As ESG debates evolve and financial materiality moves to the forefront, the issues shaping company performance are becoming clearer — and more consequential. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG Currents podcast, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane is joined by the analysts who hosted the show throughout the year to break down the ESG forces most likely to influence markets in 2026. Grace Osborne, Rob Du Boff, Melanie Rua, Andy Stevenson, Gail Glazerman, Yasutake Homma, Chris Ratti, Conrad Tan and Shaheen Contractor discuss sustainable debt in emerging markets, shareholder activism, water scarcity, climate damages, the ESG implications of AI, carbon removal, sustainable funds and more.

The episode was recorded on Dec. 9.

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Achieving 2030 targets associated with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals could cost trillions of dollars. The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), founded in 2020 by then-Prince Charles, aims to mobilize capital markets toward these targets. On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Bloomberg Intelligence ESG analysts Gail Glazerman and Rob Du Boff speak with SMI CEO Jennifer Jordan-Saifi about the organization’s progress and the private-market shift from communicating ambitions to delivering. This episode was recorded Nov. 18.

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How does good food shape global climate policy? And how has climate science evolved in the decade since the Paris Agreement? In this ESG Currents episode, Winston Chow, Professor of Urban Climate at Singapore Management University and Co-Chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, joins Bloomberg Intelligence ESG Analyst Conrad Tan to discuss the art of building trust as a climate diplomat, why food is his secret weapon, and why the world's top climate body plans to add a chapter on finance in its upcoming reports. He also explains the use of shared socioeconomic pathways in climate modeling and how scientific assessments of climate impacts can help businesses distinguish signal from noise.

This episode was recorded on Oct. 22.

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Nature capital has become a central theme in ESG investing, helping companies design strategies to boost economic growth while preserving the environment, with discussions at COP30 helping to increase global attention. Instant cup noodle producer Nissin Foods Holdings has been recognized by Japan’s Financial Services Agency as a leading firm in nature capital disclosure. In this episode, Kaya Tanii, head of sustainability strategy at Nissin Foods, speaks with Yasutake Homma, ESG analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, about the challenges behind its disclosure journey, and how nature capital has become financially material to its business. This episode was recorded on Nov. 6.

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From Coldplay to takeaways, Notpla is disrupting the single-use plastic epidemic. As global regulators tighten restrictions on plastic waste, innovation in natural materials is fast becoming an investment imperative. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI ESG analyst Grace Osborne speaks with Rodrigo García González, co-founder of Notpla, to explore how the company’s pioneering seaweed-based packaging is helping brands and investors transition toward a circular, regulation-ready future. Together, they discuss the evolution of product innovation, the shifting policy landscape, and how nature-based design can deliver both environmental and financial impact, as Notpla advances its bold goal to replace one billion units of plastic by 2030.
This episode was recorded 31 October.

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What does putting $100 billion toward climate solutions entail? On this week’s episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Peter Cashion, head of sustainable investing at CalPERS, joins Shaheen Contractor, senior ESG analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, to unpack how one of the world’s largest pension funds is translating climate ambition into investment decisions. Learn more about the practical aspects of putting this kind of plan into action, what mobilizing capital means in practice, how returns interface with impact and much more.

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Japan’s ESG and sustainable investing are entering a new stage – impact investing, which seeks to generate measurable social impact alongside financial returns. Government-led initiatives and working groups involving investors, asset managers, corporations and academia are working to establish the framework of new investing schemes and increase its scale in Japan. In this episode of ESG Currents, Yuka Ogasawara, Director of the Fujimura Research Institute and co-author of the book Impact Investing, speaks with Bloomberg Intelligence ESG analyst Yasutake Homma about how it differs from conventional ESG investing, and why it matters. This episode was recorded on October 23.

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PepsiCo’s food and beverage products depend on reliable access to agricultural commodities and water, driving the company’s sustainability strategy. On this episode of ESG Currents, BI senior ESG analyst Gail Glazerman is joined by Jim Andrew, PepsiCo’s chief sustainability officer. They discuss how sustainability intersects with PepsiCo’s business strategy, the company’s progress toward its goals and challenges such as fragmented global policy. The episode was recorded on Oct. 8.

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