Today’s interview is with Madeleine Huynh, ESG Analyst and Assistant Equities Analyst at Perennial Partners. This is our second Green Dream interview on the Better Future Fund, with the first being a discussion with Damian Cottier in September 2022 called ‘Aligning Profit with Purpose’, if you’d like to go back and have a listen. In this discussion, as well as talking about the fund holdings I wanted to focus on the work that is being done behind the scenes on reducing emissions, combatting modern slavery and prioritising women’s leadership, at both board and executive levels.

Maddie joined the Perennial Better Future team in 2021. Prior to joining Perennial, she undertook a cadetship at UBS Investment Bank and rotated across their equities and global banking divisions. Maddie holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney. She is passionate about pursuing strong, consistent investment returns for investors, while driving improved social and environmental outcomes for the community.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Maddie Huynh of the Perennial Better Future Trust.

You can check out the Better Future Trust at better-future-fund. For more information about James Baird, JustInvest Financial Planning and Ethical Investment Advisers see: justinvest and ethicalinvestment.

Also here’s the link to the Alison Roman recipe that Maddie mentioned! salted-butter-chocolate-chunk-shortbread

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we recorded on, the Wardandi Noongar people. We pay our respects to them and their culture; and to elders past, present and future.

In this discussion with Tom King of Nanuk Asset Management we venture into the heart of the nuclear debate. Nuclear energy is an enigma…on paper, it presents itself as a low-emission ‘knight in shining armour’ solution against climate change. However, as we delve into the details, we confront the stark realities – the main challenges are the huge financial burden and the formidable competitors in the form of low cost renewable energy sources. We explore whether nuclear power is the solution we've been seeking, or merely a diversion from more economical and efficient renewable alternatives. It's time to strip away the facade and examine the true cost of our choices in the pursuit of net zero.

Tom King joined Nanuk in 2009 and is a director, chief investment officer and portfolio manager with the team. He has approximately 20 years’ investment industry experience in equity funds management, investment banking and private equity. Tom holds a first class honours degree in Engineering from the University of Melbourne.

Topics mentioned in the discussion:

· The NuScale Power cost blowout: small-modular-nuclear-reactor-that-was-hailed-by-coalition-as-future-cancelled-due-to-rising-costs

· Craig Reucassel on ABC iview: fight-for-planet-a-our-climate-challenge

I hope you enjoy this interview with Tom King of Nanuk Asset Management.

You can check out Nanuk’s website at: www.nanukasset.com

For more information about James Baird and JustInvest Financial Planning see: www.justinvest.net.au and Ethical Investment Advisers www.ethicalinvestment.com.au.

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we recorded on, the Wardandi Noongar people. We pay our respects to them and their culture; and to elders past, present and emerging.

Today, our focus turns to property. Andrew Cole is Head of ESG at Charter Hall, a prominent Australian property group that is once again highly rated 2023 Global Real Estate Benchmark (GRESB) rankings. GRESB is widely considered to be the leading ESG assessment for real estate, providing a reporting framework for property portfolios and measurement of sustainability performance. It assesses an eye watering 7.2 trillion USD of gross asset value under management across 74 countries, and it offers an assessment of like for like environmental performance at the asset and entity level for property energy, emissions, water and waste.

So how does Charter Hall achieve such a high sustainability ranking compared to global peers? In this episode, we discuss some of the various ESG initiatives which contribute to Charter Hall’s high sustainability ranking compared to global peers. We'll explore how their commitment to sustainability isn't just greenwash, but is embedded in the company’s culture.

Andrew joined Charter Hall in 2021 from Lendlease where he worked for more than 14 years. Prior to this, Andrew worked with the NSW Department of Planning, supporting sustainability policy for residential homes and industry engagement.

I hope you enjoy this discussion with Andrew Cole.

Check out the Charter Hall website at www.charterhall.com.au

For more information about James Baird, JustInvest Financial Planning and Ethical Investment Advisers see: justinvest and ethicalinvestment.

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we recorded on, the Wardandi Noongar people. We pay our respects to them and their culture; and to elders past, present and emerging.