Investors and advisors can learn everything they need to know about sustainable finance as Paul Ellis interviews leaders in the field.

“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.

EP 294: How One Harvard Instructor Is Making the Sustainable Investment Case

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.

EP 279: Regenerative Agriculture Delivers Consistent Returns for Institutional, Family Office, and Fund Investors

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.

EP 292: Why DeepSeek AI Is Cheaper, Faster & Better Than the Competition

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.

EP 293: How to Avoid the “Valley of Death” in Sustainable Tech Startups

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.

EP 290: The Future of Sustainable  Investing: What Needs to Happen

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.

EP 289: Benchmarking Adaptation Strategies in the Global Financial System

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.

EP 288: Using Carbon Certificates to Retire Emissions Forever

Today’s podcast guest loves to speak with investors and asset managers interested in the sustainable food space. She’s an adviser to companies that are optimizing logistics, reducing supply chain costs & 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. Shila Wattamwar is CEO and Founder of Radiant Global Advisory, 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.

EP 254: Helping Companies Accelerate their Sustainability Journey

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.

EP 287: Investing in Disruptors and Trend-Makers 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.

EP 286: Employer-sponsored Retirement Plans Can Catalyze Sustainable Impact & 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.

EP 285: Transforming the US Health Care System from the Ground Up

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.

EP 284: How Sustainable Infrastructure Can Be Financed at Lower Cost and Reduce Carbon Emissions

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

EP 283: The Wall Street Green Summit: A Deep Dive into Climate Tech 2025

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.

EP 282: Accountability, Trust, Meaningful Impact: Forward Looking Analyses Builds Clarity in ESG Data

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”?

EP 281: This Pathway to a Successful Climate Change Career Works

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.

EP 280: How Private Companies Can Keep Investors and Customers Happy While Managing Reporting and Regulatory Challenges

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.

EP 278: How Unique ESG Platform Integrates ESG Data for Better Portfolio Reporting and Investment Screening

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