In this special compilation episode of Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, I bring together three investors approaching the climate opportunity from very different angles, yet arriving at a similar conclusion.

First, Ben Guest of Gresham House explains why battery energy storage is the missing piece of the renewable energy transition. As intermittent power sources like wind and solar scale, storage becomes essential to balancing the grid, and a compelling infrastructure investment with double-digit return potential.

Next, Nancy Pfund, founder of DBL Partners, shares over two decades of experience in what she calls “double bottom line” investing. As an early backer of companies like Tesla, she demonstrates that incorporating environmental and social considerations doesn’t dilute returns; it can enhance them by expanding the opportunity set.

Finally, Lena Thiede of Planet A Ventures introduces a more rigorous approach to impact. With an in-house science team conducting lifecycle assessments on every investment, her firm ensures that climate impact is not just intended, but measurable, and tied directly to performance.

Three perspectives across infrastructure, venture capital, and science.

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Ben Guest full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/ben-guest/

Nancy Pfund full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/nancy-pfund/

Lena Thiede full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/lena-thiede/

Scott Arnell’s Book: Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360

This is a compilation episode built from three conversations, each tackling a different part of the same question. What is catalytic capital? How do you create the conditions for it? And what happens when you deploy it at scale?

You’ll hear from Yasemin Saltuk Lamy, Head of Investment Strategy at Legal & General, who helped define impact investing during her time at J.P. Morgan and later led the Catalyst portfolio at British International Investment. She breaks down catalytic capital as capital that steps into spaces others won’t, and explains how structuring it as junior or first-loss capital can transform “too risky” opportunities into investment-grade assets for institutional investors.

From Stephen Muers, CEO of Better Society Capital, who shares how the UK built the infrastructure to support this kind of investing. Drawing on a unique funding model that includes dormant bank accounts and private bank capital, he explains how catalytic capital can be used to grow entire markets, not just individual portfolios, and why the UK’s social impact investment market has expanded more than 12-fold.

And from Michele Giddens, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Fund Management, who shows what execution looks like in practice. Starting with a £40 million fund anchored by £10 million of government catalytic capital, Bridges has gone on to mobilize over £2 billion in private investment while delivering competitive, often double-digit returns.

If you’re thinking about how capital can be deployed more intentionally, whether as an investor, policymaker, or operator, this episode offers a clear and practical lens into how catalytic capital works, and why it matters.

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Across these conversations, we explored everything from outcomes-based financing and government-backed impact models to regenerative finance and ownership structures, to early-stage climate investing in Southeast Asia. What connects them is a shared recognition that the current system, whether ESG frameworks, traditional venture capital, or public spending models, isn’t quite delivering on its promise.

Here are the guests featured in the episode:

Francisco “Chico” Jardim, General Partner at SP Ventures

We talked about how this model has scaled globally, why it works best in complex social challenges like homelessness and criminal justice, and what still needs to happen to move from pilots to true system-wide adoption. Chico also shared his perspective on impact transparency and why better data and accountability are critical to unlocking larger pools of capital.

Full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/francisco-jardim/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCFFg26zo6E&pp=0gcJCdgKAYcqIYzv 

Nick Hurd, Chair & Senior Adviser, GSG Impact

Nick brings a deeply critical lens to traditional ESG and even parts of the impact investing ecosystem. His core argument is simple but uncomfortable: doing “less harm” isn’t the same as creating meaningful positive change.

Full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/nick-hurd/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagsC5n6sDs 

Laura Ortiz Montemayor, Founding Partner at SVX Mexico & Managing Partner, Regenera Venture Fund

Laura is focused on one of the most underfunded areas in climate investing: adaptation. While most capital continues to flow toward mitigation, she’s working to back founders building solutions for the climate impacts that are already here.

Full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/laura-ortiz-montemayor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlLOScRChwk 

Alina Truhina, Founding and Managing Partner at Utopia Capital Management

Throughout these conversations, Alina plays a critical role in connecting the dots, probing where ideas hold up, where they fall short, and how they translate into real-world investment decisions. Alina shares insights about climate adaptation, impact investing, and how venture capital often struggles to understand and engage with regions where climate risk is already part of everyday life.

Full episode: https://sri360.com/podcast/alina-truhina/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olIygxJSpMI&t=2s 

Taken together, these four perspectives offer a window into a field in transition, one that’s moving beyond labels and frameworks toward deeper questions of structure, accountability, and long-term impact.

My guest this week is Sarah Nolet, Co-Founder and General Partner at Tenacious Ventures. With a background that spans systems engineering, hands-on farming experience, and venture capital, Sarah now leads an investment firm focused on building climate resilience across global agri-food systems.

In our conversation on Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, Sarah explains why traditional venture capital models often struggle in agriculture, and why solutions must be designed around the physical constraints farmers face every day.

We also discuss:

• Why the “productive middle” of commercial agriculture offers significant climate and investment return potential 
• How organizing investment theses around enduring market needs helps avoid technology hype cycles
• Why measuring real climate outcomes, not just sustainability practices, creates stronger alignment between impact and financial performance

The conversation reframes climate-smart agriculture as a pragmatic investment opportunity, one where improving farmer economics can drive both measurable climate outcomes and competitive venture returns.

Featured Guest

 Sarah Nolet, Co-Founder and General Partner, Tenacious Ventures

Episode Resources:

• Sarah Nolet on LinkedIn
• Tenacious Ventures Website

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In this episode of Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360, I’m joined by Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF).

Tamer leads one of the first investment vehicles dedicated to climate adaptation in agriculture across Africa, backing early-stage companies that help farmers improve productivity, stability, and resilience in the face of changing climate conditions.

We discuss why agriculture remains chronically undercapitalised despite its central role in global food systems, and how blended finance structures, including first-loss capital from development institutions, can unlock mainstream investment into frontier markets.

Tamer also explains why successful agribusiness models often function as platform businesses, bundling financing, inputs, technical support, and market access to solve multiple farmer constraints at once.

What stayed with me is the simplicity of his impact lens: when farmers move from mud huts to brick houses, it signals something deeper than income growth. It reflects stability, dignity, and the foundations of long-term resilience.

Featured Guest
 Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF)

Episode Resources:

• Tamer El-Raghy on LinkedIn
• Acumen Resilient Agricultural Fund Website.

Connect with SRI360°: 

• Sign up for the free weekly Email Update 
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• Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE 
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My guest this week is Sharon Vosmek, CEO and Managing Partner of Astia. With more than two decades of early-stage investing experience, Sharon has built one of the most structured bias-mitigation processes in venture through Astia’s Expert SIFT methodology. A documented and disciplined system designed to eliminate individual, network, and process bias from investment decisions.

Sharon explains why the gender gap in venture funding is better understood as a market inefficiency, and how removing warm-introduction gatekeeping meaningfully expands high-quality deal flow. 

We also discuss:  

• How to recognize and eliminate pattern-matching bias in investment decisions
• The alpha thesis: Why inclusive teams generate 4x average returns
• How to reframe impact investing in the U.S. market by emphasizing values-based returns

This conversation examines inclusive investing not as concessionary capital, but as a rigorous venture discipline designed to capture overlooked alpha.

Featured Guest
Sharon Vosmek, CEO & Managing Partner, Astia

Episode Resources:

• Sharon Vosmek on LinkedIn
• Astia Website
• Astia on Instagram
• Astia 25th Anniversary White Paper
• Previous SRI360 episode with Sharon Vosmek: 

Connect with SRI360°: 

• Sign up for the free weekly Email Update 
• Visit the SRI360° PODCAST 
• Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE 
• Follow SRI360° on X
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My guest this week is, Matt Lawton, Matt is the Head of Impact Fixed Income at T. Rowe Price, where he leads global credit and emerging market blue bond strategies. With more than 15 years across credit research and portfolio management, Matt has helped build one of the industry’s most structured approaches to impact investing in public markets.

Matt explains how narrowing a broad benchmark to impact-aligned issuers creates focus without conceding returns, and why additionality must be identified ex ante, and not assumed.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Why a 60/40 primary-secondary split protects credibility
•  How the five dimensions of the impact framework for underwriting dual objectives
•  What a four-pillar ESG bond test reveals about greenwashing
•  Why impact must deliver market-rate returns by 2030
• This conversation is impact investing applied with credit discipline, measurement rigour, and institutional accountability.

Featured guest:

Matt Lawton, Head of Impact Fixed Income at T. Rowe Price

Additional Resources:

• Matt Lawton LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mattmlawton/ 
• T. Rowe Price Website: https://www.troweprice.com/ 
• T. Rowe Price ESG: https://www.troweprice.com/en/uk/about-us/esg/esg-investing 
• T. Rowe Price on https://linkedin.com/company/t--rowe-price/ 

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This imbalance is especially visible in emerging markets, where climate risk, rapid economic growth, and limited institutional infrastructure collide.

In this episode of SRI360, I’m joined by Alina Truhina, Founder and Managing Partner of Radical Fund and Utopia Capital Management. 

Alina has spent her career building and backing early-stage companies across Southeast Asia and Africa, with a focus on climate adaptation, venture capital, and how businesses actually get built in emerging markets.

We discuss why traditional venture capital models often fail in emerging markets, why climate adaptation is harder to measure (but no less urgent) than mitigation, and why supporting founders in these environments requires far more than simply writing a check.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Why climate adaptation remains underfunded compared to mitigation
• How measurement and incentives shape where climate capital flows
• Why traditional venture capital models struggle in emerging markets
• What founders in climate-exposed regions need beyond just funding
• How capital design influences risk, resilience, and long-term outcomes

Featured guest: 

• Alina Truhina, CEO and Managing Partner of The Radical Fund and a Partner at the multi-regional investment platform Utopia Capital Management 

Listen Next: 

• Conversation with Nick Hurd: How Paying for Outcomes Unlocks Impact Investing Returns

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
• Sign up for the free weekly email update 

In this episode of SRI360, I am speaking with Laura Ortiz Montemayor about impact investing, climate risk, and regenerative finance, and why sustainability alone may no longer be enough for investors focused on long-term value creation.

Drawing from Laura’s experience in traditional finance and her work building regenerative investment strategies in Latin America, the conversation explores how capital allocation shapes systems, and why rethinking how capital is deployed matters as much as where it flows.

The conversation is especially relevant for investors navigating climate finance, nature risk, and sustainable investing in emerging markets.

We talk about:

• the difference between sustainability and regeneration in impact investing
• why changing what we invest in isn’t enough without changing how capital is deployed
• how capital shapes systems, and risk, over time
• what regenerative finance looks like for investors focused on long-term outcomes

Featured guest: 

• Laura Ortiz Montemayor, founder of SVX México and Managing Partner of Regenera Ventures

Listen Next: 

• Conversation with Helen Avery, Director of Nature Programs at the Green Finance Institute (GFI)

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
• Sign up for the free weekly email update 

This episode is about why social investment keeps getting stuck, even when good people across government, finance, and communities are trying to do the right thing – and what actually has to change for money to start moving.

It focuses on where incentives misfire and how to scale impact investing and social investment beyond pilot projects. 

I’m joined by Nick Hurd, former UK minister and now Chair of GSG Impact. Nick has worked across government, finance, and civil society. He helped build the UK’s social investment market, pioneered early social impact bonds, and later stepped away from politics after deciding markets offered more leverage than ministries.

We talk about:

• how outcome-based finance works in practice
• how social investment moves risk off taxpayers
• where social impact bonds work (and where not)
• why climate finance must account for communities, not just emissions

Featured guest: 

• Nick Hurd, Chair & Senior Adviser at GSG Impact 

Listen Next: 

• Conversation with Sir Ronald Cohen 
• Conversation with Nick O’Donohoe

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Volatility here is often mistaken for weakness. But as this conversation makes clear, agribusiness has kept growing through recessions, pandemics, and political transitions. In many cases, it’s been one of the most resilient parts of the economy.

I’m joined by Francisco Jardim, General Partner at SP Ventures. He’s spent nearly two decades building one of the region’s earliest agrifood venture capital platforms, investing across agriculture innovation, climate resilience, and food security in Brazil and across Latin America.

We talk about:

• Why tropical agriculture operates differently from temperate agriculture in US and European systems
• How climate and AgTech investors often misprice Latin America
• Why Brazilian agribusiness continued growing through macro shocks
• How to scale sustainable agriculture without sacrificing productivity or food security

Tune in to hear why Latin American agrifood and climate tech may be one of the most compelling risk-return opportunities of this generation.

Featured guest: 

• Francisco "Chico" Jardim, General Partner at SP Ventures, one of the earliest venture firms built inside Brazilian agriculture

Listen Next: 

• Conversation with Daniel Izzo, CEO of Vox Capital, Brazil’s first impact investing firm

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If you’re involved in capital allocation, this matters because catalytic capital isn’t about charity. It’s about structuring risk so institutions can invest in assets they normally couldn’t because of regulatory and rating rules.

This episode focuses on how catalytic capital functions inside impact investing portfolios under real regulatory and balance-sheet constraints. 

It revisits key points from my earlier conversation with Yasemin Saltuk Lamy who built and scaled the Catalyst Portfolio at British International Investment from roughly £300 million to about £1.6 billion.

