ESG now podcast

This Thursday, one of the hottest companies in Europe, Wirecard, filed for insolvency as its former CEO was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and market manipulation. It is one of the largest cases of possible fraud at a single company since Enron. But how could such a thing happen at a company with not one, but two oversight boards? And what does this mean for how we assess companies going forward? Then we have a history lesson on past scandals by a man who has seen some of the biggest.

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The spilling of 21,000 tons of diesel in Siberia in late May, 2020 echoes the Exxon Valdez disaster from more than 30 years ago. But the case of Norilsk Nickel also highlights how today's responsible investors find themselves in a new landscape as climate change accelerates, with better data but more vexing conundrums.

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This episode explores the complexity of collecting and using companies' racial diversity data, and then we discuss how at risk construction companies are as economies start to open and COVID‐19 continues to spread.

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When a company hands over the reins to an external manager, it shifts the dynamic between shareholder, board and management. And although that may offer potential benefits, there is plenty to draw the attention of a wily governance analyst or a wary investor.

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This episode begins with our head of ESG research, Linda‐Eling Lee discussing the global protests surging across the US and the world; then we discuss the decision by Facebook management to not affix warnings to US President Trump's tweets after its industry peer, Twitter, decides to do so; and then we talk about one utility company that is successfully transitioning to a carbon neutral future.

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Climate change has increased the frequency and severity of flooding, exposing companies with operations that abut or lay within the US Federal Emergency Management Area designated flood zones to possible damage. The breaching of two dams in Central Michigan this month resulted in historic flooding that mixed with Dow's chemical containment ponds and may have stirred up toxic sediment at a downstream superfund site where Dow is the responsible party. But could investors or the company have guessed the disaster would occur ?

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There are some promising COVID‐19 vaccines in early human trails, but we have some questions if they are successful: Who will own the patent? Who will distribute them? Who will be responsible if something goes wrong? And then we discuss the recent proxy battle at JPMorgan that ended with some interesting wins for climate activists.

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Have COVID, will travel: As regions begin to tentatively reopen, airport employees find themselves on the frontline of possibly sick passengers, we discuss how the type of airport and what plans were in place before the pandemic are affecting airport security; then we discuss the ESG merits of biofuel in light of the industry's recent bailout request; finally, we look at how the EU Taxonomy will affect investors that have a sustainable mandate.

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With COVID‐19 hitting the pause button on the global economy, many are wondering if this is the start of the end for the oil and gas industry. We break down the basics, look at the different ways companies are planning for the future and discuss how investors can make sense of the risks involved.

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Like a cleaver and a scalpel, COVID‐19 is slicing through pre‐existing ESG vulnerabilities in the meat‐packing and medical tourism industries. Palm oil certifications make for sober reading as the New York Declaration on Forests nears its first milestone and India's strict lockdown is inspiring innovations both big and small.

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At MSCI ESG Research, we spend a lot of time collecting information about workplace safety, but as economies start to reopen, we might need to pay attention to how close everyone is to each other while working. And then we discuss why the safety upgrades in green buildings might be the safest option for people during the COVID‐19 pandemic; then we continue our series where we ask our colleagues around the world what its like to live in their region during the coronavirus pandemic.

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In the last recession, Banks were the villains but now they are the conduit through which governments are providing credit lifelines, we discussed who will survive. Then we discussed the decision by the German government to allow Bayer to call a virtual Annual General Meeting aka the annual shareholder gathering, which might mean an erosion of shareholder rights. And lastly we heard how the Government of Japan is dealing with the COVID pandemic.

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Skeptics and converts alike are watching how ESG performs under the pressure of COVID-19. We review the evolution of ESG data in index construction and possible ways to assess its performance through a pandemic.

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The first COVID‐19 deaths were recorded in a privately run prison this week, we discuss what this means for the future of the industry and what it means for investors in companies with essential but precarious workforces; then we begin our new series on how investors will be affected by different regions' response to COVID; afterward Linda‐Eling Lee, our head of ESG Research, joins us to discuss "The Investor Statement on Coronavirus Response".

