Ceres Sustainability Podcast
The Ceres Sustainability Podcast is an ongoing conversation with investors, corporations, policy makers and public interest groups about how they are adapting business strategies and financial markets to address the risks and opportunities of climate change and other sustainability issues.
Check back every few weeks for new episodes, or subscribe to our podcast using the links below.
   
Episode 15 - February 16, 2010
 Facts and Fancy: The Economics of Climate Change
An interview with John M. Reilly, Associate Director for Research at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
While Congressional action on climate and energy legislation may be in a holding pattern, debates about the costs and benefits of climate change legislation haven't stopped. In fact, these disagreements have driven a wedge between political leaders, economists and the general public, adding confusion and doubt when it comes to the merits of passing climate and energy legislation in the U.S. Will climate policy cost thousands of dollars and endanger thousands of jobs? Or will it bolster the U.S. economy, create clean American jobs and keep our country competitive as we usher in the clean energy economy? There have been plenty of studies on the matter, but attempts to distort the facts have led to confusion over the realities of the economics of climate change.
So, why should we be skeptical of the doom and gloom models that climate naysayers are propagating? In this episode, we speak with John M. Reilly, Associate Director for Research at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, about the facts and fancy of climate change economics.
To listen to this episode, click the play
button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Rahsaan Roland Kirk, "The Creole Love Call" from The Inflated
Tear (Wea UK, 1967); Puff Daddy, "It's All About the Benjamins" from No
Way Out (Bad Boy, 2005)]
Episode 14 - November 18, 2009
 A Brave Green World: Revitalizing American Labor for a New Energy Economy
An interview with Jeff Rickert, Director of the AFL-CIO Center for Green Jobs
Despite billions of public dollars going toward education, health care and infrastructure projects as part of the federal stimulus package passed earlier this year, unemployment in the U.S. is higher than it has been since the early 1980’s. Of the $780 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year, nearly $80 billion has been set aside for ‘green’ projects, such as upgrading regional utility grids, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and manufacturing solar panels and wind turbines for renewable energy installations across the country. Some are saying that this is merely the start of what is our best hope for creating new jobs in the U.S. What’s the next step? Passing climate and energy legislation that would further support green manufacturing jobs based on renewable energy, clean technology and energy efficiency investments.
This episode, we are joined by Jeff Rickert, Director of the AFL-CIO Center for Green Jobs who talks about how the new energy economy is our best hope to revitalize American labor so we don’t get left behind in the global clean tech markets of the future.
To listen to this episode, click the play
button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Sonny Clark, "Cool Struttin" from Cool Struttin' (Blue Notes Records, 1958) and Billy Bragg and Wilco, "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" from Mermaid Avenue (Elektra, 1998)]
For more information, please visit the following links:
Episode 13 - October 27, 2009
 Add It Up: Measuring Impact, Minimizing Risk
An interview with Peter Williams, Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Big Green Innovations
Companies are under increasing pressure to reduce the impact they have on their surrounding communities and the environment as a whole. But in order to minimize impact (and make limited resources go that extra mile), companies must adequately measure the impact their operations have on a wide variety of variables – from energy and water usage to packaging and transportation.
For this week’s podcast, Ceres sat down with Peter Williams, Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Big Green Innovations division that aims to provide better real-time environmental data to help companies measure their impact and better manage risk.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Richard Bishop, "Tennessee Porch
Swing" from Polytheistic Fragments (Drag City, 2007) and Phoenix, "If I
Ever Feel Better" from United (Astralwerks, 2000)]
Episode 12 - September, 22 2009
 Brick by Brick: Reducing Carbon Emissions by Increasing Energy Efficiency
An interview with Lauralee Martin, Chief Financial Officer of Jones Lang LaSalle
The United States is responsible for 20% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions -- and nearly half of that pollution comes from heating and maintaining our homes and buildings. As we reach for clean energy solutions to reduce our carbon footprint, we can’t ignore one of the cheapest and most effective ways to reduce our energy usage and our greenhouse gas emissions: energy-efficiency.
This month, we speak with Lauralee Martin, CFO of Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate services provider that operates and manages 1.4 billion square feet of commercial building space in more than 60 countries. Martin reveals how Jones Lang LaSalle is unlocking the power of energy efficiency to reduce energy use in commercial buildings and save money in the process.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Music: The Meters, "People Say" from
Rejuvenation (Sundazed Music Inc., 1974) and Dan Deacon, "Pink Batman"
from Spiderman of Rings (Carpark Records, 2007)]
Episode 11 - April 14, 2009
 Pumping Political Iron: Consumer Companies Flex Their Climate Change Muscle
Congress gear is gearing up to debate some of the furthest reaching environmental legislation it’s faced since the creation of the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. And support for strong action on climate is coming from unlikely places—like the board rooms of major U.S. consumer companies, such as Nike, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems, Levi Strauss and eBay, to name a few.
Called Businesses for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, or BICEP, this coalition of consumer brand companies, with Ceres close coordination, is advocating for 100% auction of carbon allowances in a cap and trade program, reduction targets of greenhouse gas emissions at 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and a halt to construction of any new coal fired power plants that don’t capture and store carbon dioxide.