Tune in to learn:

• Why who goes first matters more than how much capital goes in
• When catalytic capital actually crowds in institutional investors
• How credit enhancement changes regulatory eligibility
• How impact measurement shapes capital allocation decisions
• Why impact trades off with liquidity, not financial returns

Featured guest: 

• Yasemin Saltuk Lamy, Head of Investment Strategy for the Institutional Retirement division of Legal & General (L&G) and former Deputy CIO and Head of Asset Allocation and Capital Solutions at British International Investment (BII)

Listen Next: 

• Full conversation with Yasemin Saltuk Lamy

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• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
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I revisit key moments from two earlier episodes that look at sustainable forestry as a serious investment strategy and a practical example of nature-based investing. They show how forests can deliver competitive returns, hedge inflation, and reduce portfolio risk while addressing climate and biodiversity pressures.

In one conversation, Bettina von Hagen talks about how better forest management can make forests more valuable over time. In the other, Charlotte Kaiser explains why climate and biodiversity loss are now showing up as real risks for investors.

Together, they show how decisions made on the ground connect with institutional capital in the real world. You’ll hear:

• How sustainable forestry creates value beyond timber production
• Why forests function as an inflation hedge and portfolio stabilizer
• How climate-smart forestry improves resilience without sacrificing returns
• How carbon markets and conservation expand financial optionality
• How biodiversity, carbon, and community outcomes are measured

If you want solid information before deciding whether forests belong in a portfolio, this episode is a good place to start.

Featured guests:

• Bettina von Hagen, Managing Director & CEO at EFM Investments & Advisory
• Charlotte Kaiser, Head of Impact Finance at BTG Pactual’s Timberland Investment Group (TIG)

Listen Next: 

• Full conversation with Bettina von Hagen 
• Full conversation with Charlotte Kaiser 

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast
• Sign up for the free weekly email update

That combination points to mispriced inputs and broken systems. And to real opportunities for circular economy solutions that work on both the business side and the environmental side.

In this end-of-year gift to listeners, I'm revisiting a conversation that shows where to look for investment opportunity: at overproduction, reverse logistics that don’t work, and at a system where brands often find it cheaper to write off returned product than resell it.

These are highlights from an earlier conversation with Karla Mora, founder of Alante Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on circular economy solutions and sustainable supply chains across the apparel industry.

Karla works directly with brands, manufacturers, and material innovators to understand where waste is created and where capital can change outcomes.

You’ll hear:

• How overproduction creates immediate waste in apparel
• Where circular economy investments can scale today
• How venture returns and impact align in this sector

Listen in.

—

Featured guest: 

• Karla Mora: Founder and Managing Partner at Alante Capital, an early-stage venture fund backing scalable circular economy solutions in apparel and consumer supply chains

—

Listen Next: 

• Full conversation with Karla Mora

—

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
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This episode offers an insider framework to distinguish credible green bonds from greenwashing, understand what real additionality looks like in fixed income, and make more confident capital-allocation decisions in a label-driven market.

It revisits early conversations with Marilyn Ceci and Romina Reversi, leaders who helped build the green bond market before sustainable finance went mainstream. Both worked inside JP Morgan as issuers, investors, and regulators were still defining standards, reporting, and impact measurement.

You’ll hear how green bonds evolved from a niche experiment into a scalable fixed-income market, and what that evolution reveals about transparency, liquidity, and investor trust today.

This episode explores:

• Why green bonds became a strategic communication tool for issuers
• How disclosure itself was treated as impact
• What standards actually enabled scale and liquidity
• Why nuclear energy re-entered the green bond conversation

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Featured guests:

• Marilyn Ceci: Managing Director and Senior Advisor to the Center for Carbon Transition at JP Morgan and co-author of the Green Bond Principles
• Romina Reversi: former founding member of JP Morgan’s ESG DCM team, now Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Investment Banking Americas at Crédit Agricole CIB

—

Listen Next: 

• Full conversation with Marilyn Ceci
• Full conversation with Romina Reversi

—

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
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And when the work involves emergency aid and building businesses, you need someone who’s seen how money really works in emerging markets.

Few people know how to make those pieces fit together better than my guest today. Talmage Payne has spent three decades proving that mission-first investing can deliver both measurable social impact and competitive returns.

Talmage is the founder of multiple social ventures across Southeast Asia and West Africa. He now serves as chairperson of TapEffect, a piped water utility delivering clean water to rural communities. There, households pay for the service, and the company delivers an 8-9% IRR.

Today, we talk about how to blend grants, equity, and debt to scale essential services and how smart impact measurement keeps both investors and operators accountable.

Join us to learn:

• What actually drives infrastructure investing success in low-income areas
• Why good intentions aren't enough for viable social ventures
• How to structure capital to crowd in commercial investors

This is a conversation about what actually works backed by real numbers. Tune in.

—

 Discover More from SRI360°:

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—

Additional Resources:

Talmage Payne LinkedIn 

TapEffect website

In this episode, we talk about how venture capital can be redesigned to fund climate adaptation in the real economy, and still deliver real returns.

Mark shares what he’s learned from over a decade investing in agritech and climate adaptation in India, and why institutional investors continue to underestimate the opportunity in emerging markets.

We also discuss:

• how Omnivore balances financial returns with measurable impact
• why fintech for inclusion is key to rural transformation
• why fund managers need to build for climate resilience, not just growth

Tune in to hear why India may be the most logical and overlooked bet in climate-smart venture capital. And why it's time to fund adaptation before it's too late.

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 Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
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—

Additional Resources:

• Mark Kahn LinkedIn 
• Omnivore Website

Richard shares lessons from leadership roles at Perpetual, Aware Super, LeapFrog, Pendal, and Regnan, and why hope isn’t a strategy when designing investment frameworks meant to deliver measurable impact.

A candid conversation for investors, asset owners, and practitioners who want an honest look at where sustainable finance is working, and where it isn’t.

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 Discover More from SRI360°:

•  Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast 
• Sign up for the free weekly email update

—

Additional Resources:

• Richard Brandweiner LinkedIn
• Impact Investing Australia Website

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
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—

Additional Resources:
- Ron Homer LinkedIn

- RBC Global Asset Management

Trained on Wall Street, Eva left finance to found Beyond Capital, turning her expertise toward building impact-driven markets. 

Beyond Capital Fund was structured as a nonprofit, a 501(c)3 – not to do charity, but to meet the moment. She describes it as “almost like a Trojan horse” – a structure that made her approach more acceptable to early supporters, even as she operated with full VC rigor.

She knew in 2009 that most investors did not yet believe emerging markets could deliver both returns and impact. So she created a structure that was more palatable – donors could get a tax deduction, while she quietly ran the fund like a VC from day one. There were no grants. No concessionary capital. They always behaved like a VC.

The result was a top‑quintile track record: a 0.3% loss ratio, markups, and over 100 million people reached through portfolio companies’ products and services.

But the nonprofit structure also kept the firm smaller than it needed to be. “I think it was the right thing to do, but I think it was a little bit of a mistake in the growth of the firm.”

In 2019, someone approached her after a talk and simply asked, “How do we invest?” – and that was the moment she knew the market was finally ready.

She and her team launched Beyond Capital Ventures, a for‑profit venture fund, carrying forward the same thesis with a structure that allowed investors to participate directly in the returns.

Today, Beyond Capital Ventures invests in early-stage companies across East Africa and India. It’s one of the few woman-led impact VC firms globally, with a team that’s 70% based in the markets they invest in.

Eva’s approach is hands-on, thesis-driven, and unafraid to push boundaries. She refuses deal flow from Europe or the U.S. because she believes the best opportunities come from being on the ground. As she says, “I’d rather the principal who runs our Nairobi office meet a founder while filling up his water bottle, than us meet them through some other channel.”

Beyond Capital has pioneered something radical in VC: the equitable venture structure. 10% of the GP’s carry is allocated to portfolio founders. Not only does it create community – it’s created collaboration. That motivates companies across her portfolio now to share customers, talent, and capital.

She measures impact as rigorously as she measures financial performance. Her team uses a three-tier framework aligned with IRIS and SDG metrics. And she’s clear-eyed about what success looks like. “Everybody is focused on sourcing better and investing better. Nobody is focused on adding value, and that is exactly where everything goes right or wrong.”

Eva’s career is proof that creativity, service, and capital don’t have to be separate. And that you can build something that lasts if you’re bold enough to hold them together.

Listen in.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
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—

Additional Resources:
- Beyond Capital Ventures website
- Eva Yazhari LinkedIn
- Eva Yazhari Instagram
- Book ‘The Good Your Money Can Do’
- The BCV Podcast

He joined AXA Investment Managers – now part of BNP Paribas Group – in March 2022. Within the group, BNP Paribas Asset Management oversees over €716 billion in assets, while the broader platform manages around €1.5 trillion globally.

Approximately 90% of listed assets are classified under Article 8 or 9 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, meaning they integrate sustainability or have a dedicated sustainable objective (Source: BNP Paribas/ AXA Investment Managers (Core) as of end of 2024).

At AXA, Jamie works in a central ESG role, focused on public investments and helping integrate sustainability across equities, fixed income, infrastructure, and alternatives.

The results are detailed – and sometimes strict. AXA applies hard exclusions in its green bond strategies. Nuclear energy, for example, is allowed in conventional mandates and in unlabeled strategies that hold green bonds. But it’s left out of AXA’s official green bond funds – because some clients have made it clear they don’t want it included in the list of eligible projects.

This is the real balancing act – between client preferences, shifting regulation, and ESG data that’s still catching up. Jamie likens it to steering a tanker: slow to move, but once it shifts, the weight behind it is massive.

Still, ESG doesn’t operate in a vacuum. The backlash – especially in the U.S. – has been loud, often political, and sometimes confusing. Jamie’s answer is disarmingly simple: ESG is just data. And more information is always better than less.

Today, he’s here to walk us through how one of the world’s largest asset managers turns ESG from principle into portfolio decisions. Tune in.

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DISCLAIMER: This communication does not constitute, on the part of AXA Investment Managers, a solicitation or investment, legal or tax advice.  

Due to its simplification, this document is partial, and opinions, estimates, and forecasts herein are subjective and subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee forecasts made will come to pass. Data, figures, declarations, analysis, predictions, and other information in this document is provided based on our state of knowledge at the time of creation of this document. Whilst every care is taken, no representation or warranty (including liability towards third parties), express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the recipient. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision.

—

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Sign up for the free weekly email update
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—

Additional Resources:
- Jamie Friedland LinkedIn

- AXA Investment Managers website

- Full-year 2024 earnings

- BNP Paribas Asset Management

- Point of No Returns 2025: A responsible investment benchmar

Laura began her career as an energy economist in Europe and California, contributing to major climate policy efforts like the Paris Agreement.

She then spent nearly a decade at BlackRock, where she helped transform ESG from a niche concern into a $500 billion force across fixed income and index investing. She led the creation of green bond tools, sustainability frameworks, and data standards that shaped the firm’s global strategy.

But as ESG became increasingly politicized, innovation stalled, and Laura decided it was time to chart a new path. She took a leap – from the world’s largest asset manager to NatureAlpha, a small startup using geospatial data to bring nature into investing.

There, she’s helping investors understand how companies depend on and impact natural systems – like water, soil, and biodiversity – and what happens when those systems start to break down. Most portfolios have never seen this data. Now they can.

NatureAlpha’s core product is Geoverse 2.0 – a geospatial AI tool that analyzes 8.5 million asset locations worldwide, tagging each with indicators of ecosystem health and how much a company depends on nature. It uses a quadrant model to flag the danger zone: places where companies are highly dependent on ecosystems – like rivers, forests, or soil – that are already deteriorating. That’s where risk concentrates – high dependency, low resilience.

The idea is to turn that risk into insight. Geoverse doesn’t just map individual assets – it scans entire portfolios, helping investors see exposures they’ve never seen before.

Through partnerships with data providers and platforms like ICE – and collaborations across the wider investment ecosystem – NatureAlpha is working to make its nature-related insights more accessible to investors within the tools they already use.

That unlocks what Laura calls the “double dividend”: portfolios that reduce nature-related risk and keep pace with market returns.

Still, Laura doesn’t overpromise. If there’s one lesson she’s carried from the ESG battles, it’s this: be transparent about what you know, and even more about what you don’t. 

Today, she’s studying eco-theology, writing essays, and speaking to philosophers, post-growth economists, and faith leaders. 

My conversation with Laura goes way beyond ESG.

It’s about what shifts when you zoom out from carbon and start seeing nature not as scenery, but as infrastructure. When rivers, forests, and soil stop being externalities and start showing up on the balance sheet.

If you tune in, you'll also hear what made her lose faith in market-based climate solutions, what the biggest lie the industry tells itself, and why the next big revolution in investing may be a moral one.

Because in the end, Laura’s not trying to build better ratings or cleaner tickers. She’s trying to build a better world – one that we might actually want to invest in.

—

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Additional Resources:
- Laura Segafredo LinkedIn

- NatureAlpha website

- Moral Revolution Podcast

She’s a former Wall Street portfolio manager who believes ESG isn’t about politics – it’s about disciplined risk management and long-term value creation grounded in data.

Before launching Enzo, Nidhi built a career that spanned investment banking, consulting, and asset management – always driven by a desire to understand what truly creates value in business. 

It all came together years later at RBC, when she encountered ESG research that reframed sustainability as a core driver of financial performance. 

That’s when it clicked – ESG wasn’t just about mitigating risk; it could actually drive value creation. She immediately signed up to help bring that approach into U.S. investment strategies.

