It’s World Environment Day, a time to listen to what the experts have to say about how our planet is changing and how the world of business needs to change with it.
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Eco-Business has compiled a list of some of the best environmental, social and governance (ESG) podcasts to catch this 6 June as you ponder the fate of life on Earth.
1. The Angry Clean Energy Guy
In the words of Assaad Razzouk, host of The Angry Clean Energy Guy podcast, there is much to be angry about if you are a clean energy guy. In his weekly podcast, Razzouk, a Lebanese-British clean energy entrepreneur, podcaster and recently published author of the controversial Saving the Planet Without the Bullshit in which he argues that individual action makes little difference in tackling the climate crisis, the Singapore-based former corporate financier, takes an axe to conventional thinking around the world’s response to climate breakdown.
A not-to-be-missed episode is episode 58, which explores how consumers are deceived by businesses on the pretext of being sustainable — also known as greenwashing — using vague or false claims to hoodwink consumers into believing that a business is green.
2. The Eco-Business Podcast
The EB Podcast episode on greenwashing in Asia
Even though we say so ourselves, the Eco-Business Podcast mixes it with the best ESG podcasts out there. Debuting in December 2017, the EB podcast has covered a dizzying diversity topics that challenge Asia’s sustainability community to think differently about how the world, from how electronic dance music can inspire climate action to the struggles of Indigenous Malaysians in protecting their lands and customs.
Check out “Shifting sands: the environmental controversy beneath your feet”, where former Eco-Business correspondent Sonia Sambhi speaks to Madhumitha Ardhanari, principal sustainability strategist at Forum for the Future, a sustainability non-profit, to better understand Singapore’s relationship with sand, of which the city-state is the world’s largest importer. The episode was recently shortlisted in the Excellence in Audio Reporting (regional/local) category at the annual Society for Publishers Asia 2023 Awards.
3. ESG Insider
ESG Insider is a podcast hosted by market intelligence firm S&P Global, which looks at the ESG issues shaping today’s business world. In each episode, co-hosts Lindsey Hall, head of ESG thought leadership at S&P Global Sustainable1 and Esther Whieldon, senior writer, speak to ESG experts, using S&P Global data to shine a spotlight on the sustainability opportunities and risks that business leaders need to be thinking about.
Our favourite episode is “How financial institutions are tackling Scope 3 financed emissions”, which sees the hosts joined by Laurent Babikian from environmental non-profit CDP, Samu Slotte, global head of sustainable finance at Danish lender Danske Bank, and Antoni Ballabriga, global head of responsible business at Spanish bank BBVA. In the episode, they examine how financial institutions are taking steps to reduce the emissions of their lending portfolio, namely Scope 3 emissions, which account for the bulk of their carbon footprint.
4. The ESG Experience
The ESG Experience podcast is hosted by United States-based utilities management provider Conservice ESG.
The ESG Experience podcast is hosted by United States-based utilities management provider Conservice ESG. Available on streaming sites like Spotify, Apple, and YouTube, co-hosts Helee Lev, Conservice ESG’s senior vice president (operations), and Ryan Nelson, the company’s SVP and general manager, ESG, take a casual yet informative approach to ESG topics without being afraid to dive into the technical detail.
Our go-to episode is episode 9 (season 2), “Engagement as a critical part of ESG leadership”. The co-hosts are joined by Dale Nirvani Pfifer, chief executive officer of Goodworld, a fundraising software firm. They discuss the importance of engaging the business community, including customers, employees and shareholders on sustainability issues and how to overcome barriers to engagement.
5. ESG Matters
ESG Matters is a weekly podcast hosted by business sustainability expert Amath Gomis, the former senior sustainability manager at US telco AT&T. The format is a 30-minute interview with thought leaders who promote, create, and manage ESG-related activities.
A must-hear episode is Gomis’s interview with William Szamosszegi, CEO and founder of bitcoin mining company Sazmining, where the two discuss how clean energy can power cryptocurrency, how blockchain technology can help carbon offsets auditing, and how regulation is necessary for the crypto space. Sazmining is a bitcoin mining company which provides economic incentives for retail customers to capture harmful emissions such as methane. Its hydroelectric hosting facilities sustainably power bitcoin mining rigs for retail investors’ use.
6. ESG Now
ESG now, hosted by MSCI ESG Research
ESG Now is a weekly podcast covering ESG news and investment research. With podcast topics ranging from climate impact on investment portfolios, corporate actions, trending investment topics, and emerging ESG issues, host Mike Disabato of ratings firm MSCI ESG Research walks through trending ESG topics.
Our episode of choice is “Solar, So Hot Right Now”, which discusses the risks and opportunities of solar energy for investors and companies alike, as demand for energy powered by the sun soars as the world races to meet net-zero ambitions.
7. Green Pulse
Every first and third Monday of the month, The Straits Times, Singapore’s national broadsheet, analyses the beat of the changing environment, covering topics ranging from biodiversity conservation to climate change on its podcast Green Pulse.
If we had to recommend one episode, it would be episode 79 (season 1), “Plugging Asia’s sustainability investment gap”. In this episode, The Straits Times’ former environment correspondent Audrey Tan and climate change editor David Fogarty discuss the sustainability investment gap in Asia, and how to narrow it, with Valerie Kwan, who oversees corporate and investor initiatives at the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change.
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