The Ceres podcast caught up with representatives of the BICEP coalition at an event in Washington DC. Click on the links below to listen to any of the three interviews from this event.
Intro:
David Douglas, Senior Vice President of Cloud Computing and Chief Sustainability Officer, Sun Microsystems
Jim Hanna, Environmental Affairs Manager at Starbucks Coffee Company
Sarah Severn, Director of Horizons Corporate Responsibility, Nike
[Music: Rattatat, "Wildcat" from Classics (XI Recordings, 2006) and Bonobo, "Transmission 94" from Days to Come (Ninja Tune, 2006)]
Episode 10 - March 20, 2009
The Water Disclosure Desert: Rethinking the Value of Water in the Climate Change Era
An interview with Pacific Institute's Jason Morrison and Ceres' own Brooke Barton
Climate change is forcing companies, investors, and consumers to change their behaviors and attitudes about a host of issues, ranging from production to consumption to pollution. As the negative effects of climate change heat up, fears about water scarcity are beginning to flow. Dwindling water supplies are causing governments, businesses and investors to rethink the way we value what was once an abundant resource.
This week we are joined by the Pacific Institute's Jason Morrison and Ceres' own Brooke Barton who released a new report, "Water Scarcity and Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses & Investors" that discusses the links between climate change and water supply, how it affects companies and investors, and ways to prepare for a world of increasing water scarcity.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
Episode 9 - January 29, 2009
 From Concentrate: The Next Generation of Solar Energy
An interview with Reese Tisdale, Research Director for Renewable Power Generation at Emerging Energy Research
As the U.S. and the world get serious about solving the world's energy crisis, new forms of renewable energy are being developed that could be key to eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and ushering in a green economy. A new technology called 'concentrated solar power' is emerging as a potentially-viable source of renewable energy -- and could transform the American Southwest into one of the most lucrative solar power markets around. But concentrated solar isn't perfect yet.
To shed some light on the advantages and shortcomings of this new technology, we caught up with Reese Tisdale, Research Director for Renewable Power Generation at Emerging Energy Research.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Uke of Spaces Corners County, "Dead Pens" from So Far on The Way (Corleone, 2007) and Devo, "Golden Energy" from Hardcore Devo, Vol.1: 74-77 (Rykodisc, 1990); Photo: A line-concentrator solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, California. (Warren Gretz)]
Episode 8 - November 21, 2008
 Know Thy Pants: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain from Seed to Sale
An interview with Michael Kobori, VP of Global Chains at Levi Strauss & Co.
Chances are your pants have probably been more places than you have. From cotton grown in India, zippers manufactured in China and apparel factories in the Dominican Republic, the apparel industry relies on a complex and sophisticated series of relations to get their clothes to a store near you - the global supply chain. But global supply chains carry serious environmental and labor challenges that apparel and other industries must attend to if they truly want to be sustainable. Michael Kobori, Vice President of Global Supply Chains at Levi's spoke with the Ceres Podcast about how Levi's is incorporating these issues into its sourcing decisions in order to create a more sustainable supply chain for its products.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
For more information about supply chains, please visit:
Standford/MIT Just Supply Chains Initiative (http://fsi.stanford.edu/research/just_supply_chains)
Article on enforcing labor standards in Cambodian garment industry (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4561581.stm)
[Music: Jack Rose, "Linden Ave Stomp" from Two Originals of Jack Rose (VHF, 2004), Photo: ChinaGuccio (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yggg/]
Episode 7 - September 18, 2008
 Glass Half Full: The Role of Technology in Reducing Water Scarcity
An interview with Jeff Connelly, VP of General Electric’s Global Supply Chain and Water and Process Technologies Division
Water is essential for life. We rely on it for nearly everything from simple daily uses like drinking, cleaning and cooking to large-scale commercial needs like agriculture, high-tech manufacturing and energy production. But, according to a recent report by UNESCO, if current trends continue the quantity of water available to everyone could drop by as much as 30% over the next 15 years. Figuring out how to balance the needs of communities, corporations and ecosystems may well be the most important sustainability challenge of the 21st Century.
This week, we talk with Jeff Connelly, VP of General Electric’s Global Supply Chain and Water and Process Technologies Division, about the technological solutions being implemented in order to conserve and recycle the earth’s most valuable resource.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
For more information about water scarcity, please visit:
UN World Water Assessment (http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/)
Stockholm International Water Institute (http://www.siwi.org/)
The Pacific Institute (http://www.pacinst.org/)
General Electrics' Water and Technologies Division (http://www.gewater.com/)
[Music: Iag Bari, "Doina" from Fanfare Ciocarlia (Piranha, 2001) and The Standells, "Dirty Water" from The Live Ones! (Sundazed Music, 2001), Photo: Georgie Sharp (http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiesharp/)]
Episode 6 - July 22, 2008
 Do Ask, Do Tell: Mandatory Climate Disclosure and the SEC
The New York City Bar Association's Environmental Law Committee Environmental Law Interview with Ceres staffer Anne Kelly, Director of Ceres Corporate Governance Program
Corporate disclosure of risks and liabilities is something that helps investors make informed decisions about where they put their money. A handful of institutional investors, including CalPERS, CalSTRS, the New York State Comptroller and the Florida State Board of Administration, among others, filed a petition alongside Ceres and the Environmental Defense Fund last September (2007) requesting that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) require companies to disclose risks to their businesses from climate change. The general idea is that once a risk is analyzed and disclosed, that risk will eventually get managed. The SEC petition was recently updated this June (2008).