Her team built a scorecard of over 20 ESG factors – human capital, environmental exposure, governance – and tied them directly to outcomes like revenue growth and cost savings. It was a data-first approach that opened a new chapter.

In 2020, Nidhi left a high-paying job managing billions to start her own ESG consulting firm, Enzo Advisors, a female- and minority-led sustainability consulting firm based in New York.

It was a risky moment. But she knew the field was shifting. ESG was moving from a “nice to have” to a core part of operational resilience.

And Enzo’s mission was to help small and mid-sized companies operationalize ESG and show them how ESG could actually make them stronger, more resilient, and more valuable over time.

Nidhi calls it Sustainability 2.0 – less about saying the right thing, more about doing the right thing... and measuring it.

At the center of her strategy are three things companies can actually measure:

• Revenue growth: Winning new customers and entering new markets
• Cost savings: Cutting waste, using energy more efficiently, and improving supply chains
• Cost of capital: Getting better loan terms or investor interest by reducing risk and improving governance

But she doesn’t stop there.

She’s also Chief Impact Officer at Richmond Global Sciences, where she helps advance RGS Rift – a data-driven platform that applies impact-weighted accounting principles to quantify a company’s environmental, customer, and employee impact in financial terms.

It’s built on a concept called impact-weighted accounting, which is just a fancy way of saying: let’s measure how companies help or harm people and the planet – and translate that into real numbers.

She doesn’t get sucked into the political drama around ESG. Instead, she helps companies and their boards zero in on what actually moves value.

And she’s hopeful. AI is making data better. Investors are asking smarter questions. And the whole conversation is shifting  –  away from buzzwords, toward real business fundamentals like risk and performance.

If you strip away the noise, the labels, the acronyms – what you’re left with is a simple idea: ESG, done right, is just disciplined business. Nidhi Chadda knows how to make it work in the real world – and in this episode, she shares exactly what that takes.

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Additional Resources:
- Nidhi Chadda LinkedIn

- Enzo Advisors LLC website

Michael came to this work from the social sector, back when “impact investing” wasn’t yet a defined field. At Bridgespan, he began advising philanthropists and foundations – and over time, that work expanded to include some of the world’s largest asset managers as they started asking how capital could solve problems philanthropy couldn’t.

His idea was pretty simple: to put impact first.

Our conversation starts with that principle – and where it sits between two poles. On one side: traditional philanthropy willing to lose money in service of outcomes. On the other: finance-first investing chasing market-rate returns. Impact-first lives in the messy middle. The kind where the first diligence question isn’t “What’s the IRR?” – it’s “What’s the problem we’re solving?”

Michael was one of the architects of the Impact Multiple of Money, or IMM – a six-step process designed to estimate and compare the social or environmental value created for every dollar invested. It starts with what a business produces, connects those outputs to real-world outcomes, and draws on academic research to ground the analysis. The result is a dollar-based estimate of impact – not to put a price on people’s lives, but to give investors a common language for understanding what value really means.

Michael breaks it down in plain terms. He and his team actually put numbers to impact – they start with what a business produces, figure out what real-world benefits come from that, adjust for the risks, and then compare it to the money invested.

The IMM framework is now used across TPG’s Rise and Rise Climate funds, together managing tens of billions of dollars in assets. It’s become part of how they underwrite investments, sitting right alongside financial measures like IRR and MOIC when evaluating performance.

And the best part – it’s open source. The full method and case studies are published in Harvard Business Review (“Calculating the Value of Impact Investing”), so anyone can see how the math works.

But for Michael, this work has never been just about frameworks. It’s about decision-making – what actually happens inside organizations when impact moves from a good idea to something real.

In this conversation, we also got into some of the bigger questions shaping the future of the field:

• Fiduciary duty, and why that concept needs a serious reset
• How much progress still depends on individuals, not market forces
• And why one of the most overlooked disciplines in this work is simply knowing how to say no

Tune in!

*** Impact investing services are provided by Bridgespan Social Impact, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bridgespan Group.

–

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

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Additional Resources:
- The Bridgespan Group website

- Michael Etzel Biography

- Michael Etzel LinkedIn

- Calculating the Value of Impact Investing

• why intentionality is a better filter than ESG scores
• why some of their best returns came from companies with embedded impact
• why Vox moved beyond VC into multi-asset strategies

Forget the myth that impact means sacrifice. Daniel busts it with facts. Tune in to find out how.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.

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• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=107 
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Additional Resources:
- Vox Capital website

- Daniel Izzo LinkedIn

- The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits

• why some returns only come with risk no one wants
• how “patient and flexible” actually plays out on the ground
• why capital structure is the real difference-maker in emerging markets
• why one of their funds was designed to lose money but didn’t

If you think emerging markets are too risky, listen to someone who ran toward them.

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Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=106
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Additional Resources:
- Nick O’Donohoe CMG LinkedIn

- British International Investment website

- Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class

We discuss:

• How Carbon Tracker flags company-level risk using environmental metrics
• Why shareholder stewardship must focus on production plans, not pledges
• What good looks like for fossil fuel companies under a 1.5°C scenario

This is a conversation about financial blind spots and the tools to fix them. Listen in.

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Additional Resources:
Mark Campanale LinkedIn

Mark Campanale Twitter/X

Carbon Tracker Initiative

Planet Tracker

We also cover:

• Why intentionality and measurement define impact
• How customization changes investment outcomes
• What private markets allow that public markets don’t
• Why energy transition has become a mega theme inside infrastructure

Tune in to learn how impact investing actually works inside large institutional portfolios and why private markets control investing can be such a powerful place to drive measurable outcomes.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.

—

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=104 
• Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=104 

—

Additional Resources:
🔹 Jonathan Hirschtritt LinkedIn

🔹 GCM Grosvenor website

🔹 “Strengthening Outcomes: Impact and Financial Value at Exit,” published by ICM, Morriso

In this episode, my guest is Timothy Rann, Managing Partner of Mercy Corps Ventures. He leads what may be the only venture capital fund in the world to have been built inside a humanitarian NGO. When the fund was created, Mercy Corps was a roughly $600 million-a-year organization operating in more than 40 countries facing conflict, climate stress, or both.

Tim explains how working in frontier markets reshaped his understanding of social impact, from navigating informal supply chains in conflict zones to understanding why venture building inside NGOs often breaks down.

In this episode we cover:

• Why Mercy Corps Ventures pivoted from venture building to investing
• How financial resilience and climate adaptation fit a market-rate investment strategy
• What a Kabul fruit vendor taught Timothy about functioning markets

This conversation strips away theory and shows what venture capital really looks like on the ground.

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Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=103
• Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=1

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Additional Resources:
🔹 Mercy Corps Ventures website

🔹 Mercy Corps Ventures LinkedIn

🔹 Timothy Rann website

🔹 Timothy Rann LinkedIn

🔹 Range of Motion Project (ROMP)

🔹 Support Timothy to help ROMP patients

If climate was the first wake-up call, nature is the second.

In this 3-in-1 compilation, we revisit past episodes with investors at the forefront of this shift. Each one is building strategies to bring natural capital into the financial mainstream – through listed equities, real assets, or nature-based carbon credits.

Here are the featured guests:

Martin Berg, CEO of Climate Asset Management

Martin is pushing to bring natural capital out of the margins and into the financial mainstream.

With over $650 million raised and three funds under management, Martin’s building a new category of real asset investing – one that spans sustainable agriculture, forestry, and nature-based carbon. 

The firm’s strategies include land acquisition and restoration in developed markets, as well as carbon credit partnerships with smallholder farmers in emerging markets. Each is tailored to a different type of investor – but they share the same goal: aligning financial returns with measurable improvements in natural ecosystems.

Full episode

Ingrid Kukuljan, Former Head of Impact & Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes

At the time of recording our original interview, Ingrid was Head of Impact and Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes. In that role, she launched the Biodiversity Equity Strategy – the first biodiversity-themed fund in the listed equity space.

Her team screened nearly 9,000 listed companies – the standard MSCI All World benchmark – and found only about 150 that qualified as biodiversity champions: businesses aligned with at least one biodiversity-linked SDG and actively working to preserve or restore nature. 

The gap was striking. Ingrid pointed out that 80% of the UN Sustainable Development Goals depend on biodiversity, yet fewer than 20% are on track – and in the past 50 years, we’ve decimated biodiversity globally.

Her team used a detailed KPI framework across emissions, water use, land conversion, and waste, making the case that public equities can play a vital role in financing nature-positive outcomes – and in helping restore ecosystems without compromising returns.

Full episode

Helen Avery, Director of Nature Programmes at the Green Finance Institute (GFI)

Helen is working to make nature investable. As Director of Nature Programmes at the Green Finance Institute, she leads the GFI Hive – a dedicated platform focused on removing the barriers that keep private capital from flowing into nature. 

That means shaping the building blocks of nature markets – like biodiversity net gain, mitigation banking, and nature-based carbon – and helping define the standards, infrastructure, and policy frameworks that make them investable at scale.

Helen’s team supports the UK’s nature markets and investment readiness funds, partners with farmers and NGOs to build new business models, and works closely with corporates through the TNFD to help them assess their risks and dependencies on nature.

Full episode

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Across these 3 conversations from past guests of the SRI360 podcast, a common thread emerges. When you design investment strategies to solve real problems and hold yourself accountable for the outcomes, you can unlock new sources of alpha, resilience, and long-term value.

Social impact bonds show how shifting incentives can deliver better results for both investors and society.

Here are the featured guests:

Sir Ronald Cohen, Co-Founder and President of GSG Impact

Sir Ronald Cohen’s story begins in traditional venture capital, where he saw firsthand both the power and the limitations of finance. While VC could create jobs and generate wealth, it could also widen the gap between those at the top and everyone else. Could capital markets be redesigned to actively close those gaps instead?

The answer took shape in the form of the social impact bond – a financial instrument where investor returns are tied directly to measurable social outcomes. The first was used to reduce reoffending among UK prisoners, shifting the risk from taxpayers to investors and incentivizing real results over box-ticking.

From there, Sir Ronald Cohen went further, creating “impact accounting” – a framework to measure corporate social and environmental performance in monetary terms. It’s a practical idea because people understand numbers more than anything else; hence, the approach to valuing impact is the same as valuing profit.

Full episode

Adam Swersky, Former CEO, Social Finance

Adam Swersky’s work at Social Finance has been instrumental in the creation and scaling of social impact bonds and similar outcomes-based financing models. Adam explains how bringing finance into the equation can force a greater focus on measurable outcomes, driving partnerships that are laser-focused on solving acute social problems. 

From the Peterborough Prison Program to the Mental Health Unemployment Partnership, Adam’s experience demonstrates how applying capital to social issues creates a discipline around results, sustainability, and long-term impact. 

Full episode

Simon Bond, Former Executive Director of RI Portfolio Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

At Columbia Threadneedle, Simon managed the UK and European Social Bond Funds – large-scale, diversified portfolios where every bond issued was tied to a clear, measurable social benefit.

This is not philanthropy disguised as investing. These funds delivered market-rate returns while financing projects like affordable housing, education, public health, and climate resilience. Simon calls it “positive inclusion” – actively seeking out issuers whose activities deliver net social gain.

Every investment was assessed not just on financial merit, but on its documented social outcomes. And because these are public market instruments, the scale was enormous, allowing institutional investors to channel billions into projects that might otherwise be underfunded, without sacrificing liquidity or returns.

Full episode

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Because once that energy is generated, what happens next is where things start to get complicated – how it's stored, how it's moved, and how much of it actually gets used. Right now, the answer to that last question is… not much. In fact, the majority of global energy still gets lost before it ever reaches an end user.

This week, we’re revisiting two past conversations – both of them centered on the part of the energy transition most people don’t see.

One looks at the massive, under-addressed problem of energy waste – and the business models turning that waste into investment-grade infrastructure. The other zooms in on large-scale battery storage and what it takes to keep a renewable-heavy grid stable.

These are two very different approaches to the same problem: not just how we generate clean energy, but how we manage it after it’s made. Because if we don’t solve that part, the rest doesn’t work.

Here are the featured guests:

Jonathan Maxwell, Founding Partner and CEO of Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL)

Jonathan Maxwell founded SDCL with a simple observation: the world isn’t just short on clean energy – it’s wasting most of the energy it already has. While the market poured trillions into new renewables, Jonathan zeroed in on the overlooked half of the story: how energy is used, moved, and lost before it ever reaches the point of need.

He started SDCL in 2007 as an advisory shop, designing environmental infrastructure funds for clients like HSBC and the World Bank. But by 2012, the firm became an investor, building and financing projects that cut waste, generate energy on-site, and make buildings, industry, and transport far more efficient.

Today, SDCL manages $2.5 billion in assets across over 50,000 properties in 10 countries. Their portfolio spans projects from industrial heat recovery to citywide biogas and low-carbon power for data centers. The common thread is delivering cheaper, cleaner, more reliable energy, without requiring customers to put up the capital themselves.

Full episode

Ben Guest, the Managing Director of Gresham House New Energy Division, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund

Ben Guest leads Gresham House’s New Energy Division, home to the UK’s largest battery storage portfolio. His team controls close to a quarter of the market – a position built on one core idea: if renewables are going to power the future, they need somewhere to live when the sun’s not shining and the wind’s not blowing.

Battery storage is that missing piece. Because wind and solar don’t produce power all the time. But the grid still has to stay balanced every second of every day. That’s what these battery projects do – they take in power when there’s too much, release it when there’s not enough, and do it over and over, many times a day.