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During a global pandemic , carbon emissions decrease along with the economy and everything else, we discuss if it is a sustained decline or a respite; then we have a short take on what drugs are being pushed forward to fight COVID‐19 and what happens when drugs are used for purposes different than the drug marker's original intention.

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In this long‐form episode of ESG Now, we take a look at how the carrot of green buildings is fast being replaced with the stick of the brown discount. And for investors already steeled against changing physical risks, brown buildings are shaping up to be the second front in the war against climate change.

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Companies are making drastic moves in an effort to survive as the economy comes to a grinding halt ‐ the market gets new rules, people get laid off, people get put at risk for a job, and alcohol companies save the day. We answer how you can use ESG to understand these complicated times.

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Private companies are issuing coronavirus bonds in China in hopes to use the proceeds to fight the spread of the virus. But wait, it's only 10% of the bond's proceeds? And what is a coronavirus bond, anyway? Then we discuss why so many boards have so many older people and why that is now a problem because of the spread of COVID.

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Airlines grit their teeth for now, but when the fog clears, labor practices may help some rise up faster than others. And for food retail and restaurant companies, adaptability is the name of the game as customers hunker down.

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What the novel coronavirus 2019 can tell us about workforces around the world and the risks unheeded by some companies. And then we discuss how the price wars are different than ever before. This week, we talk to the experts about catastrophe and future risks.

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The market is freaking out about the coronavirus because it is everywhere but Antarctica, and now everyday medicine is becoming scarce because of supply chain disruptions. But what is a drug supply chain? And why do patients and investors need to worry about vitamin and antibiotic shortages due to disruptions in India and China? We talk to the experts about supply chains and disasters.

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The Camp Fire of 2018 was one of the worst wildfires in California's history. After it was found to be caused through negligence on the part of utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric, the victims sued the company and won compensation. But then PG&E did something off and made the victims part owners of the beleaguered company. We ask : Does this help the victims, the company, or the market? Then we have two hot takes on an organization started by an ex‐facebooker that tries to hold companies accountable for climate change and Boeing switches up its board.

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BP announced it would work toward a carbon‐neutral future, but that would mean it has to grown its revenue from renewables at speeds seen only by alphabet, which is difficult because renewables aren't the same money makers as fossil fuels, so oil and gas might have to start moving into new businesses; And Japan announces it will build 22 new coal plants in the next five years which is odd because everyone else is moving away from coal.

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As the 2019 Novel Coronavirus spreads with worrying speed, we debate the applicability of ESG when it comes to discussing infectious disease and short‐term pandemics; and after the EU watchdog says ESG rating firms allow companies to be greenwashed, we discuss what it even means for a company to be considered "green ".

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Companies are finding they can now be guilty by association and attract the ire of stakeholders for something as simple as a railway. Siemens found this out after it invested a relatively small amount in a signaling system for a railway that connected a coal mine in Australia. Many of Siemens' stakeholders descended, and it got so bad that both the CEO and Chairman of the company had to weigh in and it did not go very well. This week we discuss what happens when a react when a company decides to invest even a small amount in a controversial project.

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Amazon employees publicly shamed the company over its Amazon Web Services' connection with oil and gas companies and US federal agencies. But how does a web service company work with an oil and gas company? And does this mean Jeff Bezos won't be able to keep his pledge with the Business Roundtable?

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ConocoPhillips partnered with Aboriginal groups in Australia to implement a carbon offset program. It is innovative and considers more stakeholders than just shareholders, but there is debate around the effectiveness of carbon offsets. And heavy carbon emitters that rely on carbon offsets to cut their emissions might be setting themselves and their stakeholders up for failure.

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This week we discuss The World Economic Forum's finding that, for the first time in its 15-year history, the climate crisis fills the top 5 risks global leader believe our world will face in the coming decade, and then Siyu Liu and Andrew Young explain how the new California Consumer Privacy Act will change how tech companies can collect and monopolize our personal data.

