SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing – Details, episodes & analysis

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SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing

Scott Arnell

Business

Education

News

Frequency: 1 episode/11d. Total Eps: 144

SRI360 explores how professional and institutional investors use impact investing and sustainable finance to shape real-world outcomes.

Each episode features an in-depth conversation with a leading investor in public or private equities, public or private debt, venture capital, or real assets.

We focus on the mechanics of investing: how strategies are designed, how capital is allocated, how impact is achieved and measured, and where incentives succeed, or fail, within asset-owner systems.

If you want clear, honest insight into the future of sustainable & responsible investing from the people shaping it, this show is your competitive edge.

Learn more at SRI360.com.

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Score global : 73%

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95% of Emissions, 14% of the Capital: The Bond Market Mispricing in Plain Sight | Elizabeth Alm, Saturna Capital (#137)

Episode 137

Wednesday, July 1, 2026 • Duration 01:26:00

Most people think a green or sustainable label on a bond means it is good for the planet. Often, it does not. A label only tells you what the issuer says it will do with the money. It does not prove that real change happens on the ground.

That gap is the heart of this episode of SRI360. I'm joined by Elizabeth Alm, Senior Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Saturna Capital, the oldest and largest Sharia asset manager in the United States. Elizabeth helps run the firm's global sustainable bond fund and its Islamic income fund. Her core belief is simple: that bonds play a central role in financing the transition to a cleaner economy.

Elizabeth did not take the usual path into finance. She studied economics and anthropology at NYU and once dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. It took her 50 interviews to land her first job. She opened Excel for the first time on her first day of work, and her first week on a trading desk was the week Bear Stearns collapsed in 2008. Eleven years at Wells Fargo followed, working in municipal bonds as climate risk slowly began to show up in credit.

Today she puts less weight on third-party ESG scores and looks for what she calls “climate alpha” — value the market has not priced in yet. In this conversation we cover how sukuk (Islamic bonds) work, why investors who are not Muslim are buying them, and what she learned on a month-long research trip across the Middle East that ended just five days before the Israel-US-Iran war broke out.

In this episode we discuss:

Why a bond's label tells you the plan, not the real-world impact
How sukuk (Islamic bonds) work, and why they must be backed by real assets
Why investors who are not Muslim are buying sukuk
A bond she loves: Tabreed, the UAE cooling company that cuts emissions
Why sovereigns with high physical climate risk are 18% more likely to default
How satellite monitoring helped identify and mitigate 30,000 child-labor cases in a cocoa supply chain
The wave of AI data-center debt, and why she is cautious about it

Featured guest:

Elizabeth Alm,Senior Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Saturna Capital

Listen Next:

Patrick Drum — Saturna Capital (Episode 16): Saturna's Patrick Drum on Islamic Finance, Faith-Based Investing, Sustainable Outcomes, ESG and More

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From Goldman Sachs to Excel Hell: Measuring Sustainability That ESG Ratings Miss | Samantha Duncan, Net Purpose (#136)

Episode 136

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 • Duration 01:32:19

Most investors assume an ESG rating tells them how sustainable a company is. It doesn’t. An ESG rating measures the financial risk environmental, social, and governance factors pose to the company — not the company’s actual impact on people and the planet.

That distinction sits at the center of this episode of SRI360. I’m joined by Samantha Duncan, Founder and CEO of Net Purpose, a data platform now supporting clients managing approximately twenty trillion dollars in assets and built to measure what ESG ratings don't.

Samantha's story starts at Goldman Sachs, where she worked on healthcare M&A through the 2008 financial crisis, watching transactions that changed the cost of pathology and shut down rural medical centres get evaluated on one metric and one metric only: earnings per share. Reading about Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank at the height of that disconnect was the thing that finally pulled her toward the door — and in 2009 she resigned and moved to Trujillo, Peru, to run a microfinance program for a children's NGO — an experience that taught her, counterintuitively, that charging the women she worked with commercial interest rates was more empowering than giving them aid on charitable terms.

From there she joined LeapFrog Investments as Head of Impact, building one of the industry’s first rigorous frameworks for measuring social and financial performance together. It was there, buried in spreadsheets manually extracting numbers from PDFs, that she hit what she now calls “Excel hell” — the realization that the industry lacked the data infrastructure to make its sustainability commitments real. That realization became Net Purpose, founded in 2019 to do for sustainability data what Bloomberg and FactSet did for financial data.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why ESG ratings measure financial risk to the company, not the company's impact on the world

• How Net Purpose calculates the percentage of a company's revenue that is genuinely sustainable

• What it means that only 16% of a global index is truly sustainable — and why the other 84% is a financial risk problem, not just a moral one

From Mud Huts to Brick Houses: Venture Capital & Climate Resilience in Africa

Wednesday, March 11, 2026 • Duration 01:26:51

Climate finance conversations often focus on mitigation. However, the question Tamer El-Raghy raises is more structural: what if one of the most compelling climate investment opportunities lies in helping smallholder farmers adapt?