Ben’s team is hands-on from start to finish. They find sites near key substations, secure planning and grid connections, oversee construction, run operations, and work with optimizers to trade power for the best returns.

At the time of this conversation, they were managing more than £1.4 billion, with returns well above their 10% target for two years in a row.

Full episode

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This week, we revisit two conversations with fund managers who are focused on problems that actually matter: the rising cost of care, the complexity of getting it, and the systems that still leave too many people behind. Their portfolios include diagnostics that reduce medical error, wearables that predict seizures, virtual platforms that help people manage chronic illness, and yes – even robotics that could expand access to fertility care.

But this isn’t just about cutting-edge tech. It’s about a bigger question: What role do businesses – and the investors backing them – play in creating health? Because at the end of the day, a healthier population isn’t just good policy. It’s good business, too.

Here are the featured guests:

Dr. Tara Bishop, Founder and Managing Director of Black Opal Ventures

Tara Bishop is investing at the collision point – where healthcare and technology meet, and where legacy capital still struggles to keep up. At Black Opal Ventures, she’s backing startups that don’t just make care more digital – they make it more intelligent, more precise, and more accessible.

Black Opal is one of the few female- and minority-led VC funds in the health-tech space. Tara and her partner Eileen Tanghal bring deep domain expertise – medicine on one side, deep tech on the other – and they’re targeting high-impact companies that address the big four in healthcare: cost, quality, access, and security.

Every investment is built around the same goal: getting the right care to the right patient at the right time – at a cost that works. And they’re delivering Black Opal double-digit returns in the process.

For Tara, impact means solving problems that have outlasted decades of reform – inside what she calls a “behemoth of an industry” that affects lives at scale and rarely rewards innovation that puts patients first.

Full episode

Kieron Boyle, Chair of the Impact Investing Institute

Kieron Boyle has spent years making the economic case for better health. At Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Foundation, he helped turn an 800-year-old endowment into a £100 million impact portfolio – funding everything from healthier food startups to housing for women and children at risk. Not because it’s charity. Because it's smart investing. Because a healthier society is more productive, more resilient, and more investable.

His work started with a simple question: most of what drives health doesn’t happen in hospitals – so why should health investing stop at hospital walls? The team backed medical technologies and life sciences, yes – but also addressed the wider commercial determinants of health: food, air, housing, debt. Then they went further, pioneering a dual mandate that put health and financial return on equal footing.

Now, as Chair of the UK’s Impact Investing Institute, Kieron is scaling that thinking. He’s working with long-term investors (including pension funds and sovereign wealth) to align trillions in assets with the outcomes that actually shape wellbeing: healthier people, stronger communities, and more sustainable systems.

Full episode

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They’re all built on the conviction that technology should be in service of real-world problems – not just market efficiency or shareholder return. And increasingly, investors are stepping up not only to fund that kind of innovation, but to actively shape it.

In this 3-in-1 compilation, we revisit past episodes with investors who are doing exactly that: using capital to steer technological progress toward social and environmental outcomes.

Here are the featured voices:

Paul Miller, Managing Partner and CEO at Bethnal Green Ventures

Paul Miller launched Bethnal Green Ventures in 2012 – before “tech for good” was even a phrase most investors recognized.

At the time, brilliant developers were stuck building tools for banks and ad agencies, while the problems they wanted to solve – climate, health, inequality – sat on the sidelines. Paul saw the gap and built something to fill it.

Bethnal Green Ventures backs founders using technology to create measurable, intentional social and environmental impact. Everything BGV backs falls under one of three themes: building a sustainable planet, a healthy society, and better lives. That’s included backing startups working on grid flexibility software for the energy transition… digital tools to streamline public healthcare… and workplace platforms helping frontline workers organize and advocate for change.

Full episode

Xavier Lorphelin, Managing Partner at Serena Capital

Xavier Lorphelin co-founded Serena on a simple premise: entrepreneurs shouldn’t work for VCs – VCs should work for entrepreneurs. From day one, the firm has been run like a startup itself, combining capital with hands-on operating support and the belief that founders deserve more than a check.

That belief still holds. But in recent years, Serena’s mission has sharpened. Alongside its general tech funds, the firm now manages two vehicles dedicated to sustainability: a fully SFDR Article 9 impact fund, and a new early-stage fund with a significant allocation to climate tech. Both are anchored in Serena’s broader mission: to support innovative entrepreneurs in the service of a better world.

For Serena, climate is only the beginning. The firm is doubling down on “Nature Tech” – tools that help companies measure and manage biodiversity, water, and soil health in real time. Their thesis is clear: digital infrastructure can enable breakthroughs in how we preserve natural systems, from AI-powered biodiversity monitoring to ground-based sensors that track ecosystem change.

Full episode

Daniel Klier, former CEO of ESG Book

At the time of this interview, Daniel Klier was CEO of Arabesque S-Ray, the predecessor to ESG Book. He helped build one of the most ambitious platforms in ESG data – by combining three distinct engines: a sustainability-focused asset manager, a data provider tracking over 150 million ESG data points, and an AI system that customizes investment strategies in real time.

For Daniel, tech for good means infrastructure – the kind that can shift how trillions are allocated. ESG Book’s mission is to mainstream sustainable finance by making data transparent, machine-readable, and usable at scale.

Full episode

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In this 3-in-1 compilation episode, we revisit conversations with investors managing tens of billions across public fixed income, public equities, private equity, and impact-focused real estate. Each one makes the case that environmental and social outcomes aren’t a tradeoff – but a source of lasting value and market-beating returns.

Meet the leaders turning billions into measurable impact:

Michele Giddens, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Fund Management

Bridges was launched in 2002 with £40 million – including just £10 million in catalytic capital. Today, it manages over £2 billion across private equity, impact real estate, and outcomes contracts. 

From the start, its mission has been to invest in solutions that drive both a more inclusive economy and a more sustainable planet – ideally, both at once. 

Michele describes their theory of change simply: addressing systemic social and environmental challenges isn’t a tradeoff – it’s a way to unlock high-performing markets. Whether it's converting inefficient office buildings into low-carbon co-living hubs or financing housing solutions for marginalized youth, Bridges targets overlooked problems with market-driven solutions.

Full episode

Ben Dear, Founder and CEO of Osmosis Investment Management

Osmosis was built on a simple but overlooked idea: companies that generate more economic value while using less carbon, water, and waste will outperform. Ben believed resource efficiency wasn’t just good for the planet – it could be a consistent, data-driven investment factor.

He was right. Today, Osmosis manages over $17 billion in global public equity strategies, all powered by their own proprietary environmental data. They collect and standardize metrics across carbon, water, and waste – giving them a lens on corporate performance that most investors miss.

Their low-risk flagship targets just 0.5–1% above benchmark returns – yet still outperforms two-thirds of global equity funds on Morningstar. Their higher-alpha strategies deliver 2–3% annually, while cutting portfolio footprints by up to 70%.

Check out the full interview: 

Part 1

Part 2

Stephen M. Liberatore, Head of ESG and Impact for Global Fixed Income at Nuveen

Nuveen manages just over $1 trillion globally – and Steve oversees more than $20 billion of that in ESG and impact-focused public fixed income, across 38 distinct funds.

While most associate impact with private markets, Steve has built one of the world’s largest impact bond strategies by focusing on public debt. His theory of change is rooted in scale: in 2023, public fixed income financed over $800 billion in climate transition – ten times more than private equity and venture combined.

Every security in Steve’s portfolios must deliver a direct, measurable environmental or social outcome. That means no sustainability-linked bonds with vague KPIs. Instead, the team targets use-of-proceeds instruments that reduce financing costs for projects like clean energy, affordable housing, and ecosystem restoration – while delivering market-rate returns.

Full episode

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Each of these guests brings a different strategy and perspective, but all are working toward the same goal: building sustainable, scalable businesses that meet the needs of underserved communities.

And they’re doing it in ways that challenge the old assumptions: that impact comes at the expense of return, that emerging markets are too volatile to be investable, or that scalable solutions must come from the West.

Here are the featured voices:

Sandeep Farias, Founder and Managing Partner of Elevar Equity

Elevar backs what they call entrepreneurial households – more than 50 million families across emerging markets who’ve moved beyond the bottom of the pyramid. While they’re making economic progress, they still lack access to the products and services that support their ambitions and daily lives.

Sandeep and his team take a bottom-up, equity-focused approach to identify the “core solutions” these families prioritize – like education, healthcare, and agriculture – and invest in entrepreneurs building businesses to serve them.

With five funds deployed across India and Latin America, Elevar stays close to both customers and founders, spending time in the field to understand how people live, what they value, and where capital can make the greatest difference.

Full episode  

Rochus Mommartz, the CEO of responsAbility

Rochus leads responsAbility – one of the world’s largest dedicated impact asset managers, with $5 billion under management and more than $15 billion deployed across emerging markets since inception.

His team doesn’t start with products. They start with problems – like the 500 million people in Africa who still lack electricity, or the small businesses across Asia and Latin America that can’t get financing. Then they find the companies solving those problems and shape capital to support their growth.

Rochus draws a clear line between real and perceived risk. Emerging markets aren't short on opportunity – they're just often misunderstood by investors who rely too much on spreadsheets and not enough on what’s actually happening on the ground.

Check out the full interview: 

Part 1

Part 2

Sugandhi Matta, Chief Impact Officer at ABC Impact

Sugandhi helped launch ABC Impact with backing from Temasek and Temasek Trust – and helped shape it into the largest Pan-Asian private equity fund dedicated to impact.

From the start, her focus has been on building a strategy rooted in Asia’s realities – not imported from somewhere else. That meant starting with evidence: mapping the region’s most urgent needs, identifying where scalable solutions could take hold, and designing an impact framework from the ground up.

ABC now manages close to $1 billion across sectors like healthcare, financial inclusion, sustainable food, and climate resilience. They back mission-driven founders solving problems they’ve lived – and who have the resilience and discipline to scale.

Full episode

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In this compilation episode, we revisit 3 past conversations from Eliza Foo, Asha Mehta, and Monica Brand Engel, who are leveraging the power of impact investing to drive meaningful change across emerging economies.

Each of these guests shared how they are turning risks into opportunities in emerging markets while earning impressive returns for their investors.

By 2050, these regions will account for 70% of the global population and 50% of global GDP. This statistic alone shows the big opportunities that exist for businesses and investors alike.

But we can’t wish away the risks. Countries within these regions are often marked by political and economic volatility. In these conversations, we talk about evaluating these risks and overcoming challenges through innovative impact investing strategies.

Eliza Foo, Director, Impact Investing at Temasek

Eliza Foo is a leader at Temasek, one of the world’s most prestigious global investment firms, with a portfolio valued at USD $288 billion. Temasek invests across both public and private markets, operating with the flexibility of its own balance sheet, allowing them to pursue diverse opportunities across sectors, geographies, and asset classes.

As the head of Temasek’s Impact Investing team, Eliza plays a big role in the firm’s mission to create value for both current and future generations. Under her leadership, Temasek has championed innovative investments in emerging markets, focusing on critical areas such as financial inclusion, healthcare, agriculture, and climate change.

Full episode

Asha Mehta, Managing Partner & CIO at Global Delta Capital

Asha Mehta is a visionary leader at the intersection of impact and investment, with a deep commitment to unlocking the untapped potential in emerging and frontier markets. As the managing partner and CIO of Global Delta Capital, a US-based equity long-only investment manager, Asha and her team harness the power of capital to fuel social and economic development across international, emerging, and frontier markets.

Her work combines systematic investing in publicly listed equities with a strong focus on generating both alpha and measurable impact.

Full episode

Monica Brand Engel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Quona Capital

Monica is an impact pioneer with a specialized focus on financial inclusion in emerging and frontier markets. Through Quona Capital, she leads investments in micro, small, and medium-sized businesses to drive economic growth and provide solutions to underserved and underbanked communities.

Quona focuses on innovative fintech solutions that bridge the financial infrastructure gap in these regions. By investing in digital payments, tailored lending platforms, accessible insurance, and neo-banking services, Quona enables millions of people to access financial tools previously unavailable to them. Her investments in emerging markets center on creating sustainable financial products that cater to the unique needs of local populations.

Full episode

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• Why logistics stands out within sustainable real estate
• Buying brown logistics assets and upgrading them for institutional buyers
• How European regulation creates investment opportunities
• Executing ESG upgrades with tenants in place
• Targeting mid-teen returns in German logistics

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• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=94
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Additional Resources: 

🔹 Apeiron Capital Limited Website: https://www.apeiron.com/

🔹 Vojkan Brankovic LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brankovic/

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Books mentioned: 

🔹 “The Culture Map,” Erin Meyer: https://amzn.to/4lDLhI6

🔹 “The Edge: How competition for resources is pushing the world, and its climate, to the brink – and what we can do about it,” Jonathan Maxwell: https://amzn.to/3TrJ86r

In this compilation episode, I’ve pulled together the most powerful ideas, turning points, and takeaways from those conversations. If something resonates, you can dive deeper – the links to each full episode are below.

Here's the list of featured guests:

Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners

Nasir launched Zeal in early 2020 – right as the pandemic began. For many, it seemed like the worst possible timing. For him, it was exactly the right moment.

He saw a market that wasn’t working for most entrepreneurs – and a venture ecosystem that kept recycling capital into the same places, the same profiles, and the same narrow definitions of potential.

