Mark Tercek, President of the Nature Conservancy, discusses the future of forest carbon trading and strategies for engaging the private market in carbon finance. Forests are an important mechanism for sequestering carbon and protecting the environment, yet reforestation and aforestation projects have been left of some credit markets. Mr. Tercek discusses both the players in these new markets and their tools.

What does Wall Street make of the trends in cleantech, corporate environmental strategy, corporate social responsibility, and emerging carbon markets? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, two Goldman Sachs managers discuss how their investment firm is making the financing of corporate deals contingent upon the incorporation of increasingly stringent environmental criteria. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/gene_sykes_mark_tercek_-_risks_and_opportunities_of_going_green