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This week we discuss how insurance companies address the physical risks and business risks caused by climate disasters such as the wildfires in Australia, then Andrew Young joins us to give his hot 2020 take on how social media will drop the ball during the US election year.

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This week we discuss our new report on the progress companies have made toward gender diversity after Intel decides to release all its pay data to the public, and Ric Marshall joins us to discuss what happens we an oligopoly fails.

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This week we discuss how automakers in the EU are under pressure to lower emissions while European customers continue to buy more and more SUVs, and Velina Karadzhova and Ric Marshall join us to discuss energy power Drax's net ‐negative 10 year carbon emissions plan (9:39) and Exxon's victory over the New York state attorney (12:24).

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From smart watches to smart TVs and connected homes, today's hackers are increasingly spoilt for choice. For the healthcare sector, hacking pacemakers isn't just the stuff of TV fantasy (4:07). Automakers may have traded the upsides of safety and convenience for more hackable cars (9:23). But it's in telecoms that the true shape of hacking risks emerge, not in devices, but in the data they're pumping through bigger, faster data highways (14:19), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Temporary, part‐time, contracted out, or contingent work arrangements are creating risks for investors across the entire economy as companies face liabilities for a workforce they don't want to claim (0:53). And then Ric Marshall and Umar Ashfaq joins us to discuss the founders of Google stepping down (12:27) and a report by an insurance industry group on coal's uninsurability (14:15), all through an ESG lens.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Antibiotic resistance ‐ the ability of germs to defeat the drugs designed to kill them ‐ is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time; but as the crisis grows what will happen to the companies that produce antibiotics (0:54)? And then Mario Lopez‐Alcala tells us which companies are slowing the transition to a deforestation free supply chain in South America (10:17), all through an ESG lens.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: SoftBank decided all the wild and crazy founders its Vision Fund is investing in need some rules of operation (0:37), and then Siyu Liu warns us about all the data streaming‐companies must now protect (16:07), all through an ESG lens.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Ken Bertsch, the executive director of Council of Institutional Investors and an all‐knowing proxy god joins Ric Marshall and Mike Disabato to discuss the new rule by the SEC to limit shareholder engagement (0:37), and then we get two hot takes by our analysts on Boeing and Saudi Aramco (12:23), all through an ESG lens.

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Investors have witnesses an exodus from the private prison industry but even is the core function of a private prison ‐ is it to help prisoners? Is it to help the government? Or is it to help investors? In act 1, we look at how the growth of the 80s build up the prisons of the 2000s (2:55). In act 2, we discuss how private prisons became interwoven into our society. In act 3, we discuss the issue of incentives for private prison operators and what friction is caused by their misalignment (9:42). In act 4, the final act, we discuss the broader implications for investors that invest in private sector companies that provide a public service (28:33), all on record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Attorney General of New York alleges that Exxon first calculated the risks posed by climate change but then freaked out and suppressed the data, an accusation that might change how companies disclosure their data on climate risks far into the future (0:46), and then our cartography expert Gillian Mollad discusses new data on sea level rise and how it might affect the real estate market (11:04), all through an ESG lens.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: A SPECIAL GUEST joins us to discuss how shareholders should deal with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg as the founder continues his PR campaign (1:42), and then Meggin Eastman discusses the relevance of Intel's plan to release pay and gender pay data (13:22), all through an ESG lens.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: There are power cuts throughout South Africa after its largest utility Eskom has a number of generating units break down which has threatened the country's economy (0:41), and Andrew Young gives us a quick update on the issue with private prisons as a business model (10:45), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: 3M and DuPont failed to disclose their findings on the hazardous impact and proliferation of PFAS (0:40), and Hong Kongers are leaving Hong Kong for everywhere but the U.S.(10:11), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Council of Institutional Investors recommendation that investors check their CEOs pay packages (0:42), and then we discuss the continuing physical risk to real estate posed by climate change (12:52), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The different tools available to investors to address ESG risks (0:39), and Thomas Cook collapses into liquidation stranding hundreds of thousands (10:09), all on the record.