Zeal’s model is built around what Nasir calls “inclusive investing” – a five-part framework designed to widen the lens on where and how capital gets deployed.

Full episode

Hadewych Kuiper, Managing Director at Triodos Investment Management

Hadewych joined Triodos right as the 2008 financial crisis hit. While other banks were collapsing under the weight of financial engineering, Triodos kept growing – because they weren’t in the business of making money with money. Their investments were grounded in the real economy, and that made all the difference.

Today, Hadewych leads the firm’s €6 billion portfolio across what they call five transition themes: food, resources, energy, society, and well-being.

Her mission is bigger than impact investing. It’s about transforming the financial sector itself.

Full episode

Romina Reversi, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Investment Banking Americas at Crédit Agricole CIB

Romina started her career in equity derivatives at J.P. Morgan – a role she calls foundational for everything that came next. But in 2015, she pivoted into a niche team focused on green bonds. She was one of the earliest hires in J.P. Morgan’s ESG debt capital markets group, helping to shape the playbook as they went.

Now at Crédit Agricole, she leads sustainable investment banking for the Americas – overseeing ESG advisory, green and sustainability-linked financing, and supply chain solutions.

Her team helped launch the first U.S. corporate green bond tied to nuclear energy, and structured the world’s first sovereign bond with a step-up/step-down coupon tied to emissions and biodiversity targets.

Full episode

Michele Giddens, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Fund Management

Michele was asked to advise the UK Treasury’s Social Investment Task Force, chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen. That experience led directly to the founding of Bridges, with a white sheet of paper and £10 million in catalytic government funding. The idea: to show that financial returns and social impact didn’t have to be at odds.

Today, Bridges has over £2 billion in assets under management across private equity, real estate, and outcomes contracts. Every investment aligns with one of two goals: building a more inclusive economy or a more sustainable planet. Their theory of change is simple – use financial capital to tackle systemic challenges, and value creation will follow.

Full episode

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• The off-grid solar deal that defined impact investing for him
• Why ESG data failed when it wasn’t tied to a clear investment thesis
• How large firms evaluate sustainable investing through an alpha lens
• Using pilot programs to build trust and test impact strategies
• When active ownership beats divestment

This conversation is about making impact investable at scale.

—

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Sign up for the free weekly email update
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—

Additional Resources:
🔹 Mark Hays LinkedIn 
🔹 E-mail: mark.hays@glenmede.com
🔹 Glenmede Website 

🔹 2025 Market Outlook
🔹 As You Sow Website
🔹  See if your investments are sustainable with this free tool.

—

SRI360 interviews mentioned:

🔹Andrew Behar: Ep 27

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Books mentioned:
🔹 “Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now,” John Doerr 
🔹 “The Key Man: The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale,” Simon Clark

• Why ABC insists on commercial risk-adjusted returns alongside impact
• How intentional sector selection removes impact trade-offs
• What rigorous impact measurement looks like across Asia
• Why mission-driven founders proved more resilient during COVID

This is a story of private equity applied with intent, discipline, and accountability. Tune in.

—

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• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=115
• Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=115

—

Additional Resources:

ABC Impact website

ABC Impact LinkedIn

Sugandhi Matta LinkedIn

ABC’s 2020 Impact Report

ABC’s 2024 Impact Report

Insights from Dalberg and ABC Impact’s User-Centered Study

—

SRI360 interviews mentioned:

💎 Stewart Langdon: Ep 17

💎 Eliza Foo: Ep 71

💎 Sharon Vosmek: Ep 07

💎 Tara Bishop: Ep 70

💎 4 Women-Led Funds: 4-in-1 Ep 86

💎 Sir Ronald Cohen: Ep 73

• Why the missing middle is overlooked
• Why VC risk models break down here
• How revenue-based finance supports financial inclusion
• Why local capital matters in emerging markets
• What a hundred coffees taught Michelle about founder pain and growth limits

Hear how private debt actually works for the missing middle. Tune in.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

—

Discover More from SRI360°:

• Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=115
• Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=115

—

Additional Resources:

IMPAQTO Capital website

IMPAQTO Ecosystem Builder

Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter website

Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter LinkedIn

Across late March and April, we explored climate-smart timber, social finance powered by dormant bank accounts, fully impact-focused wealth advising, and how catalytic capital is reaching places most firms won’t go.

Here are the featured guests, along with links to their full interviews.

Yasemin Saltuk Lamy, Head of Investment Strategy at Legal & General (L&G)

Yasemin’s path into impact investing started at J.P. Morgan, where she helped build the firm’s Social Finance unit from scratch. At the time, even defining the term “impact investing” took months of debate. “We spent four months just on the word ‘intent,’” she told me.

That focus on intent stuck with her – from J.P. Morgan to Omidyar to BII – where she helped lead the Catalyst Portfolio, growing it from $300 million to $1.6 billion. Her work was all about finding places where capital didn’t naturally flow, and designing structures that would pull others in.

Full episode

Stephanie Cohn Rupp, Former CEO of Veris Wealth Partners

Veris Wealth Partners is one of the only wealth management firms out there that’s 100% impact. No ESG sideline, no separate division. The whole firm is built around aligning portfolios with values.

Another thing that stood out in my conversation with Stephanie was how methodical their process is. It starts with what they call “impact discovery” – getting into the client’s mission, history, beliefs – and then building an investment policy around that.

Full episode

Stephen Muers, Chief Executive Officer of Better Society Capital (BSC)

Stephen brings a systems lens to social finance, and that comes from experience. After years inside the UK government tackling big issues like energy policy, housing, and justice reform, he saw firsthand how strategy alone doesn’t shift systems.

At BSC, the mission isn’t just to make good investments. It’s to make social investment possible at scale.

But BSC isn’t trying to maximize its own portfolio. The goal is to grow the entire social investment market. Over the past decade, they’ve helped expand it twelve-fold across the UK. And yet, it still isn’t enough. The capital’s growing – but not at the pace the problems demand.

Full episode 

Bettina von Hagen, Managing Director & CEO, EFM Investments & Advisory

At EFM, forests are managed as long-term, living assets. It’s not just about timber – it’s about carbon, conservation, and communities, all managed through a single strategy. The question isn’t “how much can we harvest,” but “what’s the best outcome for this acre?”

EFM’s approach is built on the five Rs: rotation, retention, reserves, restoration, and relationships. It’s how they manage over 200,000 acres with just 11 staff and 90 contractors – by treating each forest like a custom portfolio.

Sometimes that means harvesting. Sometimes it means carbon storage or tribal access. The goal is a forest that’s more valuable ecologically, socially, and financially than it was before.

Full episode

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Sign up for the free weekly email update
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Impact investing looks different when you revisit it after a few turbulent years in the market and the politics. My guest today is Eric Rice, back after his appearance on episode nine, to talk about impact and what’s changed since.

When we first spoke, Eric was running a public equity impact fund that was accessible to everybody. That fund has since been shut down, capital returned, and Eric has moved into private equity at SEAF, an investor focused on emerging market SMEs.

This conversation looks at what happened next and what it says about the state of sustainable investing today.

Eric’s core thesis hasn’t changed. At Wellington and BlackRock, his theory of change focused on investing in companies already doing socially useful work and helping them grow into that identity through engagement and long holding periods.

For Eric, this wasn’t ESG investing, and it was never pitched as a promise of superior returns. It was about intentionality, investing in specific impact themes, and professional portfolio construction.

We talk about:

● why public equity impact became collateral damage
● how political backlash erased nuance
● what distinguishes impact from ESG
● why alpha generation was never the pitch
● why he shifted from public markets to hands-on private equity in emerging market SMEs

This is an impact investing update grounded in what Eric saw firsthand in public markets and what he’s building next.

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● Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=88

● Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=8

—

Additional Resources:

🔹 SEAF website

🔹 SEAF LinkedIn

🔹 Eric Rice LinkedIn

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Previous SRI360 interviews mentioned:

💎 Eric Rice: Ep 09

💎 Maya Chorengel: Ep 50

💎 Rochus Mommartz: Ep 57 & Ep 58

💎 Sir Ronald Cohen: Ep 73

💎 Hadewych Kuiper: Ep 83

💎 Michele Giddens: Ep 85

This is capital for the common good, yes – but it’s also capital that works. These aren’t grants. These are investments with measurable returns and track records to prove it.

In this episode, we revisit conversations with four guests who've built the policies and portfolios to make this kind of capital move.

Jenn Pryce, President and CEO of Calvert Impact Capital

Jenn describes Calvert Impact Capital as a bridge between retail capital and the places banks won’t go – solar in Sub-Saharan Africa, affordable housing in the U.S., even sovereign bonds too small for Wall Street to care about. With over $2.5 billion raised, their flagship Community Investment Note is accessible for as little as $20.

For Jenn, community investing isn’t about beating the market – it’s about redefining it. “We’ve learned the risk isn’t where people think it is,” she says. By working through local intermediaries and building data-driven track records, Calvert helps prove what’s possible.

Full episode

Ben Rick, Co-Founder of Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC)

Ben left the City not because he couldn’t succeed there – but because he did. After years at Goldman, UBS, and Lehman, the returns stopped justifying the worldview. “Surely there’s something I can do that’s better than this,” he told himself.

That became Social and Sustainable Capital, a private credit fund lending to UK charities – no shareholders, no profit motive, but plenty of contracts to deliver critical services.

SASC backs groups supporting domestic abuse survivors, people with disabilities, and youth exiting care – organizations with steady revenue but little access to traditional finance.

Full episode

Stephen Muers, Chief Executive Officer of Better Society Capital (BSC)

Stephen Muers came to Better Society Capital after a high-level government career – and brought with him a systems brain. At BSC, the mission isn’t just to make good investments. It’s to make social investment possible at scale.

BSC operates at the wholesale level, backing funds that then invest in frontline charities, social enterprises, and mission-driven lenders.

BSC is also focused on market transformation. In 10 years, they’ve helped grow the UK social investment market 12-fold. And yet, it still isn’t enough.

Full episode

Stewart Langdon, Partner and Co-Head of South Asian Investments at LeapFrog Investments

Stewart joined LeapFrog early, back when the firm was still raising its first fund. He came in to help move serious capital into places most investors overlook – India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia – and do it in a way that actually reaches people.

LeapFrog started with insurance. Not because it was easy, but because it mattered. Health shocks, accidents, lost assets – these were the things pulling families back into poverty. Then came credit. Then healthcare. Same model each time: back companies already trusted in their communities, and help them grow.

Full episode

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In other words, women are underrepresented both in receiving and managing capital.

Today’s episode is about those pushing back against that trend – women-led investment managers and those intentionally channeling capital into women-led businesses.

Here are the featured guests:

Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia & Managing Partner of the Astia Fund

Sharon Vosmek doesn’t see gender equity in venture as a social goal – she sees it as a market inefficiency. With just 2–3% of VC funding going to women CEOs, she argues the system consistently overlooks high-potential founders.

 At Astia, she’s investing in women-led startups with strong early traction, particularly in underserved sectors like women’s health. She also challenges the informal, male-dominated networks – boardrooms, golf courses – where most deals are still made.

Full episode 

Dr. Tara Bishop, Founder and Managing Director of Black Opal Ventures

Tara co-founded Black Opal Ventures to invest where healthcare and technology collide – and where traditional VC often misses.

She and her partner, Eileen Tanghal, raised $63 million from institutional investors like Eli Lilly and JP Morgan, becoming one of the rare female- and minority-led funds in venture. Their portfolio reflects that identity: women-led companies, underserved markets, and problems overlooked by legacy capital.

Full episode 

Tammy Newmark, CEO and Managing Partner of EcoEnterprises Fund

Tammy leads EcoEnterprises Fund, a women-run investment firm focused on nature-positive businesses across Latin America. For over two decades, she’s backed companies in sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, and agroforestry – many led by women and rooted in rural or Indigenous communities.

Gender equity isn’t the fund's focus, but it runs through the portfolio: in leadership teams, supply chains, and daily operations. About half of their investments meet 2X Challenge criteria – not because it’s the mandate, but because that’s who’s doing the work.

With $150 million under management, the fund combines financial discipline with long-term environmental and social goals.

Full episode 

Stephanie Cohn Rupp, CEO of Veris Wealth Partners

Stephanie runs Veris Wealth Partners, one of the few wealth management firms built from the ground up to do just one thing: impact. With $2.3 billion under management and offices across the U.S., Veris has been majority women-led and women-owned since its founding in 2007.

It’s built entirely around impact – certified B Corp, net zero, and intentionally conflict-free – and applies that lens across every asset class, with a deep focus on racial equity, climate, gender, and community wealth.

For Stephanie, this isn’t about doing impact. It’s about being built for it.

Full episode

—

The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update.
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST.
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Follow SRI360° on X.
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK.

That polarization pushed the guest I’m talking to today to look for ways to combine purpose with financial measurability, and to structure funds so investors could participate despite their concerns about risk and returns.

We unpack what it takes for fund managers to hold financial returns and impact to the same standard, especially when operating across property and private markets.

My guest is Michele Giddens, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Fund Management. She helped build one of the earliest impact-focused private equity firms, now managing over £2 billion across private equity and property.

We focus on how Bridges designed impact investing from first principles, including its Spectrum of Capital and its approach to impact measurement inside ownership.

You’ll also hear about:

● Why government catalytic capital mattered early on
● How property became central to climate strategy
● What inclusive growth looks like in practice
● Where double-digit returns were achieved, and where they are not always possible

If you want a clear view of how impact and returns were built together, listen in.

