Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing with Fiona Reynolds and Maria Lettini

Fiona Reynolds is the CEO of Principles for Responsible Investment, an investor initiative supported by the United Nations that supports investing in companies that pass the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Maria Lettini is the Executive Director of FAIRR, a rising investor network focusing on ESG risks in the global food sector. Both women come from organizations that aim to marry ethical growth and finances with the end goal of reducing environmental and health problems, including large carbon footprints and antibiotic overuse in food.

Fiona Reynolds and Maria Lettini join me to discuss how you can invest in companies that pass the ESG criteria. They discuss the current mindset regarding ethical industries and practices in the food industry and explain the importance of presenting ESG problems in a way that affects an individual’s bottomline. They describe the positive changes they have seen with government regulations in light of ESG becoming more mainstream. They also explain their concerns for antimicrobial resistance and why it can be a more devastating global disaster than any pandemic.

"ESG is about how you integrate environmental, social, and government issues into the investment process." - Fiona Reynolds

This week on CTRL-ALT-Meat:

• What ESG is and why it should be included in the investment process
• The driving factors that made people change their perspectives on ESG
• Why it's critical to tackle environmental issues from an investment perspective
• Making health the top priority for the good of the economy
• Why the list of ESG-related problems continues to grow
• The biggest challenge Fiona faced at PRI
• How you can invest through a future lens
• The changes they've seen from a regulatory point of view in considering ESG initiatives
• How climate change has made people think about the food they eat
• The ways people can contribute to long-term climate change efforts without government support
• Their optimistic and pessimistic expectations from the upcoming COP26 conference
• The fears they have with the long-term effects of antibiotic overuse
• How technology supports ESG efforts and how it enables ESG issues
• Their thoughts on the current COVID-19 situation and what the world will be like after
• The investor actions they predict with regards to antimicrobial resistance

Resources Mentioned:

• Blackfish
• UN Climate Change Conference COP26

Connect with Fiona Reynolds and Maria Lettini:

• Principles for Responsible Investment
• FAIRR
• Fiona Reynolds LinkedIn
• Maria Lettini LinkedIn

Resetting the Food System for a Better Tomorrow

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