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°:

Social Finance's CEO Shares Everything You Need To Know About Social Impact Bonds | Adam Swersky, CEO, Social Finance

Episode 37

Monday, March 18, 2024 • Duration 01:25:53

In the pursuit of social change, every bit of investment can make a difference. Learn how Social Finance is leading the charge through social impact bonds.

Today, I’m interviewing Adam Swersky, CEO of Social Finance (UK), the non-profit enterprise responsible for creating the world’s first social impact bond. He’s here to talk all about social impact bonds and has been at the forefront of designing solutions that bring together finance with social impact since he joined the organization in 2014.

After studying economics at Cambridge, Adam became a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group, where he advised private, public, and not-for-profit organizations on strategy and transformation. There, he was seconded to the Clinton Health Access Initiative in West Africa to support Niger in accessing a subsidy for malaria medication.

Now as CEO of Social Finance, Adam shares how this organization, which predates the term "impact investing," leads the effort of designing solutions to solve social challenges beyond mere investment. He also details how they have broadened beyond investment to involve data collection and analysis, philanthropy, building new ventures, government advisory, and beyond.

From the mechanics of how social impact bonds function to several real-life examples of social bonds at work, this episode delivers a deep look into social impact financing.

We also touch on the capabilities and limitations of private capital in addressing social challenges, and Adam’s insights on leading an impact-focused business.

This conversation is a deeper exploration of how social impact bonds serve as a partnership between social investors, governments, and providers to design solutions to social challenges.

Feeling intrigued? Listen now to learn how Adam and Social Finance are pioneering the path for impactful investing.

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Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/https-sri360-com-podcast-adam-swersky/

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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.—

How BlackRock Invests in Green Bonds & ESG Fixed Income | Ashley Schulten, Head of ESG Investing, Global Fixed Income

Season 1 · Episode 36

Monday, March 11, 2024 • Duration 01:18:28

What if your investments could be a force for global change? At BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, they’re steering capital towards a sustainable future with green bonds and ESG fixed-income investing.

In this episode, I’m speaking with Ashley Schulten, the Head of ESG Investment for Global Fixed Income at BlackRock. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Ashley entered the world of finance as a bond trader at First Union. From there, she evolved in the financial world at institutions like BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs, before landing at BlackRock.

At BlackRock, where over 600 people manage more than $700 billion invested in sustainable strategies, Ashley oversees ESG investing and integration in the active fixed-income asset class.

Besides driving the change toward a sustainable future within finance, her leadership extends beyond BlackRock to influential roles in the TCFD and the Executive Committee of the ICMA Green and Social Bond Principles.

Ashley is also an Aspen Institute First Movers Fellow and sits on the board of the Mianus River Gorge, the first land conservancy project for the Nature Conservancy, which showcases her commitment to sustainability.

This episode highlights the power of integrating ESG data into investment analysis and decision-making. Ashley also shares how she saw the birth and development of the green bonds market, explaining how they work, and how BlackRock was an early adopter of this transformative financial instrument.

By leveraging green bonds, impact investing, and ESG data, BlackRock not only achieves its desired risk profiles and outcomes for investors but also drives meaningful change in the real economy.

Ashley and I also discuss BlackRock’s PEXT/NEXT ESG framework that her team uses to evaluate, tag, and categorize investments based on their positive and negative externalities.

Ready to learn the ins and outs of green bonds and ESG fixed-income investing? Tune in.

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/ashley-schulten/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.

Scaling Purpose-Driven Startups with Impact Venture Capital | Impact Evangelist, Gordon Eichhorst

Season 1 · Episode 35

Monday, February 26, 2024 • Duration 01:45:58

Imagine your portfolio as a catalyst for change, where each investment contributes to solving the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges. That's the promise of impact investing.

Today, we're discussing everything you need to know about impact venture capital investing with a guest whose career trajectory embodies this ethos like no other—Gordon Eichhorst, a trailblazer in impact venture capital.

Gordon's journey into investing begins unconventionally. While he studied both engineering and economics at UCLA, he started his professional life by designing and launching spacecraft as an aerospace engineer and member of the NASA Advisory Council.

With the dip in aerospace developments in the '90s, Gordon found a renewed interest in economics, particularly in analytic finance, leading him to pursue an MBA from the University of Chicago. It was on this path that he positioned himself in leading roles as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and later on, at Morgan Stanley, where he led the European technology banking team during the first internet bubble.

