Bucking Trends: UAE Banks See Sustainable Finance Profit Center
"Many UAE banks have seen sustainable finance as a profit center", says Vijay Bains, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. In this episode of ESG Currents, Grace Osborne, BI’s ESG integration analyst for EMEA, speaks with Bains about the rising momentum of sustainable finance in the GCC and its intertwinement with the region's economic diversification plans. With UAE's national banks' pledging to mobilize AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, alongside strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions, opportunities for capturing sustainable value creation are mounting. From water scarcity solutions to green building initiatives, the GCC is scaling its sustainability ambitions at a time where other regions in the world appear to be stepping back. This episode was recorded on May 1, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
29:15
Rethinking Desalination, OceanWell’s Subsea System
As climate change accelerates water scarcity, investors are eyeing scalable solutions with environmental integrity. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane and senior ESG associate Melanie Rua speak with OceanWell CEO Robert Bergstrom about a subsea desalination product that uses deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 40% while protecting marine ecosystems. Bergstrom outlines OceanWell’s phased road map, including pilots and global scaling, and makes the investment case for water infrastructure, citing research showing a $7 return for every $1 invested. The episode explores why valuing water appropriately is key to driving innovation, policy and climate resilience. Recorded April 23.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
32:15
Singapore's UOB on Driving Sustainability in Asia
"It’s very important to understand that we need to deliver sustainability, not simply be passionate about it," says Eric Lim, managing director and chief sustainability officer at United Overseas Bank, our first guest from Asia on the ESG Currents podcast. Lim joins Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG integration analyst for Asia-Pacific, to discuss what the ESG backlash means for companies' sustainability efforts, the role of banks in driving sustainable practices in different industries, and the nature-climate nexus and business dependencies on natural capital. They also talk about the importance of aligning with ecosystem partners to enhance impact in a region spanning myriad political structures and development priorities. This episode was recorded on April 2, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
30:39
Scaling Removal of GHG to 10 Gigatons by 2050
Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions remains the top priority in addressing climate change. However, it’s increasingly clear that these efforts must be complemented by greenhouse-gas removal. The extent needed is difficult to pin down, but a recent report, Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050, by the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rocky Mountain Institute is anchored around the idea that we need to achieve 10 gigatons in annual technological extraction by 2050. Noel Bakhtian, director of Technology Acceleration and lead of the GHG Removal Initiative at the Bezos Earth Fund, and Rudy Kahsar, principal for Climate-Aligned Industries at the Rocky Mountain Institute, join BI director of ESG research Eric Kane on this episode of ESG Currents. They discuss the road map and many of the steps needed to achieve this massive increase in scale from less than 1 megaton of removals currently. The episode was recorded on March 25.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
39:12
Integrating Sustainability a Strategic Imperative
In the current political climate, corporate executives must address environmental, social and governance challenges with real authenticity while never losing sight of the strategic needs of their organizations. On this week’s episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ESG Analyst Rob Du Boff speaks with Amy Brachio, Global Vice Chair of Sustainability at EY and co-chair of the S30, a community of chief sustainability officers from some of the world’s most influential companies. They discuss how enterprises can better integrate sustainability into their core business to gain a competitive advantage — from the C-suite down to new employees. This episode was recorded on March 17. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
ESG has become established as a key business theme as companies and investors seek to navigate the climate crisis, energy transition, social megatrends, mounting regulatory attention and pressure from other stakeholders. The rapidly evolving landscape has become inundated with acronyms, buzz words, and lingo and we aim to break these down with industry experts.
Portugal