—

Discover More from SRI360°:

● Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=85

 ● Sign up for the free weekly email update:  https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=8

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Additional Resources:

Michele Giddens LinkedIn

Bridges Fund Management:
- Website

- LinkedIn

- X (Twitter)

- YouTube

The Bridges Spectrum of Capital - download here 

That meant structuring teams had to educate issuers from scratch, with little precedent or clear frameworks. In fact, most deals were being figured out in real-time.

Today, sustainable finance has grown into the trillions, but credibility remains a core issue. In a world of evolving taxonomies, rising greenwashing risks, and shrinking new issuance, knowing what’s authentic (and investable) requires more than a label.

Romina Reversi has lived this evolution from the inside. She helped build JP Morgan’s ESG debt business and now leads sustainable investment banking across the Americas at Crédit Agricole, structuring over 500 sustainable finance deals, including Apple’s first green bond and Uruguay’s pioneering step-up/step-down SLB.

In this episode, Romina talks about:

● Why some green bonds still fail investor due diligence
● What sovereign SLBs reveal about incentives and impact measurement
● How AI is shaping the future of ESG disclosures
● Why biodiversity is becoming a real financial KPI
● Why nuclear energy is re-entering the sustainable finance conversation

Tune in to learn more.

—

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● Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=84

● Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=8

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Additional Resources:

- Romina Reversi LinkedIn

- CA CIB Twitter

- CA CIB Website

However, Hadewych didn’t arrive in finance with a grand plan to change the system. Her journey began in a small town in the north of the Netherlands, where she was raised in a Protestant household that blended structure with a quiet rebellion against rigidity. 

Her childhood was grounded, shaped by time in nature, and marked by her parents’ early divorce — a rupture that taught her independence before most children even understand the concept. From an early age, she absorbed values that now form the spine of her leadership: directness, responsibility, and a refusal to look away when something doesn’t make sense.

Hadewych studied business administration at Erasmus University, and she didn’t set out to change the finance world. But after a decade in corporate consulting, a simple question kept surfacing: what’s the point? That question — and her drive for clarity, integrity, and purpose — eventually led her to Triodos just as the 2008 financial crisis hit.

While big banks crumbled under complex products, Triodos stood firm, having never invested in what they didn’t understand. That same principle guides them today: if it’s not clear, it’s not worth the risk.

Today, Hadewych leads Triodos Investment Management, a €6 billion AUM firm built on that same philosophical foundation — but with a far broader mandate. The firm invests across five key transitions: energy, food, resources, societal systems, and well-being.

These aren’t just ESG and Impact categories — they’re deeply connected areas that drive real, systemic change. 

Triodos made its first wind energy loan in 1986, right after Chernobyl. It began investing in financial inclusion in 1994, before microfinance was a formal asset class. Today, it’s working with UNICEF to pioneer child-lens investing — developing a framework to assess companies based on their impact on future generations. 

Its portfolio includes solar-powered irrigation in Africa, seaweed protein startups in Europe, and financial institutions in Latin America that have grown from NGOs into regulated banks.

At Triodos, every investment must show not just expected returns, but why it matters. Whether it’s private equity, debt, or listed markets, the approach stays consistent: clear minimum standards, concentrated portfolios, and strong alignment between values and outcomes.

And yes, it walks away when deals don’t align, even if the financial return looks good. Especially then. Because “all money has impact — every euro, dollar, or pound. The question is whether it’s positive or negative, and whether you’re conscious of it.”

Few firms can claim a 30-year track record of pure-play impact investing. Even fewer have helped define the field and publish their standards for others to use. Triodos has done all of that — and more. 

They’re on a mission to make impact investing the new normal. It’s an ambitious goal — and this episode shows what it takes to get there.

Tune in to find out!

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● Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=83

● Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=8
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Additional Resources:

Triodos Website

Triodos LinkedIn

Hadewych Kuiper LinkedIn

Nasir Qadree directly challenges the idea that doing good requires sacrificing performance. He argues that inclusive investing is a way to widen opportunity, pursue above-market returns, and intentionally track impact without lowering expectations. 

The core problem is structural. Too much capital flows to too few geographies, leaving large parts of the country underfunded. Inclusive investing is presented here as a practical approach that expands geography, broadens founder access, and targets above-market returns while addressing system-level gaps.

My guest is Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based venture platform managing $188 million and investing across fintech, health equity, and the future of learning and work.

We talk about: 

● why capital concentration leads to missed opportunity
● how inclusive investing works in practice
● how system-level change aligns with returns
● why diverse teams uncover more opportunity

If you want to understand how venture capital is changing and why backing a wider range of founders can lead to better outcomes, this episode is worth your time. Tune in.

—

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● Explore all episodes of the SRI360° Podcast: https://sri360.com/podcast/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=82

● Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/?utm_source=episode&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=8

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Additional Resources:

- Nasir C. Qadree:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

- Zeal Capital Partners:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X (Twitter)

- Kauffman Foundation’s white paper: ‘Access to capital for Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers’

- ‘Race Influences Professional Investors’ Financial Judgments’

Bettina grew up in politically turbulent Lima, Peru, with a scholar father, an artist-entrepreneur mother, and a childhood shaped by earthquakes, curfews, and curiosity. Her love of systems thinking began with a trip to the Galápagos Islands at age 14 and eventually led her to study evolutionary biology before pivoting to business.

After earning her MBA at the University of Chicago, Bettina entered the world of commercial banking in the Pacific Northwest – right in the middle of the timber wars. But instead of picking a side, she asked a different question: How do we meet essential needs – like timber – without compromising ecosystems or future generations?

That question led her to Ecotrust, a nonprofit focused on conservation-based development. There, she helped launch Craft3, a triple-bottom-line lender, and Beneficial State Bank. But the real spark came in 2004, when she co-founded EFM within Ecotrust to pioneer sustainable forest investing.

By 2008, she bought a stake in the company and stepped in as CEO.

EFM now manages 200,000 acres and nearly $500M in assets, with a staff of just 11 people and a vast network of contractors. Their model isn’t just about timber. It’s about carbon credits, conservation easements, water protection, salmon runs, tribal partnerships, and restoring degraded ecosystems.

Bettina’s forestry strategy is built on what she calls the Five R’s:

• Rotation: Letting trees grow longer for higher-value wood.
• Retention: Leaving 10–30% of trees to support soil, seedbanks, and habitat.
• Reserves: Protecting special ecological areas, like salmon-bearing streams.
• Restoration: Rebuilding habitat, especially in fire-prone and aquatic systems.
• Relationships: Partnering with tribes, local communities, and land trusts.

EFM’s forests generate revenue through multiple streams. When timber prices dip, they don’t rush to harvest – instead, they “store value on the stump.” Trees continue to grow, becoming more valuable over time. Carbon markets make this kind of patience financially viable.

By deferring cuts, selling carbon offsets, or securing conservation easements, EFM creates liquidity without compromising ecological integrity.

The results speak for themselves. Every fund exit has outperformed the NCREIF Timberland benchmark, and every acre under EFM’s care becomes more ecologically and socially valuable over time.

Forests don’t have to be sacrificed for growth. In Bettina’s hands, they are growth.

Tune in to hear how she’s building a forestry model that works – for investors, ecosystems, and future generations.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Additional Resources:

- Bettina LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettina-von-hagen/

- EFM LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/efminvest/

- EFM Website: https://efmi.com/

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Additional Resources:

- Stephen Muers LinkedIn

- Better Society Capital LinkedIn

- Better Society Capital Website

- ‘Culture and Values at the Heart of Policy Making: An Insider’s Guide’

It was a perfect match! 

Stephanie stepped in, and today, she leads a team managing $2.3 billion in assets, all dedicated to an ambitious goal – to create a more sustainable, equitable, and just world. 

Veris focuses on four core impact themes: climate solutions, sustainable agriculture, racial and gender equity, and community wealth building. They use a holistic approach, integrating environmental, social, and governance factors across all asset classes.

Unlike most firms, Veris doesn’t just offer impact investing – it operates as an impact investment itself. They hold themselves to the same standards on diversity, equity, climate, and inclusion that they expect from the investments they make.

It’s not always easy with the current political backlash against ESG in the USA and climate denial still making headlines.

Yet despite these headwinds, Stephanie has no dilemma - impact investing is here to stay. Because climate challenges, inequality, and injustice aren’t going anywhere. And will eventually affect us all.

So tune in and let Stephanie show you that impatience for change is actually the best growth engine around.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Additional Resources:

- Veris Website 

- Veris LinkedIn   

- Stephanie LinkedIn 

Back then, she had been dreaming of studying in Senegal to experience a French-speaking African economy. But then, the University of Pennsylvania’s study abroad office made her an offer she couldn’t ignore: a $12,000 scholarship to study in Scotland.

For most students, that would have been a no-brainer – they would have spent it on books, rent, or maybe a bit of travel… But Yasemin saw it as an investment opportunity.

She did the math, figured she could live on $6,000, and put the rest into high-growth equities. It was 1998, the height of the dot-com boom. Her investment skyrocketed – until the bubble burst. Long story short, it took nearly a decade just to break even.

It was a tough experience at such a young age, but a powerful one. Watching markets rise and fall, she realized she wanted to understand the bigger picture – how economies impact people’s lives.

And she had a strong background for that. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Yasemin grew up between two worlds. After a military coup d'état, her parents moved the family to the U.S., settling in Rhode Island.

Every summer, she returned to Turkey, experiencing firsthand the stark economic contrasts between her two homes. In the U.S., she valued independence and opportunity. In Turkey, she saw the power of family networks and community-driven economies.

But it wasn’t until she moved back to Turkey as an adult that she truly felt the financial instability of inflation. She then abandoned her plan to pursue a Ph.D. in pure mathematics and instead studied financial mathematics at King’s College London.

After starting out as a high school math teacher, Yasemin moved into finance, bringing with her a strong focus on leadership and impact. At J.P. Morgan, she helped launch the Social Finance Team, and later at British International Investment, she led the Catalyst Portfolio – using catalytic capital to de-risk investments and crowd in private capital for emerging markets and climate projects.

Now at Legal & General, she’s focused on bridging institutional capital with sustainable investments. 

She’s using her experience with catalytic capital to make high-impact projects – especially in climate resilience and infrastructure – less risky and more attractive to traditional investors like pension funds and insurers.

In this interview, Yasemin breaks down how catalytic capital is transforming impact investing and why pension funds have a duty to invest in the right things to protect long-term asset value.

The future of finance isn’t just about returns – it’s about reshaping the system to work for people and the planet. Tune in to hear how Yasemin is making it happen.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Additional Resources:

- L&G website

- Yasemin LinkedIn

She recognized great potential in a segment that comprises 247 million households. According to EPIC World's estimates, there is a $100 trillion opportunity over the next 20 years to serve Indian entrepreneurial households and harness their economic vibrancy.

Educated at top institutions, Jyotsna Krishnan honed her financial expertise at HSBC but felt limited in impact. To drive real change, she joined Elevar Equity to support entrepreneurial households directly.

(Sandeep Farias, founder and managing partner of Elevar Equity was my guest in one of the previous episodes. Listen in to learn more.)

Often overlooked as the "bottom of the pyramid," these households were in fact dynamic risk-takers, problem-solvers, and creators of multiple income streams during the  COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite their economic potential, they lacked access to quality healthcare, education, financing, and business services, mainly because businesses didn’t figure out how to serve them effectively.

That’s when EPIC World was born. 

Founded by partners from Elevar Equity and a co-founder skilled in deep tech and data, it acts as a scaling engine. It bridges the gap between businesses, investors, and entrepreneurial households by offering deep market intelligence, real-time data, and aligned capital strategies. Their goal is to help 50 companies scale up to become blue-chip firms that serve these entrepreneurial households, recognized as key drivers of India’s growth.

And the numbers showing the market's potential are staggering: Entrepreneurial households in India alone contributed $8.8 trillion in transaction volume in 2023, and this figure rose to $10 trillion in 2024, with the potential to grow tenfold over the next 20 years.

Tune in for this interview with Jyotsna to learn more about the palpable change she's making and how inclusive economic practices can genuinely uplift entire communities, creating new leaders from those who were once misunderstood, undervalued, and overlooked.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
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—

Additional Resources:

- Jyotsna Krishnan LinkedIn

- EPIC World Twitter

- EPIC World Website

- Book: Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women And The Search For Intimacy And Independence

- Episode #72 with Sandeep Farias

But his journey didn’t start there.

Robert’s first big career move was at Morgan Stanley. Fresh out of Princeton, he was ready to take on the world of investment banking. But before he even made it to his orientation session, he met Durreen Shahnaz – the woman who would later become his wife and, more importantly for this story, the founder of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) and a global leader in social impact investing. 

 Starting as a banker at Morgan Stanley, Robert later led investment banking for Wasserstein Perella & Co. in Singapore and then transitioned to private equity at Marathon Asset Management, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. 

Then came 2008. The financial crisis hit, and Robert saw firsthand that it "exposed the hollow promise of traditional finance’s claim to make the world better through efficient capital allocation." 

He knew there had to be a better way. So, he pivoted – to impact investing.

Fast forward to today, and he’s Chief Investment Officer at IIX, a Singapore-based enterprise that helps mission-driven businesses grow and scale their positive impact. In their words, they “build pathways to connect backstreets of underserved communities to the Wall Streets of the world”. 