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Those Facebook workers are actually contractors (1:16), it is not just Facebook because everyone uses temporary workers in vital company roles (2:00), this is bifurcating the workforce and some are taking advantage (4:30), if you want to see how this can affect a society just go to Japan (9:32), this might be a canary in the mine for other countries (14:14), and investors are beginning to take notice (17:12), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The United Auto Workers go on strike at GM (0:57), and Australia rejects a coal mine due to long‐term health effects (10:58), all on the record.

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Note! This is a re-released version with one detail corrected about nuclear power generation. Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Nuclear energy and its role in the low-carbon future (0:42), and California rules contract workers are employees for app-based companies (11:58), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Companies selling data have difficulties keeping data private (0:43), and Germany bans glyphosate usage (9:06), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Johnson & Johnson's brand wavers as the opioid crisis comes home (1:10), and the fashion industry tries to lower its waste (11:09), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Singapore Health Board partners with Fitbit (0:54), and Meggin and Ric discuss the Business Roundtable's anti-Friedman claim (17:49), all on the record.

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Is new stuff the best way to lower our emissions (3:36), maybe not because everything new uses everything old (7:40), well then should investors do something about it (12:00), because cement and fossil fuels are closer than you would think (15:15), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Shell builds a petrochemical facility (0:41), and Matt and Ric quickly try to understand WeWork and the purpose of disclosures (13:44), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Walmart's CEO must address gun sales at his stores (0:44), and the CMO of L Brands resigns amid company turmoil (8:58), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Capital One does not know who is in your wallet (0:38), and NGOs call Cargill the worst company in the world (10:25), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Equifax is fined a record USD$800 million after its 2017 data breach (0:36), and subprime auto loans area threaten both the auto industry and drivers (8:01), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Texas landowners sell their water to oil companies in the desert (0:53), and companies get pulled into social movements (11:22), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Vedanta loses a mine, but is it Vedanta's fault (1:10), and Slack's direct listing works but does it obscure risks (7:18), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Tesla announces record delivery of cars (0:58), and Wayfair's labor walkout is the new CEO problem (5:03), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: San Francisco bans the use and sale of e-cigarettes (0:44), and poultry processors are accused of collusion in chicken prices (9:11), all on the record.

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Karl Marx's biggest meme was a labor innovation (2:42), but also an investor problem (4:48), but someone should tell South Korea (6:42) because the tech model has labor problems (11:00) and Jack Ma and Richard Liu poked the bear (13:11), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Facebook announces its crypto solution in Libra (0:33), and Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline is approved (8:28), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Raytheon/UTC could have a human capital problem (1:11), and Ocado's vertical farm is a sustainability love story (8:25), all on the record.

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One story this week with ESG glasses: GE, Siemens, and Philips get caught in a corruption scandal in China, so who cares about it most? (0:42), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Renault/Fiat could end up confusing investors (0:42) and Malaysia rethinks its recycling strategy (6:26), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: McDonald's contends with a discrimination lawsuit (0:47) and Overstock.com's CEO contends with fallback from his stock sale (5:41), all on the record.

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: the US-China trade war has a weird ESG twist (0:45) and Amazon's robot boxing investment (5:45), all on the record. 

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Two stories this week with ESG glasses: swine fever is disrupting the global pork market (0:44) and Zillow targets inefficiency with iBuying (7:15), all on the record. 

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ESG critics and detractors might be right as we look at three big criticisms one by one: there's not enough good data (2:43), there's too much useles data (7:32), and the ESG rating built from the data are meaningless (11:07), all on the record.

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ESG critics and detractors might be right as we look at three big criticisms one by one: there's not enough good data (2:43), there's too much useles data (7:32), and the ESG rating built from the data are meaningless (11:07), all on the record.

