Sustainability Wired

How Do Asset Owners Turn Sustainability Strategy into Action?

In this episode of Sustainability Wired, host Lorenzo Saa is joined by Anastasia Guha, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment at Gallagher, to unpack how asset owners translate sustainability ambitions into real-world investment decisions. Drawing on nearly two decades working across journalism, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and now investment consulting, Anastasia offers a clear, practical lens on the role of indirect asset owners, those who rely on investment managers rather than investing directly, and the complex decisions they face. From belief-setting and governance constraints to asset allocation, manager selection, and stewardship, this conversation goes beyond theory to examine what sustainable investing actually looks like inside pension funds, endowments, foundations, and wealth platforms. Together, Lorenzo and Anastasia explore why asset owners pursue sustainability in the first place, how regulation, risk management, and mission alignment shape strategies, and where the biggest bottlenecks lie, particularly time, governance capacity, and structural limitations. They also draw a sharp distinction between sustainable investing and impact, challenge simplistic narratives around net zero commitments, and argue for far greater nuance as markets enter a more volatile phase. Key topics include: * ✅ Why asset owners adopt sustainable investment strategies, and why motives differ * ✅ Translating beliefs into strategy, asset allocation, and manager selection * ✅ Governance and time constraints as the real limiting factors * ✅ The role of trustees, consultants, and stewardship in implementation * ✅ Sustainability vs impact: different objectives, tools, and asset classes * ✅ Why private markets and impact face structural scaling challenges * ✅ Defined benefit vs defined contribution: very different realities * ✅ Net zero targets, market volatility, and unintended consequences * ✅ Why nuance matters more than initiatives and labels * ✅ Manager selection, factor exposure, and financial fundamentals * ✅ Entering markets during dislocation: risks and opportunities Whether you’re an asset owner, trustee, consultant, or sustainability professional, this episode offers a grounded view of how sustainable investing actually works, and where expectations need to be recalibrated. 🎧 Listen now for a candid discussion on why sustainability strategy is as much about governance and realism as it is about ambition. Key Moments * 00:00 – Why Sustainable Investing Looks Different for Asset Owners * 02:45 – Anastasia’s Journey into Sustainable Investing and Consulting * 06:40 – Why Asset Owners Adopt Sustainability Strategies * 10:30 – Regulation, Risk, and Regional Differences * 14:20 – From Beliefs to Strategy: Setting Sustainability Objectives * 19:10 – Governance, Trustees, and the Reality of Implementation * 24:40 – Stewardship in Practice: Asset Owners and Managers * 29:50 – Sustainability vs Impact: A Critical Distinction * 36:10 – Asset Classes, Time Horizons, and Governance Constraints * 43:30 – What Needs to Change for Sustainable Investing to Scale 📩 Like, comment, and subscribe to stay wired into the thinking shaping sustainable finance.

Can Defence Ever Be a Responsible Investment?

In this timely episode of Sustainability Wired, host Lorenzo Saa is joined by Dan Neale, Social Lead in the Responsible Investment Team at the Church Commissioners for England, to explore one of the most contested questions in sustainable finance today: how should investors think about defence? With a background spanning responsible investment, human rights consulting, and service in the Royal Navy and NATO, Dan brings a rare, grounded perspective to a debate often dominated by headlines and binaries. As geopolitics reshapes capital flows, from the war in Ukraine to rising defence budgets across Europe, the conversation unpacks the crucial distinction between investing responsibly in defence-related companies and labelling defence as “sustainable.” Together, Lorenzo and Dan examine how investor policies are shifting, why regulatory frameworks and taxonomies have accelerated the debate, and where the real risks, and responsibilities, sit for asset owners and managers. From geographic screening thresholds and human rights due diligence to dual-use technologies, controversial weapons, and emerging principles for responsible defence investment, this episode offers a nuanced, practical lens on an issue many investors are now being forced to confront. Key topics include: ✅ Defence vs sustainability: why the distinction matters ✅ How geopolitics and regulation are reshaping investor approaches ✅ The Church Commissioners’ updated defence policy and geographic thresholds ✅ Why screening alone is not enough without due diligence ✅ Dual-use technologies and the blurred lines between civilian and military applications ✅ Controversial weapons, nuclear risk, and red lines for investors ✅ Data gaps, transparency challenges, and conflict-affected areas ✅ Principles for Responsible Defence Investment (PRDI): what they are, and what they are not ✅ AI, drones, and the realities of tech-driven warfare ✅ Human rights responsibilities under international humanitarian law Whether you’re an asset owner, investment manager, policymaker, or sustainability professional, this episode offers a clear framework for thinking about defence, not as a moral abstraction, but as a responsible investment challenge that requires judgment, data, and accountability. 🎧 Listen now to understand why defence may not be “sustainable”, but why responsibility still matters.  Key Moments * Introduction: Defense Meets Sustainable Investing (0:48) * Dan Neil's Background: From Navy to Responsible Investment (2:27) * The Changing Landscape: Europe's Defense Investment Shift (4:42) * Is Defense a Sustainable Investment? (6:18) * Church Commissioners' Policy Changes (8:44) * Dual Use Technology and the Defense Supply Chain (15:26) * Controversial Weapons and Nuclear Arms (17:56) * Principles for Responsible Defense Investment (PRDI) (27:22) * Human Rights Data and Due Diligence Challenges (33:42) * AI, Technology, and the Future of Warfare (38:38) 📩 Like, comment, and subscribe to stay wired into the debates shaping sustainable finance.