Alongside his wife, he is transforming financial systems and developing innovative solutions that drive women’s empowerment, climate action, and community resilience. Through IIX and the IIX Foundation, their work has mobilized over $250 million in private-sector investment and positively impacted more than 100 million people worldwide.

His team pioneered the Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB) series, a first-of-its-kind financial product that channels investment into women-focused enterprises across emerging markets. 

But they didn’t stop there. After proving the success of the Women’s Livelihood Bonds, they created Orange Bonds – an investment framework designed to standardize and scale gender-lens investing, just like Green Bonds did for climate finance.

In this episode, Robert takes us through the evolution of the WLB Series and the birth of Orange Bonds. 

He also explains the mechanics of blended finance – where catalytic capital de-risks investments to attract large-scale institutional funding. We also talk about IIX’s Values Impact Measurement Tool, their Risk-Return-Impact philosophy, and their ambitious goal: creating one billion sustainable livelihoods by 2030.

Join us to discover why the future of impact investing isn’t just green – it’s turning orange.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
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—

Additional Resources:

- Robert Kraybill LinkedIn 

- IIX LinkedIn 

- IIX Website 

- The Defiant Optimist: Daring to Fight Global Inequality, Reinvent Finance, and Invest in Women

Jed is a true impact pioneer and has spent decades thinking about and exploring how to create impact and value that is in alignment with who you are – your values, your goals, and your purpose.

Jed's impact journey began in the gritty Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California, where he founded a homeless youth center at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This experience led to his dissatisfaction with the nonprofit sector, where funding was too often hinged on politics, persuasion, and perception rather than on real performance.

He wanted to rewrite that script.

By a stroke of serendipity, Jed crossed paths with George Roberts  – the “R” in the renowned global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Roberts was searching for a way to do good with his wealth that didn’t feel empty or disconnected from his business roots.

Together, they launched an experimental private equity fund where he learned firsthand that social progress and financial savvy don't have to sit at opposite ends of the table. They can be integrated into what Jed later called “blended value.”

Fast forward to the present, and Jed is now the Chief Impact Officer at AlTi Tiedemann Global, which is a global wealth management firm, guiding next-generation family members who are questioning the purpose of their inherited wealth.

But don’t be fooled into thinking this is a victory lap story. Jed remains as restless and inquisitive as ever, living by his five-year cycles of asking (and answering) life’s biggest questions about capital, community, and our collective future.

And if you need any proof that Jed is never short on surprises, his book, ‘The Purpose of Capital’ inspired a music video. Yes, you read that right: a music video about impact investing.

Jed discusses impact investing’s key challenge: ensuring tangible outcomes aren't lost to good intentions and slick marketing. He explains why every investment carries an undeniable social and environmental footprint.

If you're ready to rethink the purpose of wealth and capital, join us to hear Jed's mix of pragmatic investing and ethical commitment to improving our world.

His story will remind you that success isn’t just about returns. It’s about finding new questions worth asking time after time.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
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—

Additional Resources:

- AlTi website

- AlTi LinkedIn

Connect with Jed:

- Website

- LinkedIn

- BlueSky

Jed's books:

- Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference

- The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being

- 'What If' music video

- Toniic Institute 

- GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network)

Check out Jed Emerson's first appearance on the SRI360 podcast:

- Listen here

- Watch on YouTube

Born and raised in Paris, Cornelia's culturally vibrant yet traditional family shaped her strong sense of justice and commitment to ethical business practices.

Starting her corporate journey at Group Casino, in Hong Kong, Cornelia took the lead on improving supply chain sustainability across Asia. Her work involved conducting audits, implementing system changes, and ensuring compliance with labor and environmental standards. She pushed for stronger accountability and higher sustainability benchmarks, driving meaningful change in an industry resistant to transformation.

Now at General Atlantic, Cornelia oversees ESG integration across the firm’s portfolio, spanning over 330 companies across 20+ countries​. Under Cornelia’s leadership, sustainability has become a core pillar of the firm’s investment approach​.

GA doesn’t see ESG as a checkbox exercise. Instead, they have developed a unique "value creation" framework based on three key triggers: revenue growth, cost efficiency, and risk mitigation​. This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives are directly linked to financial performance, helping businesses grow while making a positive impact.

In this interview, Cornelia talks about the evolution of ESG and sustainability in private equity investing – from compliance-driven checklists to deeply integrated strategies that influence corporate governance and competitive advantage. 

Tune in to learn more about GA’s pragmatic, data-driven approach to sustainability and how they integrate ESG principles to drive real-world value while ensuring long-term business growth.

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Cornelia’s background and education (03:27)
• Transition to business and sustainability (15:15)
• Role at Group Casino and early challenges (17:21)
• Move to France and role at PAI Partners (34:36)
• Joining General Atlantic (38:32)
• General Atlantic's theory of change (48:26)
• ESG integration in the investment life cycle (50:43)
• Three key value creation triggers (01:03:47)
• Using data collection and analysis to drive decision-making (01:13:32)
• Sustainability challenges and opportunities (01:25:28)
• Rapid fire questions (01:31:46)
• Contact info (01:35:17)

—

Additional Resources:

- General Atlantic Website 

- General Atlantic LinkedIn   

- Cornelia Gomez LinkedIn

 As Co-founder and President of GSG Impact, Sir Ronald is leading a revolution to transform how the financial world measures and reports a company's value by including its net impact on people and our planet. 

Early in his career, he co-founded Apax Partners, one of the oldest and largest international private equity firms. His ability to anticipate market shifts – a principle which he calls “the second bounce of the ball” – was key to his success.

However, he saw his financial success was also increasing inequality, prompting him to create new tools like the Social Impact Bond, which ties investor returns to measurable social benefits.

Through his latest initiative, the International Foundation for Valuing Impact (IFVI), Sir Ronald has established rules to standardize impact valuation in financial terms, akin to how GAAP standardizes financial disclosures for US publicly traded companies.

IFVI is working to establish a global framework that quantifies social and environmental impact in monetary terms. The foundation provides open-source data, methodologies, and valuation metrics to ensure transparency and consistency in impact measurement across industries.

IFVI is already gaining traction among major financial institutions, corporations, and regulators. By integrating impact into core business and investment strategies, IFVI aims to reshape markets – ensuring that companies reducing carbon emissions, improving labor conditions, and fostering social equity are rewarded not just ethically, but financially.

This marks a fundamental shift in capitalism, one that aligns profit with purpose and empowers investors to accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable and equitable global economy.

With over $40 trillion invested in ESG and impact funds today, he believes we are on the brink of a financial revolution – one where companies are no longer valued solely by net income as we do today but by the total financial value that their operations contribute to people and our planet.

Tune in and meet the true visionary of impact investing!

—

Connect with SRI360°:
PODCAST
WEBSITE
X
FACEBOOK

Sign up for the free weekly email update

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Sir Ronald's background (03:48)
• Discovering venture capital at Harvard (13:17)
• Founding Apax Partners and shaping the European VC landscape (19:28)
• Co-founding IFVI (33:16)
• The potential for impact accounting to drive innovation (45:41)
• The “brown-to-green” transition and the role of impact measurement (54:09)
• The challenges of aligning IFVI’s methodology globally (01:04:23)
• Sir Ronald's advice for impact investors (01:09:05)
• Rapid Fire Questions (01:17:19)
• Contact info (01:20:22)

—

Additional Resources:

Connect with Sir Ronald Cohen:
🔹Website

🔹X

🔹LinkedIn

GSG Impact website

GSG Impact LinkedIn

IFVI website

Book: "Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change"

Yuka App

Adam Swersky on the SRI360 Podcast

His early life was shaped by his father’s multiple assignments in the State Bank of India. From spending time in the mountains of Mount Abu to the chaos of Bangalore, he found a unique perspective on adaptability and resilience.

In our conversation, Sandeep openly talks about the beginnings of his career, where he went from fixing bicycles to working in a garment factory. These early hands-on experiences, together with his academic journey in law, uniquely prepared him for a not-so-conventional path.

Sandeep graduated from the prestigious National Law School of India University in Bangalore and started a legal career with stints at top Indian law firms. His rapid ascent in the legal world led him to Nishith Desai Associates, where he led the corporate law practice – a pretty meteoric rise for someone just four years out of law school. This position smoothly transitioned him into impact investing.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Sandeep took a monumental leap, leaving behind a promising legal career to start Elevar Equity with a clear-cut mission: to drive change and profits by investing in communities often ignored by traditional finance.

Unlike many in the space, Elevar focuses not on the bottom of the pyramid but on a segment that has progressed economically yet remains underserved. This strategic pivot places Elevar in a league distinct from microfinance entities like BlueOrchard and ResponsAbility (featured in previous episodes of the podcast). Elevar is not debt-focused. Instead, it opts to provide equity to these emerging communities.

Over the past 15 years, Elevar has expanded beyond microfinance into broader financial services, education, and healthcare, scaled over 50 companies, and supported more than 50 million 'entrepreneurial households'.

Tune in to hear how Elevar’s targeted focus on underbanked yet economically progressing communities has reshaped impact investing, distinguishing its approach from both mainstream venture capital and typical microfinance institutions.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Sandeep’s nomadic upbringing (03:25)
• Career path and transition to impact investing (14:44)
• Founding of Elevar Equity (26:26)
• The concept of entrepreneurial households (41:25)
• The Elevar Method: Investment approach and process (45:02)
• The importance of field immersion for investment strategy (51:42)
• Driving customer-centric impact through innovation (01:01:34)
• Challenges in measuring impact (01:10:49)
• Scaling the Elevar Method (01:13:45)
• Rapid fire questions (01:21:27)
• Contact details (01:25:15)

—

Additional Resources:

Sandeep Farias LinkedIn

Elevar Equity Website

Elevar Equity LinkedIn

BlueOrchard

responsAbility

Eliza Foo is a leader in sustainability and impact investing at Temasek, one of the world’s most respected global investment firms, with a portfolio value of USD $288 billion. Temasek operates across public and private markets, investing from its own balance sheet, which allows for great flexibility in pursuing opportunities across asset classes, geographies, and sectors.

Eliza’s journey to becoming a leader in impact investing is inspiring and unique. From a young age, she excelled in academics, earning scholarships that took her to the Australian National University. She graduated as a valedictorian with a Bachelor of Commerce and later pursued a Master’s in Applied Finance at the University of Melbourne.

Eliza has built an extraordinary career in finance, starting with prestigious roles at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.  She later transitioned to impact investing - a field she has helped shape over the past decade.

Eliza leads the Impact Investing team at Temasek, which plays a key role in achieving Temasek’s mission of creating lasting value for this and future generations. Under her guidance, Temasek has spearheaded innovative investments in emerging markets, working to close gaps in financial inclusion, healthcare, agriculture, and climate.

Her vision for impact investing combines financial rigor with measurable societal and environmental outcomes. You’ll hear about her team’s focus on linking impact metrics to financial KPIs to ensure growth and positive benefits are intrinsically connected.

We also touch on Temasek’s partnerships with organizations like LeapFrog Investments and ABC Impact, which enable them to amplify their reach and scalability in creating innovative solutions across the globe.

Let’s dive in!

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Eliza foo’s background and early career path (02:55)
• Temasek’s sustainability strategy (25:09)
• Impact investing at Temasek (38:41)
• Challenges and opportunities in emerging markets (53:51)
• Temasek’s strategic partnerships (58:35)
• Temasek’s exit strategy (01:11:38)
• Rapid fire questions (01:14:52)
• Contact info (01:18:54)

—

Additional Resources:

- Temasek's Website

- Eliza Foo's LinkedIn

- Temasek's LinkedIn

My guest today is Dr. Tara Bishop who is the founder and managing director of Black Opal Ventures, and she is uniquely positioned to answer this question. 

As a fourth-generation physician turned venture capitalist, Tara teamed up with deep-tech veteran Eileen Tanghal to create a fund focused on bridging healthcare and technology. Together, they bring decades of expertise in medicine, policy, startups, and deep tech to build a brilliant tomorrow in healthcare.

Black Opal’s mission is to uncover and support the rarest gems in healthcare innovation – companies that redefine care delivery, improve access, and make a measurable impact while delivering competitive returns. 

With $63M under management and a portfolio spanning robotic IVF, wearable AI diagnostics, and next-gen obesity care platforms, Black Opal proves that you don’t have to choose between impact and profitability.

In this interview, Tara talks about inefficiencies in the healthcare system and how they inspired her to dive into healthcare innovation. She also shares her investment strategy and explains how Black Opal balances impact and profitability.

Curious to learn more about how venture capital is turning the biggest healthcare challenges into opportunities to drive meaningful change and financial returns? Tune in to hear how this unique fund is bridging technology and medical expertise to deliver smarter, more accessible, and impactful solutions.

Let’s dive in!

