The Sustainability Story

In this episode of the Sustainability Story, host Deborah Kidd, CFA, talks with Dr. Aniket Shah, Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability and Transition Strategy at Jefferies Group, LLC. Aniket leverages his work across academia, public policy, and financial markets to provide unique insights into the energy transition roadblocks and the three keys to overcoming them. He shares his insights on profiting from investment opportunities in climate technologies and why climate adaptation investments deserve special focus.

In this episode of the Sustainability Story, we tackle two areas of mass confusion in the world of sustainable investing: what should be done about the divergence in ESG ratings, and what works and doesn't work in impact investing. Deborah Kidd, CFA, talks with Dr. Julian Kölbel, Assistant Professor in Sustainable Finance at the Center for Financial Services Innovation at the University of St. Gallen and Research Associate at MIT Sloan, where he co-founded the Aggregate Confusion Project. Julian is also host of the podcast Innovations in Sustainable Finance.

https://fsi.unisg.ch/en/insights/innovations-in-sustainable-finance/

With an estimated one-third of the world's assets under management being managed sustainably, ESG ratings have come under increasing scrutiny by regulators. We discuss issues around the reliability of ESG ratings, whether they should be regulated, and how investors can make sense of them. Our conversation then turns to impact investing, where we learn about evidence-based strategies and the key component necessary for actually making an impact.

Josina Kamerling and Leena Linnainmaa, Secretary General of Directors' Institute Finland, and Chair of ecoDa’s Advocacy Committee, have a conversation on the impact of the proposed new EU rules on corporate governance and due diligence on European companies and their board of directors.

Discover the ins and outs of sustainability regulations in the EU with Patrik Karlsson, a senior policy officer at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and Josina Kamerling, head of regulatory outreach for CFA Institute for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region at CFA Institute. Gain valuable insights into the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and its implementation, as well as the ongoing consultation on some changes to the requirements. Patrick shares his thoughts on greenwashing, the role of ESMA and other European Supervisory Authorities in applying SFDR, and the importance of acknowledging the responsibility of the finance sector to provide disclosure.

Dive deeper into the complex world of financial services rulemaking in the EU as we explore the framework law, regulatory and implementing technical standards, guidance and Q&A's, and supervisory convergence in relation to SFDR. Learn about the importance of case studies as a tool for illustrating how the rules are meant to be applied and the consultation paper on tweaks recently issued by ESMA. Additional topics include the significance of close collaboration between financial market participants and regulators, the EU's dynamic process for regulation making, the UK's proposed measures to address greenwashing, the FCA's labeling regime, and the call for evidence on the fund naming process to help prevent greenwashing. Don't miss this enlightening conversation with Patrik Karlsson on the complexities of sustainability disclosures and the crucial role of regulation in preventing greenwashing.

In this episode of The Sustainability Story, host Sandy Peters is joined by Brian Tomlinson, a managing director in Ernst & Young's financial accounting and advisory services practice. They discuss the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and its impact on non-EU-based multinationals. While the extraterritorial nature of the EU's reporting requirements may be known among policy experts, it is less understood by US companies and investors. The episode delves into the potential implications and importance of this directive for sustainability reporting and investment decision making.