I am thrilled and honored to have Alice Korngold back on the podcast. Alice is a consultant, advisor, trainer, educator, author. She's a noted global expert on the issues of sustainability, diversity, inclusion, board governance, and E S G. We are here to talk about Alice's new book, A Better World, Inc, Corporate governance for an Inclusive, sustainable and prosperous future.  Alice is a good friend and a returning guest to the Purposing Podcast.

Stacey Kline, CEO of Otto Intelligence, joins the podcast to discuss the future of purpose-focused finance. Noting the accelerating shift in aligning values with investment priorities, she unpacks how wealth advisors can employ ESG metrics and clients’ environmental and social impact preferences to inform investment strategies.

Heather Clancy, vice president and editorial director at GreenBiz Group, joins the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion about the role of technology in climate action. Heather discusses the need for an intersection of corporate sustainability with social justice and environmental justice; the role of technology in enabling corporate climate action, matched with skepticism that technology cannot deliver on its promises without corporate ethics and systemic social change; and the recognition by corporations that they can no longer speak in terms of aspirations and estimates regarding climate commitments.

Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, joins the podcast to discuss the power of using shareholder advocacy to drive change at large corporations. Andrew walks us through “a day in the life,” specifically May 25, 2022, when his team presented resolutions at five corporate annual meetings on issues ranging from climate change to racial justice; Andrew talks about the SEC’s new draft rule that addresses the ESG naming problem within mutual funds; and the paradox of employees unknowingly investing in companies that are destroying the Amazon through company retirement plans.

In a special episode, host Michael Young, founder and CEO of Actual Agency, and Noah Miller, founder and CEO of Calibrate Partners, discuss changing expectations and heightened tension between corporations and stakeholders around ESG and sustainability. We discuss how ESG serves as a litmus test of leadership in 2022 and beyond, we highlight a few exemplars of corporate purpose, and examine what happens when there is a breakdown between the numbers and the narrative - including in the PR industry.

Kwasi Mitchell, Chief Purpose Officer of Deloitte, joins the podcast to discuss the findings from the company’s C-Suite Insight Report. Companies are integrating Purpose into their business strategies but less than 15% of companies are collecting data that lead to quantifiable metrics. We discuss the key insights of the report, how accountability mechanisms are falling into place, and ways companies have innovated to implement their Purpose strategies.

Elliot Roth, Founder of Spira Inc, and Balaji Ganapathy, Chief Social Responsibility Officer of TCS, join the podcast to discuss how Spira is using algae to create new products that will improve the foods we eat and the products we use while sequestering carbon dioxide. Spira’s innovative solution earned Elliot recognition as winner of the TCS 2021 Pitch for Purpose, a competition designed to elevate social entrepreneurs and the solutions that will change the world.

Work Wider co-founder Michele Lanza and Glenn E. Singleton, founder of Courageous Conversations, join the podcast for a conversation about how companies must change to make diverse teams a reality. We discuss why companies cannot recruit their way out of the diversity challenge; how performative DEI statements must be replaced if organizations want to connect and reflect a world that is already diverse; and why companies must eschew the notion of “cultural fit” and focus on a journey of cultural evolution.

Kevin Tubbs, Vice President and Chief Ethics Compliance and Sustainability Officer at Oshkosh Corporation, joins the podcast to talk about the values that have guided Oshkosh’s success for the past 100 years. Tubbs discusses Oshkosh Corporation's four core values in detail and explains how values guide the company's people-first culture, industry-leading sustainability efforts and non-stop innovation.

Laura Zizzo, Co-founder and CEO of Manifest Climate, joins the podcast to discuss why organizations must incorporate climate disruption into decision making and governance. Laura discusses how organizations can understand and manage climate risk in a time where incentives, regulations and investor expectations are shifting rapidly.

Bob Langert, author of The Battle to Do Good: Inside McDonald’s Sustainability Journey, joins the podcast to discuss his 25-year career as head of CSR and Sustainability for McDonald’s. Bob shares the strategy he used to partner with McDonald's critics at major environmental and sustainability organizations, and how he worked with these groups to find common ground and solutions.

Alison Taylor, executive director of NYU-based research collaborative Ethical Systems, returns to the podcast to broaden our understanding of the ethical, moral and conceptual boundaries around ESG, purpose and DEI. Alison makes the case that an organization cannot be everything to everyone, setting out a framework for how companies can prioritize issues to address divergent stakeholder interests. We also discuss the difference between reporting DEI metrics and actually closing the widening racial and gender gaps.  

Bruce B. Simpson, Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, joins the podcast to deliver thought provoking analysis and critique of the state of corporate purpose and ESG. Bruce argues that “longtermism” is where shareholder and stakeholder interests actually converge; how employees, investors and consumers are taking to social media to voice their opinions and challenge management to embrace change; why embedding ESG “into the muscle” of the organization is the key to driving change, creating business value, and delivering new sustainable business models that will outperform competitors.  

Anthony Goodman, Senior Client Partner & Head of the Board Effectiveness Practice at Korn Ferry, rejoins the podcast to discuss how Engine No. 1, a purpose-driven investment firm with a small stake in ExxonMobil, won 3 executive board seats by identifying the company's failure to evolve and pushing for a move towards renewables. We also break down how climate has come roaring back to the forefront of corporate governance agenda, why inclusion is just as important as diversity in the boardroom and within the organization, and the future of ESG.

Caitlin Leibert, Director of Sustainability for Chipotle Mexican Grill, joins the podcast to talk about Chipotle's sustainability mission surrounding food & animals, people, and the environment. From the farm,  to the kitchen, the boardroom and the customer experience, Caitlin takes us on a journey that shows how Chipotle integrates sustainability, ESG and DEI initiatives in every aspect of the business.

On today's episode of Purpose, Inc., Michael Young speaks with Kim Worsham, Founder and Principal of FLUSH, about the social, economic, racial and gender issues surrounding sanitation in communities from Africa, India, and the United States. Kim works with organizations and their stakeholders to implement greater access to clean water and sanitation in rural communities and major cities.

In our latest podcast, Michael Young speaks with Pamela Rucker, a renowned speaker and trainer on innovation, digital transformation and corporate strategy. Pamela discusses the crisis in corporate identity, critiques corporate culture practices, and highlights the importance of cognitive diversity within organizations especially during this year’s battles with the pandemic and for social justice.  

Today on the podcast I speak with social entrepreneur Ahva Sadeghi, CEO and co-founder of Symba about how she and her team are removing barriers and leveling the playing field in corporate internships. Post-COVID, many internships were cancelled and all have gone remote— and 71% of internships still go to white candidates. Symba has built the industry standard tech stack to help organizations find talent the best talent from anywhere and give interns broader access to the new world of remote work.

We can’t meet a global health crisis, a climate crisis, an economic crisis or any future crisis as a divided nation. We’re not enemies. We’re a family with differences to work through. Polarization is our real enemy. Today on the podcast, Bill Shireman and Trammell S. Crow who have spent their lives and careers bringing sworn enemies to the table to find common ground and develop win-win solutions. Bill and Trammell launched a cross-partisan campaign and co-authored a book called IN THIS TOGETHER. We talk about the problems of amplified divisions in our political and civic life, the lack of respectful dialogue, thoughtful deliberation, evidence-based problem-solving—and what to do about it.

Welcome to Season 2 of the Purpose, Inc. In this episode Michael recaps the key takeaways from the 22 thoughtful and provocative conversations he had with his guests in Season 1. Michael also outlines the issues, ideas and topics he wants to focus on in Season 2 around corporate purpose, sustainability, ESG, racial justice and stakeholder capitalism.