In our first video Sustainable Connections podcast, host Mark Lee speaks with ERM colleagues Linden Edgell, Sabine Hoefnagel, and Liam Walsh about their experience at and impressions of Climate Week New York 2025. Listen and watch to hear their views including: The overall mood as compared to prior years and to London Climate Action Week a few months ago.A summary of key topics and themes, from the roles of investors and customers in providing capital and shaping demand for low-carbon p...

In this episode, Mark Lee speaks to Silvio Lima, Head of Corporate Affairs, ESG and Community Engagement at Appian Capital Advisory and Conor Grieve, Principal Consultant at ERM, to discuss how mine development can be made more sustainable. They explore how approaches like technical arbitrage, ESG integration, and social integration are reshaping the mining investment landscape. Their conversation covers: · How technical arbitrage can unlock value · &nbs...

In this episode, Mark Lee is joined by ERM colleagues Mathias Lelievre, Linden Edgell and Andrew Probert to unpack their key takeaways from London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2025. Together, they reflect on evolving business approaches to sustainability quantification and implementation, and explore how climate strategy is adapting during current global geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Their conversation covers: Climate strategy in a shifting business environmentShifting from broad goals...

In this episode, Mark Lee is joined by Vicente Saiso Alva, Global Vice President of Sustainability at Cemex, and Greg Koch, Technical Consulting Director at ERM, to discuss Cemex’s recent achievement of zero freshwater use and how companies can better manage water risk in their operations. Their conversation covers: · Cemex’s zero freshwater use achievement · Responding to increasing water scarcity · Collaborating w...

In this episode, Mark Lee speaks to Johann Weicht, Jennifer Klie and Aiste Brackley about the latest updates to the EU Omnibus regulation. The Omnibus proposals aim to streamline the CSRD, CSDDD, EU Taxonomy and CBAM are expected to bring significant changes to the regulated sustainability disclosure and due diligence landscape. The episode delves into what these changes mean for businesses and how companies can best navigate compliance. Their conversation covers: What is the EU ...

In this episode, Mark Lee is joined by Anne-Laure Brison, Senior Manager of Circular Products and Materials at World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Titta Rosvall-Puplett, Chief Sustainability Officer at Syensqo; and Cristina Pellegrino, ERM Global Industry Leader of Chemicals, to discuss “Towards Planet Positive Chemicals, A Chemical Transformation Roadmap” report created by WBCSD, ERM and nine leading chemical companies. Their conversation covers: · ...

Mark Lee talks with the authors of ERM’s Annual Trends Report - Aiste Brackley, Andrew Angle, Rebecca Green and Ricardo Zibas – about the key business sustainability trends to expect across the globe in 2025, from climate change to AI, and how companies can respond. Their conversation covers: Changes to the sustainability landscape in 2025 Progress towards the Paris Agreement climate goals Managing supply chain challenges AI and technology trends driving the sustaina...

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region holds immense potential for wind energy. From 2024 to 2030, APAC is expected to account for 61% of global new wind capacity. As the industry looks to ramp up the pace of new capacity installations, the APAC region has an important role in delivering the wind energy needed for the global net zero transition. Mark Lee talks to Feng Zhao, Chief Research Officer at the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), and Breanne Gellatly, Renewables Partner at ERM, about wh...

Mark Lee talks with ERM leaders ‌Sabine Hoefnagel, ‌Linden Edgell and ‌James Stacey about their reflections from the COP29 climate talks in Baku and what the event means for businesses in terms of moving forward with climate strategy and implementation.Their conversation covers: What was anticipated going into Baku Progress in hard-to-abate sectors and carbon markets The role of private finance and transition plans Nature and adaptation plans Progress on renewable...

Mark Lee talks to Vamsi Alla, Managing Director in J.P. Morgan's Corporate Advisory and Sustainable Solutions team, and Pradipta Parhi, an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Climate Technology, Innovation and Strategic Investment team, about their new report with ERM exploring the critical challenges and opportunities surrounding water resilience in the US.Their conversation covers:· Water insights from COP16 · Company water resilience...

