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.

It’s been two years since my first chat with Nick Edgerton – and it’s clear that creating positive impact is still at the core of his decision making, and also that he still has his infectious enthusiasm for sustainable investment.

Nick is a Portfolio Manager with the Sustainable Funds Group at Stewart Investors. Nick joined the team in 2012, and he is the lead manager of the Worldwide Sustainability strategy. Previously, Nick worked as an analyst, consultant, public servant, and academic in sustainability and economics. You can find my first interview with Nick, ‘Antarctica, Coconuts, Microbes and Yoghurt’, on the podcast webpage.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Nick Edgerton of Stewart Investors.

Check out the Stewart Investors website at www.stewartinvestors.com

For more information about James Baird and JustInvest Financial Planning see: www.justinvest.net.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.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can” Arthur Ashe.

Welcome to a special episode of The Green Dream, where we dive deep into the heart of this year's Ethical Investment Week theme: "Building a sustainable legacy." Our guest today is the inspirational Claire O'Rourke. She is a campaigner, communicator and behavioural change expert working to transform Australia into a global leader in climate solutions. She is also the author of the new book, 'Together We Can.'

In this episode, we'll explore how Claire's work aligns perfectly with the core ethos of Ethical Investment Week. Her book is more than just a read; it's a toolkit in which she diagnoses the problems we face, undertakes extensive research, interviews many people, and then presents solutions in a easily digestible format. Claire's insights and dedication to creating a more sustainable world will undoubtedly leave you feeling empowered to take meaningful steps towards building a sustainable legacy of your own.

So, settle in and get ready to be inspired as we learn about transformative change and empowerment with the indefatigable Claire O'Rourke.

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.

Links:

· Claire’s website (& book ‘Together We Can’)

· Ethical Investment Week and the Ethical Adviser’s Co-op

· Tony Seba’s Rethink X

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

This episode is fairly unique, because we’re talking about a new film release and ethical investment stock picks in the same conversation, and that’s because our interviewee has two careers – one in film, and one in investment.

Mark Forstmann has written and produced a new film called Climate Changers, which follows Tim Flannery’s search for leadership on climate change. In it, Tim travels the world meeting leaders past and present in the hope of finding answers to his questions about the future. It is currently being screened at selected film festivals, with a full release in September/October this year.

Mark is an Independent Investment Analyst and is currently a member of our Ethical Advisers Funds Management (EAFM) Investment Committee, so we took the opportunity to discuss some current investment examples within our Mid-Cap Australian Share portfolio. Please note that this is general information only, and not specific investment advice.

Mark has 28 years’ experience in investment markets including equities, currencies and fixed interest. Mark has worked with ethical fund managers such as Hunter Hall, Future Super and Morphic Asset Management, and served on the Board of the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University.

In his second career, Mark Forstmann is a producer, director, and writer with experience ranging across drama and documentary. A graduate of Australian Film, TV & Radio School, his first feature as writer-director, MONKEY PUZZLE, won awards at several international film festivals, including the Best Environment Film at Shanghai International Film Festival.

Mark refers to recent carbon dioxide emissions - refer to CO2 emissions - Our World in Data for a detailed reference.

Finally, I’d like to explain a financial term that Mark refers to: EBIT (or EBITDA): this is an acronym for 'Earnings before interest and tax' (for EBIT) or the slightly more elaborate 'Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation' (in the case of EBITDA). In short, it shows how much operating expenses are eating into a company's profits, and the higher the EBITDA margin, the less risky a company is considered financially.

I hope you enjoy this discussion with Mark Forstmann.

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.

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

David Blood is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of sustainable investment management. Almost 20 years ago in 2004, David created Generation Investment Management alongside Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States, and they now manage around $43bn USD.

We don’t normally talk about performance on this podcast, but I will make an exception for this fund. Since inception of the Generation Global Share Fund in October 2007, 15 and a half years, the fund has returned 9.9% pa, almost 3% better than the benchmark, which has returned 7.05%. This is an important example - don’t let anyone tell you that active managers can’t beat the index, let alone sustainability funds!

Note that this is a slightly different format to our usual interviews (thus the slightly longer intro!). It’s from a presentation that David gave in Sydney, titled ‘Sustainable investing (done right) is capitalism at its best’. Firstly, David gives an autobiographical intro for about 15 minutes. He talks about his unexpected pathway into finance, corporate culture, and the fact that all businesses create impact - and it’s critical that we measure that impact. This is an important point, because Generation doesn’t like to label what they do as ethical ESG, or impact investing per se – instead they consider a company’s overall impact, and measure it to get a feel for the positive outcomes they can generate. He acknowledges that they compete against mainstream funds – but they are focused on investing sustainability, and being advocates for sustainability. The second half of the discussion is David being interviewed by Julia Harley, an Ethical Adviser’s Co-op Adviser with a firm called Ethinvest in Sydney, and the MC Graham Rich.

David points out that on the current trajectory, we will miss all 17 of the UN SDG targets, as well as the attempt to limit global warming to 1.5c. He highlights the need for urgent change and the fact that we can’t rely on governments to do it. Generation invests with the mission to seek transformational change to drive to a net zero, prosperous, equitable, healthy and safe society. They wants us to change the way we think about capital – we need to put a price on impacts inlcuding emissions, pollution, and so on.

Previously, David spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs including serving as CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. David received a BA from Hamilton College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Finally, I’d like to explain two terms that David refers to:

- ‘Alpha’ is the excess return of an investment relative to the return of a benchmark index.

- Fiduciary Duty is the concept that those who manage other people's money act in their beneficiaries' interests, rather than serving their own interests (David discusses the idea that ‘Not considering sustainability means that you are not fullfilling your fiduciary duty – this is a key issue that many of Australia’s largest Super funds have been struggling with in recent years’)

I hope you enjoy this presentation by David Blood. For more information about Generation see: generationim.com

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.

There’s not many fund managers that can say they can trace their origins back to a pub in Melbourne in 1840, 183 years ago! At that time, a group of eight people formed a friendly society to look after the health and wellbeing of its members. Since then, Australian Unity has continued to grow as a member-owned company, offering their members and customers health, wealth and care services.

Matthew Moore is the Head of Responsible Investment and Stewardship at Australian Unity. He joined them in January 2022 from Uniting Financial Services, where he held the role of Head of Ethical Investments, having oversight of over $1.7 billion in assets under management, and responsibility for building and managing that organisation’s responsible investment program. He was part of the team that issued the first SDG Bond by a Not for Profit in Australia. He is a long-standing member of the Altius Asset Management Sustainability Advisory Committee, currently Chair. He holds Master of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics degrees.

In this discussion we cover the origin of ethical investment and social impact bonds, Australian Unity’s creation of a highly regarded ‘Wellbeing index’, dealing with modern slavery risks, creating a Reconciliation Action Plan, and a range of other areas.

I’ll break down some of the acronyms that are mentioned in the discussion – and links to explanations are provided in the show notes: UN SDG’s; SDA: Specialist disability accommodation, HPT: Healthcare Property Trust & PIF: Property Income Fund, REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust, DD: Due Diligence; Semi/Supra Bonds

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Matthew Moore. You can find out more about Australian Unity here.

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.