When we talk about the energy transition, we tend to think of solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles. But these technologies alone are not enough to get the world to “net zero”. In this special three-part podcast series, we discuss emerging technologies – probably unbeknown to most – that could make a really big difference in addressing climate change.
Guests: Kevin Bonebrake, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development at Quaise Energy (https://www.quaise.energy/), Ted Wiley, Co-founder, President and COO at Form Energy (https://formenergy.com/), Gregg Dixon, CEO at Voltus (https://www.voltus.co/), Michael van der Meer, Head of Sustainable Investment Analysts at Credit Suisse
Host: James Gifford, Head of Sustainable and Impact Advisory at Credit Suisse
The Inflation Reduction Act is the most ambitious legislative action the US has ever taken on addressing climate change, which could have a profound effect across industries for the next decade and beyond. Betty Jiang discusses Credit Suisse’s new report, “A tipping point in climate action”, which estimates that total federal climate spending under the Act may be double the headline figure.
Guests: Betty Jiang, Head of US ESG Research at Credit Suisse, Jigar Shah, Director at the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office https://www.energy.gov/lpo/person/jigar-shah, Rob Hanson, Co-founder and CEO of Monolith https://monolith-corp.com/leadership.
Host: Idara Otu, Director at Credit Suisse
Paul Polman, ex-CEO of Unilever, thinks it’s time for business to step up when it comes to climate change and inequality. Anna-Lisa Miller from Ownership Works says that employee ownership drives superior company performance and generates greater economic opportunity for workers. We discuss new, practical ideas helping business transition to a “net positive” future.
Guests: Anna-Lisa Miller, Executive Director, Ownership Works; Paul Polman, Business leader and co-author of “Net Positive”.
Host: Della Sabessar, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Credit Suisse
On the path to net zero, carbon credits are a critical instrument in a broad toolkit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some say carbon credits should, first, go to nature-based solutions to protect biodiversity before investing in industrial carbon reductions or removals. Our experts discuss the opportunities – and complexities – within carbon markets.
Guests: Andreas Aepli, CFO of Climeworks (Climeworks’ CO2 storage partner: Carbfix); Jonathan Goldberg, CEO and founder of Carbon Direct; Richard Tarboton, Global Head of Net Zero Strategy, Credit Suisse; Oliver Withers, Global Head of Biodiversity, Global Sustainability, Credit Suisse.
Host: James Gifford, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing Advisory, Credit Suisse.
Read more: Treeprint: The Beginning of the Big Carbon Age; Biodiversity: Concepts, themes and challenges.
The International Energy Agency’s pathway to a net zero future requires almost 90% of global electricity generation in 2050 to come from renewable sources. But is this goal realistic? Industry experts discuss whether it’s possible for renewables to displace fossil fuels in the energy mix, how soon and at what cost.
Guests: Assaad Razzouk, CEO, Gurin Energy; Lord Browne of Madingley, Chairman, BeyondNetZero; Jens Zimmermann, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Credit Suisse
Host: James Gifford, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing Advisory, Credit Suisse
Read more: University of Oxford paper: Empirically grounded technology forecasts and the energy transition; Nuclear energy: Challenges and opportunities; The Rich World’s Climate Hypocrisy - WSJ; Had They Bet On Nuclear, Not Renewables, Germany & California Would Already Have 100% Clean Power (forbes.com)
Financial literacy and the gender wealth gap are two sides of the same coin. There is a business case for financial institutions to promote the financial inclusion of women to ensure a remarkable growth impact. Supporting women by means of an actionable plan and raising the confidence in them as investors, on the other hand, would reduce the existing wealth gap. Join our talk with the amazing women from various branches of the financial sector to hear how they #ChangeTheGame.
Guests: Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President & CEO of Women’s World Banking, Eva-Valérie Gfrerer, Founder and CEO of Morphais, Nannette Hechler-Fayd'herbe, Head of Global Economics & Research and Chief Investment Officer EMEA, Credit Suisse.
Host: Kathy Norman, Global Head Social Sustainability & Strategy, Credit Suisse
Read more: Credit Suisse Gender 3000 report. The Credit Suisse Gender 3000 report shows women hold almost a quarter of board room positions globally https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/media-releases/credit-suisse-gender-3000-report-shows-women-hold-almost-a-quart-202109.html
Globally, equal pay is a recognized human right, and Target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for equal pay for work of equal value. We talk to some amazing women from the sports and finance sectors to hear what they are doing to level the playing field when it comes to gender imbalances, and how, collectively, women and men can #ChangeTheGame.