After his time at HSBC as Global Head of the Industrial and Technology sectors, he settled down in London and set up an investment banking advisory boutique, which ultimately seeded the ideas for making a bigger impact on the world.

As the founder of Impact Central, and a General Partner at Opto Impact Ventures, Gordon has been at the forefront of supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs and startups on their path to growth. Impact Central has nurtured over 50 startups through ten cohorts, proving that solving social and environmental problems can go hand-in-hand with generating profit.

Today's episode explores Gordon's multifaceted career, from his early days as an engineer to his crucial role in shaping the arena of impact venture capital.

If you’ve been meaning to invest in or start a business with a greater purpose, listen in and learn all about how Gordon’s VC fund and accelerator programs bring profit and sustainability together.

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/gordon-eichhorst/
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 Visit the SRI360° Visit the SRI360° Follow SRI360° on Follow SRI360° on Key Takeaways

CalSTRS CIO, Chris Ailman, on His Visionary ESG Strategy for the World’s Largest Educator-Only Pension Fund

Season 1 · Episode 34

Monday, February 19, 2024 • Duration 01:26:30

Does your pension fund contribute to a more sustainable world? CalSTRS does and has been since the 1970s/80s.

To lead this conversation is the very first pension fund guest for SRI 360°, Chris Ailman, one of the world’s most recognized and respected Chief Investment Officers.

Multiple award winner, Chris currently acts as CIO of CalSTRS, managing its $311.5 billion portfolio, making it the second-largest pension fund in the United States and the largest educational pension fund in the world.

With over 39 years of expertise in institutional investment, Chris has become a thought leader in incorporating ESG criteria into his long-term, “patient” capital investing approach.

His journey began with an early fascination with the stock market, leading him from the role of registered rep at Dean Witter to becoming a certified financial planner from USC. His interest in institutional investment carried him through pivotal roles, from Sacramento's county retirement system to the Washington State Investment Board, before landing at CalSTRS in 2000.

Chris has not only placed CalSTRS as a beacon of sustainable investing but has also been recognized globally for his innovative investment approach. He’s also the mind behind the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, the chair of the 300 Club, and co-chair of the Milken Global Capital Markets Committee.

In this episode, Chris and I reflect on the evolution of ESG investing and its critical role in shaping our planet’s future. His narrative is not just about investment; it's a testament to his belief in the power of long-term investing and the need for a sustainable approach to wealth management.

We also explore the challenges of integrating ESG into traditional investment frameworks, the importance of shareholder engagement and corporate governance, and the future of sustainable investing.

Tune in to this conversation to gain valuable insights from one of the world’s most influential figures in pension fund management and sustainable investing.

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/chris-ailman/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 Visit the SRI360° Visit the SRI360° Follow SRI360° on Follow SRI360° on Key TakeawaysAn overview of the CalSTRS portfolio (17:14)Chris’ theory of change on long-term capital investing (24:09)The ins and outs of ESG investing strategy (25:40)Sustainable investing, shareholder engagement, and corporate governance (40:26)The CalSTRS net-zero emissions pledge (49:13)Chris’ thoughts on nuclear power (55:00)Differences between how Europe & USA view ESG (59:26)Sectors making progress towards global sustainability (01:06:01)Sustainability initiatives that Chris is involved in (01:12:13)Final questions for Chris (01:15:42)Additional Resources Connect with Chris Ailman on CalSTRS CalSTRS CalSTRS CalSTRS CalSTRS

The Key to Successful Renewable Energy: Investing in Battery Energy Storage Systems w/ Ben Guest, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund

Season 1 · Episode 33

Monday, February 12, 2024 • Duration 01:26:03

The transition from traditional investment in energy production to renewable energy represents a significant shift in addressing climate change challenges.

To help us understand the intricacies of investing in renewables and utility-scale battery energy storage systems, I am joined by Ben Guest, the Managing Director of Gresham House New Energy Division.

Ben has over 29 years of investment experience that spans the investment spectrum across infrastructure, technology, public equities, and venture capital asset classes.

He has been a pioneer investor in battery energy storage systems since the early development days of the sector.

Ben's upbringing was truly global, with parents from Argentina and Africa, leading to diverse educational experiences in France, Japan, Sweden, and the UK. He holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College.

Beginning his fund management career in 1994 at Lazard Asset Management, Ben later founded Hazel Capital in 2007. The acquisition of Hazel Capital in 2017 transformed it into Gresham House New Energy Division, where Ben manages substantial assets, including the Gresham House Energy Storage Fund Plc.