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One story this week with ESG glasses: Umicore saw its earnings drop and blamed undercutting competition for cobalt (0:37), but the problem might be child labor at artisinal mines (2:12), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: Amazon employees are turning to shareholder activism to change the company (1:27), and did Jack Ma poke a sleeping employee giant by calling 12 hour work days a blessing (5:47), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: Saudi Aramco may be oversubscribed, but the disclosure might be the bigger deal (0:47), and the regulators are coming for social media in the UK (4:28), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: what exactly is the investor angle for Burger King's Impossible Burger play (1:34), and what does it mean that Wells Fargo can't find a new CEO (4:16), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: are the efficiency gains of AI at McDonald's worth the data risk (1:19), and what does it mean for Purdue to settle some opioid litigation for the industry(5:26), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: is Paul Ryan on the board of Fox Corp a good idea (1:35), and how the next tech disruption might be social and not technological (3:25), all on the record.

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The cocktail of hyper transparency and societal change makes for vulnerable leaders (3:25), but predicting who's next may be a bridge too far (5:15), but investors have solutions to limit the pain (7:18), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: is the Boeing problem software, or automation (1:48), and how with the Uber and Lyft IPOs, one is not like the other (6:26), all on the record.

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Two stories with ESG glasses: Nordea and money laundering (3:48), and the toilet paper conundrum (7:00), all on the record.

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We all pay for corruption, maybe without knowing it (2:12), or maybe in ways that are obvious (3:48), but investors are finding out corruption isn't just an emerging market problem (7:04), all on the record.

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Companies pick their peers, and it matters, and sometimes investors aren't happy (2:49), even if directors are protected (4:16), but not from shareholders with power (6:20), all on the record.

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It's Halloween, and that means ghosts need not apply (2:55), shareholder value might get eaten by zombies (7:33), and your creation might be a monster (12:03), all on the record.

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Modern ESG investing is a choose your own adventure, especially when soda meets marijuana. Path 1: Invest your values (1:47), Path 2: Invest for the money (6:02), Path 3: Invest for impact (9:33), all on the record.

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For more than 3,000 years, you've been ESG investing, in four chapters. Chapter 1: Your religion is also your financial advisor (1:36), Chapter 2: Financial outcomes are secondary considerations (3:06), Chapter 3: We find out what you really know (4:51), Chapter 4: The milk spills (6:37), all on the record.

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A task force chaired by a billionaire has sent investors looking for advice on climate from unlikely sources that may just have them joining a gang. The TCFD (0:00), learning from... oil and gas? (4:00), don't forget renewables (6:32), to divest or engage (8:41), all on the record.

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Could the data you provide your dishwasher some day be more valuable than the dishwasher? Internet of Things (0:00), hacking and Hackers (2:55), the GDPR (4:00), Cambridge Analytica (7:06), converging IoT and social media data (10:06), all on the record.

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Thinking of Tesla, how should an investor balance good governance with visionary brilliance? Atari and Tesla (0:22), checks and balances (2:32), overgovernance at Apple (4:13), Google's golden shares (5:38), and the Tesla "problem" (9:10), all on the record.

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Student debt is huge in the US, but as an investor, is it a good bet? The trend of consumer finance (1:44), Navient stands out (3:38), the reckoning is... robots?(5:35), and it might actually be a skills crisis (8:30), all on the record.

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Longtime PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi... or one of few women CEOs?... steps down. We talk to Meggin Thwing-Eastman about why that matters. 'Another female CEO done' (0:36), board diversity and employee productivity (1:44), diversity as an investment theme (3:40), more data (6:17), and a little game (9:47), all on the record.

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Environmental, social, and governance investing related news, research, and trends. In this episode, we start at the beginning... of 2018. We revisit our conversation with Linda-Eling Lee from January as she walks us through the major ESG trends of this year. Emerging markets (1:48), carbon and asset allocation (4:10), fixed income and ESG (6:30), how much disclosure matters, or does it (9:28), and the Year of the Human (12:49) are discussed.

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Environmental, social, and governance investing related news, research, and trends. In this episode, we start at the beginning... of 2018. We revisit our conversation with Linda-Eling Lee from January as she walks us through the major ESG trends of this year. Emerging markets (1:48), carbon and asset allocation (4:10), fixed income and ESG (6:30), how much disclosure matters, or does it (9:28), and the Year of the Human (12:49) are discussed.

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