Guests: Tatjana Haenni, Swiss Football Association https://www.football.ch/sfv.aspx, Megan Rapinoe, U.S. soccer player https://www.ussoccer.com/players/r/megan-rapinoe, Helene Guillaume, Founder and CEO of Wild AI https://www.wild.ai/
Host: Della Sabessar, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Credit Suisse
Read more:Credit Suisse UK Entities Gender Pay Gap Report 2021 https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/about-us/docs/our-company/corporate-responsibility/employer/uk-gender-pay-gap-report2021.pdf
Press release: Credit Suisse Gender 3000 report Credit Suisse Gender 3000 report shows women hold almost a quarter of board room positions globally https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/media-releases/credit-suisse-gender-3000-report-shows-women-hold-almost-a-quart-202109.html
Gender wage gap barely moves in Switzerland https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/gender-wage-gap-barely-moves-in-switzerland/47469824
World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/6-surprising-facts-gender-pay-gap/
Education Technology has been around for two decades and promised great things, but only recently has it started to live up to that promise, with governments and innovators investing in the area, and the cost of devices and internet data plummeting. The sector was transformed on an unprecedented scale by COVID-19, propelling the future of learning by five to ten years.
We look at the post-pandemic challenges and opportunities in EdTech, what’s driving new innovative solutions, and how education supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Guests: Tory Patterson, Co-founder and Managing Director of Owl Ventures; Iman Usman, Co-founder and Chief of Product & Partnership, Ruangguru; Belva Devara, Co-founder and CEO, Ruangguru; Kirill Pyshkin, Senior Portfolio Manager (Edutainment), Credit Suisse.
Host: James Gifford
Read more: The Mobile Economy 2022 (gsma.com)
When it comes to a sustainable food system, we ask if consumers should be in the spotlight – alongside the more common focus on corporates and governments. Can consumers make an environmental impact by changing their habits; what should those new habits look like; and what’s the data behind the claims?
Guests: Roger Lienhard, founder of Blue Horizon and LiveKindly; Jayson Lusk, agricultural economist, author and professor at Purdue University; Eugène Klerk, Credit Suisse Global Head of ESG Securities Research.
Host: Brian Blackstone
Read more: Credit Suisse Research Institute's “The global food system: Identifying sustainable solutions”; Credit Suisse Research Institute's “The young consumer and a path to sustainability”; Jayson Lusk: “Impact of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives on Cattle Inventories and Greenhouse Gas Emissions”; Jayson Lusk: “Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology Are Serving Up Super Foods to Save the World”.
With food-price inflation and disruption across global commodity markets, we look at the role of technology and innovation in helping to maintain a more stable, sustainable food system for the ever-growing global population. Our experts discuss the environmental impacts of agriculture, farm subsidies and the upcoming disruptive innovations in the food-tech sector.
Guests: Roger Lienhard, founder of Blue Horizon and LiveKindly; Jayson Lusk, agricultural economist, author and professor at Purdue University http://jaysonlusk.com/
Host: Brian Blackstone
Read more: Farm Transformers initiative; “Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology Are Serving Up Super Foods to Save the World”, by Jayson Lusk
Shareholder engagement methods have long been used when it comes to executive pay. But how can companies be persuaded to step up when it comes to sustainability? What is the role of constructive dialogue versus more activist tactics, and do they really work to change a company for the better?
Episode 3 explores these and other questions with an impressive panel of experts.
Guests: Mía Overall, Director of Shareholder Engagement at Rockefeller Capital Management, Leslie Samuelrich, President at Green Century Capital Management, Christoph Biehl, Active Ownership Analyst on the ESG team at Credit Suisse Asset Management, James Gifford, Head of Sustainable & Impact Advisory and Thought Leadership at Credit Suisse.
Host: Brian Blackstone / James Gifford
The fashion industry is an important source of jobs and economic activity, especially in emerging market countries, but it is notorious for being stuck in a pattern of take-make waste, which causes devastating environmental effects and economic losses. It's estimated that nearly 60 percent of all clothing produced ends up burned or in landfills within one year of being made. Not only that, the apparel industry is widely associated in the public imagination with sweatshops and poor working conditions in low-income countries.
Episode 2 looks at where sustainability efforts are focused in the garment industry ecosystem and what it takes to make a real impact in the sustainable fashion universe.
Guests: Rogier van Mazijk, Investment Director at Fashion for Good; Catherine Tubb, Senior Investment Analyst at Planet Tracker; Anna Lidström, Designer & Researcher at Another Studio.
Host: Brian Blackstone
Read more: WRI and Apparel Impact Institute: Roadmap to Net Zero: Delivering Science-Based Targets in the Apparel Sector; Planet Tracker: Easy Un(pickings).
In a recent op-ed that caused a stir in the financial industry, Tariq Fancy, the former Chief Investment Officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, claimed that ESG funds are mainly making money for Wall Street and doing little for the social and environmental causes that they are supposed to support. On the other hand, demand for these funds is soaring, and investors are increasingly aware of the power they have to make impact with their wealth. So, what’s the real deal?
Guests: Katie Rae, CEO and Managing Partner of The Engine; Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy; Florian Heeb, University of Zurich; James Gifford, Head of Impact Investing at Credit Suisse.
Host: Brian Blackstone
Read more: The Double Delta of Impact Investing
