Mark Lee talks with ERM leaders ‌Sabine Hoefnagel, ‌Linden Edgell and ‌James Stacey about their reflections from the COP29 climate talks in Baku and what the event means for businesses in terms of moving forward with climate strategy and implementation.

Their conversation covers:  

• What was anticipated going into Baku 
• Progress in hard-to-abate sectors and carbon markets  
• The role of private finance and transition plans  
• Nature and adaptation plans  
• Progress on renewables  
• Looking ahead towards COP30 in Brazil 

Mark Lee talks to Vamsi Alla, Managing Director in J.P. Morgan's Corporate Advisory and Sustainable Solutions team, and Pradipta Parhi, an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Climate Technology, Innovation and Strategic Investment team, about their new report with ERM exploring the critical challenges and opportunities surrounding water resilience in the US.

Their conversation covers:

·       Water insights from COP16 

·       Company water resilience issues in the US

·       Managing water risks and opportunities

·       Water at COP29

Related links:

The Future of Water Resilience in the U.S.

Mark Lee talks to members of the NatureTech Alliance, including Salesforce, NatureMetrics and Planet, about their new report exploring how nature tech solutions can help companies to navigate a path towards nature positive. They also discuss the outcomes of the United Nations COP16 biodiversity conference.

Their conversation covers:

• COP16 outcomes and implications for business
• How to combine global and local nature data for business decision making
• Strategies to overcome data fragmentation
• Navigating the shift towards outcome-based metrics
• Using nature tech to improve corporate disclosure

Related links:

The Nature Tech Revolution: The tools to move from ‘do no harm’ to ‘nature-positive'

Mark Lee talks to ERM leaders and experts across climate markets, social performance and nature, about how Climate Week NYC 2024 shaped the global business sustainability agenda. They also discuss implications and expectations for the upcoming United Nations COP16 biodiversity and COP29 climate change conferences later this year. 

Their conversation covers: 

• How to build trust in the voluntary carbon markets 
• The role of social performance in the low carbon transition 
• Integrating nature data into business strategy  
• How to measure and tackle inequality 
• What companies can expect at COP16 and COP29  

Mark Lee talks to Dominic Barton, Chair at Rio Tinto, and Louise Pearce, Global Industry Lead for Mining and Metals at ERM, about the role of mining in the low-carbon energy transition.  

Their conversation covers:

-      Rio Tinto’s environmental and social strategy

-      Decarbonizing mining and metals

-      How to increase metals and critical minerals supply

-      Derisking mining to attract investment

In our sixteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Amy Rosenthal, Senior Global Director for Conservation Initiatives at leading satellite imagery provider, Planet, and Michael Mangiante, Global Climate Risk Lead at ERM, about how nature mapping and data analytics can enable companies and governments to operationalize their nature strategies. 

Their conversation covers:

• How to use satellite data to enable nature stewardship and disclosure
• Identifying and taking action against nature crimes
• Monitoring and verification of nature restoration projects

In our fourteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Emily McKenzie, Technical Director at the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and Matt Haddon, Global Leader, Biodiversity, Water & Nature at ERM, about the latest developments in nature disclosure and how companies are responding. 

Their conversation covers:

• How C-suite execs are using TNFD to understand nature risks and opportunities
• Improving data gathering and analysis to support nature management and disclosure
• Expectations for the upcoming COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Colombia 

Related links:
Sustainable Connections Podcast: Building nature into business strategy (erm.com)

In our eleventh episode, Mark Lee talks to Adam Brennan, Group Director of Sustainability at global seafood processor and manufacturer Thai Union, and Yulia Dobrolyubova, Corporate Sustainability and Climate Change Lead, Asia at ERM, about how to tackle global seafood sustainability and achieve sustainable fisheries. 

Their conversation covers:

• Defining environmental and social criteria for sustainable fisheries
• Methods to improve supply chain traceability and data quality
• How to implement climate and nature targets in the seafood sector

In our seventh episode, Mark Lee talks to Julie Moorad, Senior Manager, Global Climate Action at Salesforce, and Caitlin Brown, Senior Consultant at ERM, about how businesses can better assess and respond to their nature-related risks and opportunities. Their conversation covers:

• Creating a nature positive business strategy
• Integrating nature into corporate climate action
• How to apply the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework to understand business risk and opportunity

Related links:
Salesforce Nature Positive Strategy
Prepare to LEAP: Updates to the TNFD framework and planning for the future - SustainAbility Institute by ERM briefing 

In our fifth episode, Mark Lee talks to Jordan Peterson, Principal and Chief Disruptor of Affinity North, an indigenous-owned consultancy, about how companies can better engage with local indigenous communities when developing clean energy and other projects. Their conversation covers:

• Company strategies to improve engagement with indigenous communities
• How to include indigenous peoples in the just transition
• Building indigenous community engagement into project planning

Mark also speaks with Michael Van Aanhout, Partner at Stratos, an ERM Group company, about how the renewable energy and extractive industries can rebuild trust with local communities.

In our inaugural podcast episode, Mark Lee sits down with Giulia Carbone, Director of the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance at WBCSD, and Jessica Christianson, Head of sustainability at Bayer Crop Science. Their conversation covers:

• Natural Climate Solutions and the C-Suite guide recently launched with The Sustainability Institute by ERM;
• the connection between nature, biodiversity and climate agendas; 
  What quality natural climate solutions look like and the challenges in the vetting process; and
• How collaboration is key to the necessary action on climate change and reversing the loss of biodiversity.

Mark also speaks with Aiste Brackley, Associate Director of the SustainAbility Institute by ERM, on the the key takeaways from the C-Suite guide and the partnerships that help make the Institute's work possible.