Can Investors Get Sustainability Right in 2026?

In this wide-ranging and timely episode of Sustainability Wired, host Lorenzo Sáa is joined by Ioannis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. The pair reflect on what the ESG backlash of 2025 has revealed, and what it means for investors, companies, and policymakers heading into 2026. Drawing on nearly two decades of academic research at the intersection of sustainability, corporate strategy, and financial markets, Ioannis offers a clear-eyed assessment of where sustainable investing has fallen short, where it has matured, and how it must now evolve. From green washing and fragmented regulation to regionalisation, data quality, and the limits of ESG ratings, this conversation goes beyond surface-level narratives to explore sustainability as a political economy and systems challenge. Together, Lorenzo and Ioannis unpack why backlash was inevitable, how it exposed genuine commitment (and lack thereof), and why the next phase of sustainable investing will be defined by resilience, governance, and long-term system change rather than short-term compliance. Key topics include: * ✅ 2025 as the year of “peak ESG backlash”, and what we learned from it * ✅ Why sustainability progress is non-linear and politically contested * ✅ Green hushing vs. credible communication: why silence is not the answer * ✅ Regionalisation and policy fragmentation in global decarbonisation * ✅ How investors can identify real commitment beyond ESG scores * ✅ The evolving role, and limits, of ESG data and ratings * ✅ Why adaptation, nature, and social issues must rise alongside climate * ✅ Coalitions, alliances, and the future of collective action * ✅ “Trap competencies”: undervalued skills and capabilities for a sustainable economy * ✅ AI and technology through a sustainability governance lens * ✅ The skills sustainability professionals will need in 2026 and beyond Whether you’re an investor navigating regulatory uncertainty, a sustainability leader facing internal scepticism, or a policymaker grappling with coordination challenges, this episode offers thoughtful guidance on how to move forward with clarity and conviction. 🎧 Listen now for a grounded, research-led perspective on what sustainable investing needs next. Key Moments: * 0:00 - Introduction & Guest Background * 7:01 - 2025: The Year of Peak Backlash * 15:26 - System-Level Investing & Regional Fragmentation * 24:39 - Looking Ahead: 2026 Predictions * 28:11 - Net Zero Coalitions & Alliances * 33:07 - Sustainability Careers & Trapped Competencies * 40:00 - Message to Investors & AI Governance * 46:00 - Quick Fire Questions & Closing 📩Like, comment, and subscribe to stay up to date on sustainability, AI, and the evolving role of technology in finance.

Are We Investing for the World We Have, or the One We Wish We Had?