Mark Lee talks to Ben Madden, Chief Technology Officer at Hydrogen investment fund HYCAP, and Patrick Huber, Head of Project Finance at green hydrogen developer MorGen Energy, about the challenges and opportunities in hydrogen ecosystem development, including hydrogen generation, transport infrastructure and accessing new markets for hydrogen.Their conversation covers:Financing hydrogen ecosystemsHow to identify viable hydrogen projectsCurrent European policy incentives for hydrogenEngaging w...

Mark Lee talks to members of the NatureTech Alliance, including Salesforce, NatureMetrics and Planet, about their new report exploring how nature tech solutions can help companies to navigate a path towards nature positive. They also discuss the outcomes of the United Nations COP16 biodiversity conference.Their conversation covers:COP16 outcomes and implications for businessHow to combine global and local nature data for business decision makingStrategies to overcome data fragmentationNavigat...

Mark Lee talks to John Elkington, founder of Volans, about his latest book ‘Tickling Sharks: How We Sold Business on Sustainability’. They look back at how corporate sustainability has evolved over the past 50 years, anticipate how it will progress in the future and debate the most effective ways to engage business leaders on sustainability.Their conversation covers:- How sustainability became a C-Suite issue- The future of c...

Mark Lee talks to ERM leaders and experts across climate markets, social performance and nature, about how Climate Week NYC 2024 shaped the global business sustainability agenda. They also discuss implications and expectations for the upcoming United Nations COP16 biodiversity and COP29 climate change conferences later this year. Their conversation covers: How to build trust in the voluntary carbon markets The role of social performance in the low carbon transition Integra...

Mark Lee talks to Dominic Barton, Chair at Rio Tinto, and Louise Pearce, Global Industry Lead for Mining and Metals at ERM, about the role of mining in the low-carbon energy transition. Their conversation covers:- Rio Tinto’s environmental and social strategy- Decarbonizing mining and metals- How to increase metals and critical minerals supply- Derisking mining to attract investment

In our nineteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Eli Aheto, Managing Director on the BeyondNetZero team at General Atlantic, and Manuela Fumarola, Consulting Director at ERM, about how private equity funds can take advantage of new opportunities to scale climate investment. Their conversation covers:Scaling investment in climate tech that offers cost savings to customersOpportunities for climate investment in the agricultural sectorMeasuring the impact of climate private equity investmentCli...

In our eighteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Kevin Hagen, Interim CEO at the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), and Nikki Payne, North America Renewable Energy Lead at ERM, about the current pace and trajectory of renewable energy procurement and development in the US. Their conversation covers: Company strategies for procuring renewable energy How to manage the rising cost of clean energy procurementChallenges and solutions for updating the US gridScaling US offshore wind...

In our seventeenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Coy Garrison, Partner at international law firm, Steptoe, and Beth Wyke, Partner, Corporate Assurance at ERM CVS, about how companies can prepare for the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate disclosure rules. Their conversation covers:Reporting boundaries and scope of the SEC climate rulesInteroperability of the SEC rules and other disclosure regulations worldwideHow to approach climate and wider sustainability assuranceP...

In our sixteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Amy Rosenthal, Senior Global Director for Conservation Initiatives at leading satellite imagery provider, Planet, and Michael Mangiante, Global Climate Risk Lead at ERM, about how nature mapping and data analytics can enable companies and governments to operationalize their nature strategies. Their conversation covers:How to use satellite data to enable nature stewardship and disclosureIdentifying and taking action against nature crimesMonitori...

In our fifteenth episode, Mark Lee talks to Mirela Atanasiu, Executive Director and Head of Unit Operations at the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a public-private partnership supporting research and innovation in hydrogen technologies in Europe, and David Hart, Global Hydrogen Lead at ERM, about how to accelerate the hydrogen economy. Their conversation covers:Research and development to improve hydrogen technologyPrivate-public partnerships to decarbonize heavy industryProduction and use c...