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Tara Bishop's background and early career path (02:50)
• Transition to venture capital (20:40)
• Co-founding Black Opal Ventures with Eileen Tanghal (35:00)
• Black Opal’s mission and theory of change (42:37)
• Investment strategy, process, and portfolio (01:02:18)
• Portfolio highlights: Conceivable Life Sciences, Empatica, Violet (01:14:03)
• Challenges of integrating technology into healthcare (01:22:34)
• Impact measurement (01:27:10) 
• How diversity drives better and faster healthcare solutions (01:32:20)
• The public sector's role in advancing health tech innovation (01:42:34)
• Future of health tech and AI (01:45:30)
• Rapid fire questions (01:48:14)
• Contact info (01:54:08)

—

Additional Resources:

- Tara’s LinkedIn 

- Black Opal Ventures Website 

Ron Gonen, Founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners 

Ron shares how his firm is making a real impact across sectors like consumer goods, food, and technology. By tackling supply chain bottlenecks, building recycling infrastructure, and leading projects like the $150 million bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in California, Closed Loop Partners is driving meaningful change. Their efforts have diverted 2.3 million tons of waste from landfills and prevented 5.3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Ron’s work shows that aligning environmental goals with strong economic outcomes isn’t just achievable – it’s the way forward.

Full episode   

Lucy Mortimer, Co-Founder of Archipelago Ventures

Lucy is intensely focused on advancing technologies that address material circularity, especially aimed at reducing plastic waste. Through Archipelago Ventures, Lucy is driving strategic investments into startups that are leading the way in recycling and reducing environmental footprints. This effort is fast-tracking our transition to a circular economy, showing that it's absolutely possible to combine strong environmental improvements with solid economic returns.

Full episode  

Karla Mora, Founder and Managing Partner, Alante Capital

Karla is driving transformation in the apparel industry, a massive $3 trillion market primed for innovation. Through Alante Capital, she invests in startups that lead the way in circular and low-carbon solutions. Her strategic focus is reshaping how clothing is produced and consumed, offering a blueprint for sustainable practices in other consumer industries as well. Karla's journey into this space was driven by her ambition to effect systemic change within such a significant economic sector.

Full episode

—

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. 

—

Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update.
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST.
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE.
Follow SRI360° on X.
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK. 

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Ron Gonen - Closed Loop Partners overview (03:43)
• Investment strategy, impact measurement & reporting (11:49)
• Innovation center and industry challenges (23:32)
• Lucy Mortimer - introduction to Archipelago (30:26)
• Circular economy and plastics recycling (44:28)
• AI’s impact on waste management (55:46)
• Archipelago's theory of change and investment strategy (01:03:13)
• Karla Mora - introduction to Alante Capital (01:09:57)
• Circular economy in the apparel space (01:17:43) 
• Alante's theory of change (01:24:50) 
• 3 key dimensions of impact and investment strategy (01:28:22) 
• Investment structure and returns (01:42:25)

As we step into a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the choices we make and remind ourselves how sustainable and responsible investing became significant in the first place. We’ll explore why so many investors now see it as a future-proof investment trend and why more are considering the broader impact their portfolio returns have on others.

This episode is designed to do just that, featuring three chapters from the audiobook version of Sustainable and Responsible Investing 360: Lessons Learned from World-Class Investors. It’s an opportunity to revisit the foundational "why" behind sustainable investing – not as just a trend, but as a necessary shift in how we think about finance and its role in the world.

These chapters are narrated by the talented veteran actor Graham Rowat. The book is designed to be easy to navigate – you can read it from cover to cover or jump to specific topics that interest you.

The book begins with an overview of sustainable and responsible investing – its challenges, opportunities, and importance – before transitioning to interviews with 26 professional investors who have broken new ground in responsible investment

At the start of this new year, I wanted to share these three chapters as a chance to reflect on what truly matters. My hope is that they inspire you to think differently about your financial decisions and their potential to align with a more sustainable future.

If you are interested in checking out the rest of the audiobook, which is produced and copyrighted by Ascent Audio, you can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite audiobooks.

Please enjoy… and thank you for listening.

—

The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. 

—

Connect with SRI360°:

Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

—

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• CHAPTER 1 - Why Sustainable & Responsible Investing? (04:06)
• Enter Sustainable and Responsible Investing (08:48)
• Migrating Into the Mainstream (10:12)
•  Sustainable & Responsible Investing Acronyms and SRI (11:49)
• ‘I Don’t Have to Tell You Things Are Bad’ (15:07)
• COVID-19 Pulled Back the Curtain (21:33)
• ‘I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight’ (24:43)
• ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’ (32:17)
• Taming the 400-Pound Gorilla in the Room (34:18)
• Gaining Traction and Altitude (36:30)
• Wide Road Ahead (38:19)
• CHAPTER 2 - Why SRI is a Future-Proof Trend (44:25)
• Millennials Bank the Next Great Wealth Transfer (49:22) 
• CHAPTER 3 - Aligning Investment Portfolios with SRI Values (55:59) 
• Asset Classes (01:04:48)

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Additional Resources:

Order ‘Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360°: Lessons Learned from World Class Investors’ on Amazon

Here are the featured guests:

Ed Marcum, Managing Partner, Working Capital Fund

Ed unpacks how his team is tackling systemic labor exploitation in global supply chains. By channeling investments into advanced tools like AI mapping and transparency technologies, he paints a picture of how these innovations are making accountability not just possible, but scalable – forcing companies to rethink their approach to labor conditions.

Full episode

Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow

Andrew is a leader in shareholder advocacy. He emphasizes a collaborative approach – engaging with companies to reduce material risks in areas like climate change, diversity, and equity – rather than resorting to hostile tactics. This approach not only strengthens financial performance but also cuts systemic risks – creating wins for stakeholders at every level.

Full episode

Adam Swersky, CEO of Social Finance

Adam breaks down how social impact bonds are redefining solutions for some of society's toughest challenges. He shares how these unique financial tools bring together governments, investors, and social organizations to tackle pressing issues like homelessness and criminal justice reform. By tying financial returns to measurable outcomes, they ensure accountability and create a ripple effect of lasting impact.

Full episode

Paul Miller, Managing Partner and CEO at Bethnal Green Ventures

Paul focuses on identifying founders who combine tech innovation with a mission to create real impact. He’s laser-focused on backing startups that merge sustainability with scalable business models. By investing in these early-stage companies, he’s helping to drive solutions that tackle global environmental and social challenges head-on while paving the way for high-growth opportunities that have the potential to reshape entire industries.

Full episode

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The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing.

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Connect with SRI360°:
Sign up for the free weekly email update.
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST.
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE.
Follow SRI360° on X.
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK. 

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Key Takeaways:

• Introduction (00:00)
• Ed Marcum - Mission to combat labor exploitation (03:35)
• AI and tech transforming supply chains (14:53)
• Investment process and impact measuring (19:50)
• Andrew Behar’s journey to shareholder advocacy (34:01)
• Challenges and opportunities in shareholder advocacy (47:16)
• From greenwashing to greenhushing: Corporate response trends (58:23)
• Adam Swersky - the social impact bond model (01:03:13)
• The success story of Peterborough prison (01:18:34)
• Mental health and employment partnership initiatives (01:28:24)
• Paul Miller - origins of Bethnal Green Ventures (01:33:33)
• Definition of 'Tech for Good' (01:44:32)
• VC’s impact potential (01:49:51)
• Diversity, growth tensions, and impact-washing (01:55:26)

Today, we’re continuing the Osmosis story and diving into the groundbreaking strategies behind its success. 

Ben explains how his team developed a systematic, data-driven approach to investing, using their resource efficiency factor to measure carbon, water, and waste management as predictors of company returns. This method allows Osmosis to build portfolios that consistently outperform benchmarks while significantly reducing environmental footprints.

We also talk about ESG data – what’s broken, why it matters, and how Osmosis collects, cleans, and standardizes its own data to ensure accountability. Ben unpacks the nuances of portfolio construction, balancing risk and reward, and shares how they’ve managed to cater to global institutional clients while staying laser-focused on their mission: delivering returns that are both financial and environmental.

If you still doubt that sustainability can drive profitability – or that a boutique firm can achieve explosive growth while redefining public equity investing – this episode is a must-listen.

Let’s pick up where we left off!

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About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

–

Connect with SRI360°:

Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

–

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• The meaning behind “Osmosis” & core investment philosophy (03:26)
• Emerging markets fund launch (14:55)
• Osmosis’ theory of change (22:20)
• Data collection and fundraising journey (33:13)
• Osmosis’ investment process (49:28)
• Key Metrics: carbon, water, and waste (56:18)
• Engaging companies to disclose environmental data (01:11:27)
• Rapid fire questions (01:26:14)
• Contact info (01:32:37)

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Additional Resources:

Osmosis website

Ben Dear LinkedIn

It's a true odyssey that began in a small town in England, passed through many entrepreneurial experiments, and ultimately led him to found Osmosis – a $17 billion sustainable investment fund.

But Ben’s journey was far from an overnight success. He faced academic struggles, tried his hand at various careers – including managing a Jamaican restaurant and building a software testing company he later sold for millions – and learned important lessons about taking risks and building trust in business.

A pivotal moment in Ben’s life came when he watched ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ which inspired him to align his career with sustainability and create Osmosis based on values and integrity. It combines investment strategies with a focus on environmental impact, using a rare systematic approach that has driven remarkable growth and success with solutions like green indices and ETFs.

In this first part of the interview, Ben openly talks about the highs and lows of his journey, how he overcame early obstacles, and what it took to convince initial investors to believe in his vision.

Tune in for this inspiring conversation about what it really takes to build something impactful from scratch.

P.S. Don't forget to join us next week as we dive into the second chapter of this story. We'll talk about how Osmosis is revolutionizing sustainable investing, share the strategies driving its success, and explore why it's become a leader in aligning finance with environmental values.

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About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

–

Connect with SRI360°:

Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

–

Key Takeaways:
Intro (00:00) 
Ben’s background, early life, and education (03:55) 
Learning from entrepreneurial ventures (23:27) 
Building, scaling, and selling a software testing business (41:24) 
'An Inconvenient Truth' epiphany and transition to sustainable investing (50:34) 
Various investment strategies employed by original Osmosis (01:08:14) 
Raising capital activities (01:14:38) 
Stop selling, start listening to investors (01:20:30)

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Additional Resources:

Osmosis website

Ben Dear LinkedIn

That’s where today’s guest, Helen Avery, comes in. Helen is the Director of Nature Programs at the Green Finance Institute (GFI), and she’s on a mission to flip the script. Working at the crossroads of finance and nature, she is helping break down the barriers that are keeping private investment from flowing into biodiversity and sustainable landscapes.

Helen makes a compelling case: ignoring natural capital isn’t just bad for the planet – it’s bad business. She’s helping companies rethink the way they operate, from creating financial tools like carbon credits to embedding biodiversity right into their business models.

In this interview, Helen explains why biodiversity has been overlooked in the climate conversation and how the GFI is driving innovation to get private money moving into nature-positive projects. 

We also talk about the big challenges – like scaling investments in natural capital – and why we need more leadership and collaboration to make restoring nature an economic no-brainer. 

Tune in as we talk about how the finance world can drive meaningful change for our planet – and why it’s time to make that happen. 

Don’t miss it!

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About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

–

Connect with SRI360°:

Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

–

Key Takeaways:
Introduction (00:00) 
Helen Avery’s background, education & early career (03:40) 
Joining Green Finance Institute (GFI) in 2020 (15:47) 
GFI overview, mission, and theory of change (21:13) 
The value of natural capital in driving investment returns (31:18) 
GFI’s Nature Programs and its key focus areas (42:06) 
Catalyzing private investment with structured approaches (46:39) 
Reporting standards for nature-related risks (57:14) 
Rapid fire questions (01:05:27) 
Contact info (01:09:53)

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Additional Resources:

Helen Avery LinkedIn 

GFI website 

GFI Hive website 

That’s exactly the vision behind Serena, whose co-founder Xavier Lorphelin joins me today. Xavier is here to explain, among other things, why the firm integrates impact considerations into every decision, moving beyond the traditional investment approach.

Serena isn’t a typical VC firm. Founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, it blends financial ambition with a mission to support innovative startups that serve a better world. With €1 billion in assets under management, Serena invests in transformative sectors like climate tech, AI, and sustainability – all while delivering impressive double-digit financial returns.

Xavier’s journey to this mission-driven approach is deeply rooted in his time in Silicon Valley. After earning his master’s degree at Stanford during the rise of the internet boom, he gained a front-row seat to the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to drive societal change.

Today, Xavier is with us to explain how Serena is aligning financial success with sustainability by introducing groundbreaking concepts like climate dividends and embracing cutting-edge technologies such as AI to address biodiversity challenges. In this conversation, Xavier dives into Serena’s investment process, the evolution of impact investing, and the powerful business case for sustainability.

Tune in to learn how venture capital is being transformed into a force for good – and why it might just be the key to tackling our planet’s biggest challenges.

Don’t miss it!

–

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

–

Connect with SRI360°:

Sign up for the free weekly email update
Visit the SRI360° PODCAST
Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE
Follow SRI360° on X
Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK

–

Key Takeaways:
Intro (00:00)
Xavier Lorphelin’s background and education (02:52)
Silicon Valley experience (12:24)
Transition back to France and career development (19:02)
Founding Serena (25:48)
Serena’s mission, investment focus & theory of change (33:11)
Serena’s investment process (42:34)
Conducting pre- and post-investment ESG assessments (59:11)
Serena Squad and operating framework (01:15:38)
Opportunities in Measure, Report, Verification (MRV) solutions (01:20:32)
Rapid fire questions (01:28:14)
Contact info (01:32:52)

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Additional Resources:

Xavier Lorphelin LinkedIn
Xavier Lorphelin's e-mail: xavier@serena.vc

Serena Website
Serena LinkedIn

VC Funding Trends in Nature Tech
Terrahui Foundation
Climate Fresk