In this compelling episode of Sustainability Wired, Lorenzo Saa is joined by Dario Mangilli [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dario-mangilli-ba179246/?locale=en], Head of Sustainability at Impact SGR, to explore how sustainable and impact investing must evolve for a world facing accelerating climate impacts, geopolitical instability, and a post-ESG landscape. Building on a conversation sparked at a conference in Milan, Lorenzo and Dario unpack what it means to invest in what he calls a “disaster economy”, a world where physical climate risks are arriving earlier than expected, traditional ESG frameworks are losing relevance, and investors are being pushed toward a more thematic, impact-driven approach. Dario offers a unique perspective shaped by his climate policy background, academic training, and hands-on work designing listed impact strategies. Together, they discuss how to scale impact beyond niche allocations, why systemic impact investing is urgently needed, and how structural trends, from energy security to demographics and AI, will determine where capital must flow next. Key topics include: ✅️ Impact investing at scale: Why limiting impact to 0.5–1% of pension fund portfolios is no longer viable. ✅️ ESG is over: Why generalist ESG frameworks fail—and how thematic, impact-focused strategies can replace them. ✅️ Climate risk underestimated: Satellite data showing physical risks arriving a decade earlier than models predicted. ✅️ Energy security & the Green Deal: How Europe “sold it wrong” and why sustainability must be framed around affordability and competitiveness. ✅️ Regulation that works vs. noise: SFDR, SFDR 2.0, labels, and why disclosure alone won’t drive capital. ✅️ Systemic impact approach: Applying intentionality, measurability, and impact limits across listed strategies. ✅️ AI as a structural trend: Power demand, cooling constraints, stretched valuations, and why AI could be a massive net positive—with guardrails. ✅️ Defense, mispriced sectors, and the future of sustainability narratives. Whether you're an investor, policymaker, or sustainability leader, this episode offers a bold rethinking of how we need to invest, financially and ethically, for a world that is already changing faster than expected. 🎧 Listen now to understand how impact investing can become a systemic, future-proof investment paradigm. Key Moments: 00:01 - Lorenzo sets the frame: investing in a “disaster economy” 02:22 - Dario’s path into sustainability & listed impact investing 05:26 - Why impact must scale beyond private markets 16:22 - The post-ESG shift: thematic investing as the new sustainable framework 19:10 - Climate risks arriving faster than expected 21:15 - Structural trends reshaping markets 27:52 - Regulation that drives capital vs. regulation that drives compliance 35:55 - A new operating model for sustainable investing 42:38 - AI as a structural force, and a sustainability challenge 47:40 - Art, metaphors & quickfire insights 51:31 - Closing: Investing for a rapidly changing world 📩Like, comment, and subscribe to stay up to date on sustainability, AI, and the evolving role of technology in finance.

What Risks Are We Missing in the AI Boom?

In this thought-provoking episode of Sustainability Wired, Lorenzo Saa [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzosaa/] is joined by Alex Rayón [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alrayon/], Chief Executive Officer of Brain & Code [https://brainandcode.tech/], to explore the real opportunities – and urgent challenges – posed by artificial intelligence in sustainable finance. From AI’s staggering energy demand to its risks of bias, opacity, and concentration of power, Lorenzo and Alex go beyond the hype to unpack what responsible AI truly means for investors, businesses, and society. Alex, a PhD in Computer Science and early researcher in neural networks, brings a rare perspective – one that spans both the technical foundations of AI and its ethical, environmental, and economic implications. Together, they explore how sustainability and AI must evolve together if we’re to unlock innovation without losing our humanity. Key topics include: ✅️ AI’s limits and human value: What machines can’t do – and how we must redefine our work ✅️ Governance and risk: From cybersecurity to copyright, what businesses can’t afford to ignore ✅️ The hidden cost of AI: Why today’s prices don’t reflect the true energy and environmental impact ✅️ Data and bias: Why the problem isn’t AI itself, but the data we feed it ✅️ Education and the future of work: How the next generation must be trained for an AI-augmented world ✅️ Concentration and regulation: Can the EU’s approach balance innovation and ethics? Whether you’re an investor, policymaker, or technologist, this conversation offers a refreshingly honest take on how AI can empower – but also endanger – the path to sustainable growth. 🎧Listen now to hear the full conversation. Key Moments: 00:00 – Introduction by Lorenzo Saa 02:12 – How Alex’s AI journey began – and its link to sustainability 05:14 – The real business, individual, and societal risks of AI 08:22 – Why cybersecurity is the new frontier 10:05 – Copyright, data ownership, and the myth of “inspiration” 12:21 – Explainability vs. trust: Can we still use what we don’t fully understand? 14:36 – AI’s environmental cost and the illusion of cheap compute 17:55 – Smarter models, cleaner data, and corporate responsibility 20:16 – Can AI reduce or reinforce bias? 22:28 – Cultural blind spots and the dominance of Western data 24:00 – Are we outsourcing our intelligence? The risks of cognitive offloading 25:46 – The next generation and the changing nature of work 27:47 – Concentration of power: Big Tech, big risks 29:52 – EU vs. US regulation: Two worlds, one technology 31:37 – AGI and the myth of machine consciousness 34:37 – The net impact of AI: Positive, but only if it complements us 36:48 – The art of sustainability 37:36 – Alex’s final message: Engage responsibly, stay informed 38:12 – Quick-fire questions 39:49 – Closing thoughts and credits 📩 Like, comment, and subscribe to stay up to date on sustainability, AI, and the evolving role of technology in finance.