Sustainable Growth Out Loud

SGOL: Amazon’s Carbon Emissions, Climate-Friendly Export Credits and SBTi Challenges

The whole team is back together this week, with host Giulia joining the conversation from Italy.In this week’s episode, the team discuss three key takeaways from Amazon’s sustainability update, which throws up the question – should big corporations be leading the way in terms of sustainability transformation?
The latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) agreement on international trade and export credits is highlighted – have the team found a story that is a “win-win-win” situation?Finally, the discussion turns to the SBTi and the sticky situation the standards body is currently in. There is a disconnect between setting targets and actually taking action to transform businesses – but is it really as simple as companies not fulfilling their obligations?
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

Day two at AllEnergy - SG Voice catches up with Huei-Ling Lai

On this episode, recorded at the Dcarbonise & All Energy conference in Glasgow, SG Voice reporter, Heather Dinwoodie is joined by Huei-Ling Lai, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, who is working on the ‘Net Zero Sense of Place’ project.
Lai chats through the ‘Sense of Place’ project, in conjunction with The Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre, the interconnectedness of place and space and how these conceptions play different roles in the world around us.
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

SGOL: Climate Finance Rumours, Setting Priorities and Creating Sustainability Narratives

Host Giulia is off enjoying her holiday, but that won’t stop Felicia and Heather getting together to discuss the latest sustainability news!
Rumours are swirling around the UK Government’s commitment to climate finance – more immediate concerns could divert these ear marked funds. Still, we find ourselves questioning the source and rationale of these rumours. Is the UK Government simply testing the waters to see how the public responds?
This question brings us into a discussion of how long-term solutions may be pitted against short-term priorities. Take the current energy crisis - fossil fuels are being championed as an immediate provider of energy security, despite their incompatibility with climate goals.
Ultimately, a focus on long-term solutions can only be achieved by transforming our current narratives. Any guidance will encourage the creation of alternative narratives, but it must be founded on direct action. Industries must recognise their interconnections and develop appropriate means of sharing information and building a body of evidence for successful solutions.
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

Day two at AllEnergy SG Voice catches up with Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc

In this episode, recorded at the Dcarbonise & All Energy conference in Glasgow, SG Voice reporter, Heather Dinwoodie chats to Gill Simpson, Marketing & Communications Director from Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP), where they focus on sustainable mobility and decarbonisation.
MSIP offers companies space to work and help in identifying funding opportunities and skills development that will enable businesses to grow. Simpson discusses the effect that the opening of MSIP had on the local community, as well as what is to come for the Parc and the businesses that are located there.
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

Evergreencast Ep 1: Clearing the path for tomorrow’s sustainable forests

SG Voice reporter, Heather Dinwoodie meets with David Robertson, director of Investment and Business Development at Scottish Woodlands, and Stuart Goodall, chief executive of the Confederation of Forest Industries to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable forestry.
In the first episode of our two-part series, we explore the diverse range of benefits that forests have to offer as well as the changes that are needed to drive their potential. With just a few incentives and regulatory measures, forests could provide an immense source of value to people and planet alike.
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, 
Newsletter
 

SGOL: Innovation and Regulation, Rise in Divestment and Merging Standards

The SG Voice team chat about the importance of understanding trade-offs in driving innovation, just why the Church of England is out of fossil fuels and growing clarity in the voluntary carbon markets.  
First up, the team discuss the US approval of Good Meat’s cultivated chicken, and the challenges that the cultivated meat industry faces in terms of supportive policy frameworks and finding a clear path to market. The opportunities if we get it right though are enormous -  in the UK alone, the industry grew by around 400% to be worth £61 million in 2022. Similar growth was seen across Europe, while estimates suggest that the global market could reach up to $25 billion by 2030.
The Church of England has announced its divesting from fossil fuels. With the oil majors appearing to turn their backs on renewables, the team discusses the ethical issues around divestment versus engagement and how to find a way to balance the short term demands of the market against the long term needs of the planet and the people that live on it – and on which the market itself relies.
Finally, the team talk about the joint commitment made by integrity-focused groups on both the buy and sell side of the markets. Removing the confusion from the market will only help it thrive, and that clarity and shared language are vital parts of changing the trajectory of this market, and the economy overall. 
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

Day one at AllEnergy - SG Voice catches up with Mott MacDonald

In this episode, recorded at the Dcarbonise & All Energy conference in Glasgow, SG Voice reporter, Heather Dinwoodie chats to Alan Hendry, Sustainability Director at civil engineering firm Mott MacDonald.
Hendry discusses the change in the sustainability landscape over the past number of years, upcoming sustainability trends, innovations and the just transition.
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

SGOL: Biodiversity Plans, Materiality and Anti-ESG Funds

The SG Voice team chat about the interconnectedness and need for systemic change in different areas of sustainability. First up, the team review a recent study from the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society, which surveyed the sustainability initiatives of over 6,000 companies launched over the past two decades, leading to some surprising results. A lack of standardised reporting on nature was cited as the main reason for these results – but how long will this go on for? 
Regulators, the press and corporate stakeholders are trying to address the disconnect between statements and actions. This signals a shift in focus on communications and the materiality of a company’s impact, and whether it’s being disingenuous. But it’s quite another thing when it comes to being found liable in court. 
Finally, the team discuss the ongoing ESG debate from the US – a ‘woke’ investment strategy or a vital piece of the puzzle? Discussions arise over Morningstar’s recent analysis of 26 funds that could be considered anti-ESG, either by marketing themselves as such or investing against ESG principles. 
About Sustainable Growth Voice
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.

Day one at AllEnergy - SG Voice catches up with The Clarus Networks Group

Day one at AllEnergy - SG Voice catches up with The Clarus Networks Group
In this episode, recorded at the Dcarbonise & AllEnergy conference in Glasgow, SG Voice editor, Felicia Jackson chats to Derek Phillips, Managing Director, and Jamie Duncan, Group Marketing Director, at The Clarus Networks Group. 
Phillips and Duncan discuss how The Clarus Networks Group provides business critical communications to remote areas, via Starlink. Clarus can provide internet and communication access to offshore energy employees, facilitate educational services in war affected areas and more. 
 
About Sustainable Growth Voice 
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.  
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net. 
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup. 
 
 

SGOL: TotalEnergies AGM, Demand Stimulation and Climate Litigation

This week, SG Voice journalists Giulia Bottaro and Heather Dinwoodie are joined by special guest, Energy Voice journalist, Andrew Dykes. The subject of change (and where change can come from) is top of the agenda for this episode. Protesters and activist investors are influencing oil and gas companies’ AGMs, with major disruptions in TotalEnergies yearly meet up. 
The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has published a policy briefing on the use of low-carbon materials in foundation industries. But this raises a catch 22 between supply and demand – with CISL calling on the UK Government to introduce policies for demand stimulation and design of new measures to support innovation. 
Climate litigation has been rising exponentially in recent years: only 800 cases were recorded between 1986 and 2014, but this number grew to 1,200 between 2015 and 2022. Lawsuits are being used as strategic tools to hold companies and governments accountable for their commitments or to enforce change. 
 
About Sustainable Growth Voice 
Sustainable Growth Voice shines a light on sustainable innovation and transformation that enables the changes we need. SG Voice is a trusted source of breaking news and insight on all things around sustainability in business.  
Keep up to date with the latest sustainable developments and what they mean for business by visiting sgvoice.net.
Subscribe to the weekly SG Voice newsletter to get our top stories, insights and recommendations straight to your inbox, sgvoice.net/signup.