The conversation delves into Ben's expertise—in the renewable energy sector, particularly battery energy storage systems. He discusses the challenges of real-time supply and demand balancing, highlighting the vital role batteries can play in not only stabilizing the grid but also providing the key to transitioning the electrical grid to predominately renewable energy.

Ben breaks down the complexities of battery energy storage systems revenue models, addressing challenges posed by supply and demand fluctuations. He also shares his thoughts on the future of renewable energy infrastructure, emphasizing sustainability, carbon emissions reduction through battery energy storage systems, and the evolving landscape of the energy transition.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ben as much as I did!

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/ben-guest/

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 Visit the SRI360° Visit the SRI360° Follow SRI360° on Follow SRI360° on Key TakeawaysIntro (00:00)Ben Guest's background and career path (02:24)The shift from traditional to sustainable energy investments (15:24)The role of battery storage in renewable energy (38:32)Energy trading and battery management (47:22)Assembling project rights for energy storage infrastructure (52:23)Renewable energy investments and impact metrics (59:55)Primary investors at Gresham House (01:05:58)Risks facing battery energy storage systems investments (01:10:18)Challenges around battery production and usage (01:15:10)Additional ResourcesGresham House New Energy

Inside Paul Miller's Pioneering 'Tech for Good' VC Investment Strategy

Monday, January 29, 2024 • Duration 01:26:47

In this episode, I speak with Paul Miller, Managing Partner and CEO at Bethnal Green Ventures, which has invested in over 150 startups that aim to create a more sustainable planet, an inclusive society, and healthy lives.

Paul is a trailblazer who spearheaded early-stage impact venture capital investing in the early 2010s at a time when this was highly unusual for VCs to do.

He was awarded an Officer of the British Empire award for services to startup investment in 2020.

Miller's early exposure to social and environmental issues, thanks to his parents' activism, laid the foundation for a unique perspective later in his career.

His stint as a policy advisor at Forum for the Future marked a pivotal period, working on sustainability with tech giants like Amazon and Vodafone.

This experience fueled a desire for a more direct impact, leading Miller to venture into the startup scene. In 2006, the School of Everything was born – a groundbreaking attempt to revolutionize adult education.

Around 2012, as the School of Everything continued to pioneer adult education, Miller's focus expanded to co-founding Bethnal Green Ventures. Securing an initial investment of approximately £150,000 from Nesta, a UK foundation, Bethnal Green Ventures took flight.

Google provided office space, and the venture attracted mentors and contacts to nurture the startups. Paul’s venture into impact venture capital with Bethnal Green Ventures was a pioneering move, especially considering the prevailing industry norms around 2012.

At a time when impact investing was in its nascent stages, Paul brought a level of authenticity and maturity to the venture capital landscape.

Today, he'll be taking us through his 'Tech for Good’ approach, investing in early-stage companies aiming for both high growth and positive social or environmental impact.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Paul as much as I did!

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/paul-miller/

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 Visit the SRI360° Visit the SRI360° Follow SRI360° on Follow SRI360° on

Michael O'Leary on Shareholder Activism, Citizen Capitalism, and Impact Investing in the Consumer Sector

Monday, January 15, 2024 • Duration 01:31:02

In the fast-evolving world of impact investing, few individuals stand out as prominently as Michael O'Leary. Recently appointed as a Partner and Co-Head of L Catterton Impact Fund, Michael has a wealth of experience and a compelling vision for responsible capitalism.

Formerly a Managing Director at Engine No. 1, Michael made headlines globally by orchestrating one of the most successful impact-focused activism campaigns in history.

Despite holding a mere 0.02% of share capital, Engine No. 1 successfully replaced three members of Exxon's board, underscoring the potency of impact activism.

He was also on the founding team of Bain Capital's impact fund and invested in consumer, industrial, and technology companies through Bain Capital's private equity fund.

Now, at L Catterton, one of the world's foremost private equity funds specializing in consumer brands, Michael leads the charge in integrating sustainability and impact considerations into the firm's investments.

Michael's co-authorship of 'Accountable: The Rise of Citizen Capitalism' further illustrates his commitment to shaping the future of capitalism. The book delves into the promises and challenges of the sustainable investing movement.

With a solid educational background, including a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Michael combines academic rigor with real-world impact.

In this episode, he shared a lot of insights into

- Shareholder activism for sustainability and development

- Citizen capitalism

- Impact investing in the public markets

- Impact investing in the consumer sector

- And much more.

I really learned a lot from my discussion with Michael, and I hope you will too!

Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/michael-oleary/

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 Visit the SRI360° Visit the SRI360° Follow SRI360° on Follow SRI360° on Key Takeaways

SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing – Details, episodes & analysis

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SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing – Details, episodes & analysis

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