This podcast is a "repodcast" of an interview done by the New York City Bar Association's Environmental Law Committee Environmental Law Interview with Ceres staffer Anne Kelly, Director of Ceres Corporate Governance Program, on the original SEC petition.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
Click here to download a pdf of the Environmental Law Institute article mentioned in the podcast analyzing Ceres' Cilmate Disclosure petition.
[Music: Amon Tobin, "Searchers" from Out From Out Where (Ninja Tune, 2002) and Ry Cooder, "Green Dog" from My Name is Buddy (Nonesuch, 2007)]
Episode 5 - June 23, 2008
 Green Power: Building a Green Workforce to Support a Green Economy
An Interview with Van Jones, President of Green for All and director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
It seems everyone is 'going green' these days -- from green investing to green marketing to green consumerism. There's no doubt that we must transition to a cleaner, greener economy if we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change. But as alternative energies and clean technologies become more popular and prevalent in society, we're going to need a new workforce to build, maintain, and support this new economy. Where will this new workforce come from? And how do we ensure that we have the labor and skills needed to support a new energy future powered by clean technologies?
Ceres recently caught up with Van Jones, President of Green for All and director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, to discuss how new technology and energy solutions to the climate crisis can also help solve urban poverty, unemployment, and inequality in America's workforce.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Thievery Corporation, "Liberation Front" from The Richest Man in Babylon (Universal Music Division Barclay, 2002) and Michael Franti and Spearhead, "Yes, I Will" from Everyone Deserves Music (Reincarnate Music, 2003)]
For more information about building an inclusive green economy, visit www.greenforall.org.
Episode 4 - May 29, 2008
 Viva la Resolution: Shareholders' Role in Corporate Governance and Climate Change
An interview with Lance Lindblom, President and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation
A growing movement of investors are pressing companies to provide more information about "off-balance" sheet issues, such as the impacts of climate change to the corporate bottom-line. Instead of just screening portfolios, or divesting stock, more and more investors in the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) community are exercising their proxy power by filing and voting on shareholder resolutions that seek to improve corporate governance and sustainability practices while ensuring profits.
Lance Lindblom is President of the Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) and a leader in the SRI movement. Lindblom talks to Ceres about how NCF leverages their $500 million foundation endowment to improve corporate accountability.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Music: Calexico, "Fake Fur" from The Black Light (Quarterstick, 1998) and Brian Eno, "The Big Ship" from Another Green World (E.G. Records, 1975)]
Episode 3 - May 7, 2008
 Video: UN Investor Summit on Clmate Risk
On February 14, 2008, investors representing over $22 trillion joined Ceres and the United Nations Foundation at the UN Headquarters in New York City to discuss the physical and financial risks of climate change and the opportunities and solutions to mitigate that risk. Presenters included Harvard University's John Holdren, Khosla Ventures' Vinod Khosla, Ceres president Mindy Lubber, United Nations Foundation president Timothy Wirth.
Watch the video 
[Video editing and music composition by Synthesis Media (www.synthesismedia.ca)]
Episode 2 - March 21, 2008
 Selling Out: Clean Technology Goes Mainstream
An interview with Bill Page, VP of Environmental, Social and Governance Investments at State Street Global Advisors
In the world of investments, clean technology is seen as a boutique business – but that's starting to change. This year alone, $150 billion of new capital went into new energy sectors like solar, biofuel and wind. Mainstream investment firms, like State Street Corporation with over $2 trillion in assets under management, are bringing cleantech out of the shadows.
This week we're joined by Bill Page, VP of Environmental, Social and Governance Investments at State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), to talk about the emerging cleantech market and SSGA's Global Environment Opportunity Strategy (GEOS).
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Photo: Steve Roe; Music: Nortec Collective "Funky Tamazula" from Tijuana Sessions No. 3 (Nacional Records, 2006) and Lighting Bolt "The Faire Folk" from Ride the Skies (Load Records, 2001)]
Episode 1 - March 2, 2008
 Less is More: The Argument for Energy Efficiency
An interview with Diana Farrell, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute
To mitigate the worst effects of global climate change, we need to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. One of the cheapest ways to reduce emissions is to reduce our demand for energy by promoting better efficiency in our industrial processes, our homes and our appliances. But can businesses and investors make money by reducing demand?
Diana Farrell, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, made the case for investing in energy efficiency at the recent UN/Ceres Investor Summit on Climate Risk.
To listen to this episode, click the play button on the gray bar below.
[Photo: Armistead Booker; Music: Vieux Farka Toure "Tabara" from Vieux Farka Toure (Modiba 2006) Radiohead "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" from In Rainbows (Self-release, 2007)]
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