20/30 Visions

Hosted by Bridges Fund Management

Business Investing

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Latest episode

Jan 2024

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About the show

A series in which we ask global thought-leaders: how do we build a more sustainable and inclusive world by 2030? The world of sustainability and impact has come a long way in the two decades since Bridges launched in 2002. But given the scale of the challenges we face, it's not enough. If we are to have any hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 (the theoretical target) – or getting anywhere close to Net Zero – we need to go much further, much faster. Our 20/30 Visions series explores what this needs to look like in practice. In each episode, we speak to a different expert or thought-leader from around the globe, and ask them: what needs to change if we want to build a more sustainable and inclusive future in the next decade? And how do we make that change happen?

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21 recent

January 10, 2024Episode 2020 min

20/30 Visions: Dolika Banda on investing in the 'Global South'

The world is currently lagging well behind target on many of the Sustainable Development Goals - but the challenge is particularly acute in Africa and the Global South. In this week's 20/30 Visions, we're delighted to welcome Dolika Banda, who after a long career with the International Finance Corporation now sits on a number of boards (including British International Investment) and has recently launched a new initiative promoting good corporate governance. Dolika draws on her vast experience of the banking, development finance and impact worlds to tell us what needs to change if we are going to narrow the gap between investment rhetoric and reality. We discuss:The scale and shape of the challenge in Africa (and the Global South more broadly)Why this matters to the Global North like never beforeShifting dollars away from climate mitigation to adaptation and resilienceThe problem of 'inexplicable inequalities'How we change investors' perception of risk in emerging marketsThe vast gap between commitments and disbursements (and how to resolve it)and more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1919 min

20/30 Visions: Graham Cook on building an institutional impact portfolio

It’s clear that we need more big investors to allocate more of their capital towards sustainability and impact. But what does this actually look like in practice? How do institutions get from broad ambitions or long-term commitments (achieving Net Zero, say) to specific portfolio construction decisions?These are the some of the questions we address in 20/30 Visions this week with our guest Graham Cook, who leads on responsible investment at The Phoenix Group. Graham was previously CIO at the Environment Agency Pension Fund, where he put together an industry-leading sustainable investment programme. Now he’s applying some of the same principles at Phoenix, albeit on a substantially bigger scale. We discuss:The key steps in implementing a Net Zero commitmentSetting the right benchmarksWorking with pooling partnersThe importance of natural capitalWhy things could get worse before they get betterand more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1818 min

20/30 Visions: James Alexander on saving the natural world

We are hugely reliant on nature; it is the bedrock of a healthy society and a healthy economy. Yet the human race continues to damage nature in profound ways. We urgently need to invest in restoring nature - but the current funding gap between existing commitments and the amount required is thought to be around $700bn a year globally.For this episode of 20/30 Visions, we caught up with James Alexander, chair of Finance Earth, a social enterprise set up to try and channel more private and public capital to invest in nature, climate and communities. We discuss:The scale and urgency of the challenge we face when it comes to natureWhy natural capital solutions may be the key to tackling climate changeHow the UK government is trying to kick-start the marketMarrying his passion for sustainability with his interest in innovative financeThe challenge of human natureWhy it's time to mandate action - and punish laggardsand more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1720 min

20/30 Visions: Richard Curtis on why our pensions matter

Most people know Richard Curtis as the creator some of the most successful British films of all time. But he's also been an hugely important figure in the development world, dating all the way back to 1985 when he co-founded Comic Relief after witnessing the famine in Ethopia (Red Nose Day) has since raised over £2bn for charity). In the last decade he has been working with the United Nations to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals - and his most recent venture is Make My Money Matter, a campaign to unlock some of the $50trn in our pension pots globally to invest for good.For our latest 20/30 Visions interview, we caught up with Richard to discuss:How he thinks we're doing with the SDGsWhy business has been an 'unexpected success'Why he got excited about pensionsHow the pension companies have responded to this challengeWhy we need to talk about the banksWhy investors are cooler than pop stars and movie-makers (kind of)and more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1618 min

20/30 Visions: Emma Hoskyn on the retrofitting imperative

Buildings contribute up to 40% of global carbon emissions (even more in big cities) - and 80% of the buildings we see around us today will still be around in 2050. So if we are to have any hope of getting to Net Zero, we need to get much better at refurbishing and retrofitting our existing building stock to make it more sustainable.Our guest this week is Emma Hoskyn, JLL's UK Head of Sustainability. We discuss:The scale of the challenge with our existing building stockHow attitudes are changing among investors and asset ownersThe retrofit measures that really make a differenceThe value and rental premium for sustainable buildingsThe barriers preventing faster progressThe need for a clearer policy framework (and the threat of IRA)and more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1519 min

20/30 Visions: Diana Propper de Callejon on longer-term capital vehicles

To build a more sustainable and inclusive economy, we need to scale the businesses that are helping to solve our biggest environmental and social challenges. But what's the best model for funding the growth of companies that are focused on these long-term goals?Longer-term capital vehicles are increasingly emerging as a viable alternative to standard private equity and public markets. In theory, these models allow impact-driven business to remain focused on long-term value growth and impact, without the distraction of short-termist equity markets or regular changes of ownership. But can they be structured in a way that also works for investors?Our guest is Diana Propper de Callejon, Managing Director of US-based Cranemere. Cranemere describes itself as "a long-term holding company for founders, management teams and family-owned companies in the U.S. and Europe"; to date it has raised $2.5bn from investors and backed seven operating companies. We discuss:The problem Cranemere was established to solveThe benefits of long-term capital for impact-driven businessesTypical investor concerns - and how to resolve themLong-term capital vs PE/ public marketsHow we get more long-term vehiclesand more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1418 min

20/30 Visions: Bettina Warburg on the potential of Web3

Web3 – the next generation of the internet – is set to transform our online lives over the next decade, with far-reaching implications for identity, privacy, finance, governance and more. So can we harness this new blockchain-enabled internet to drive better outcomes for people and the planet? Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are notoriously energy-intensive; but in this formative stage of Web3's development, we still have a real opportunity to embed sustainability and inclusion at the heart of these new platforms.To discuss this emerging (and incredibly exciting) space, we’re joined by Bettina Warburg, one of the world's leading investors in and educators on Web3 (her Ted talk on blockchain has had over 4 million views). She explains why she believes Web3 can help us super-power our efforts to solve some of the world's biggest challenges, including:Why Web3 is a 'paradigm shift' in the way we use the internetHow the new platforms are integrating sustainability at a network levelWhy Web3's decentralised model will drive more creativity and innovation, particularly in terms of climate solutionsThe key factors in achieving broader adoptionThe intersection of Web3 and AIand more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1319 min

20/30 Visions: Lisa Hall on the role of big asset managers

The world’s biggest asset managers control a significant portion of global AuM. If we want to supercharge the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive economy, we need them to direct more of this capital towards investing for impact.In recent years, almost all of the big money managers have been expanding their impact strategies, in response to rising investor demand – hiring dedicated teams and raising dedicated funds. But how do we make sure that this is more than just a marketing exercise; that it’s done in a considered, authentic, additive way? And critically, how do we make sure that impact becomes central to all their investment strategies, and not just a niche pursuit?To discuss this, we’re joined by Lisa Hall, a lynchpin of the impact investing movement who is now helping to steer Apollo Global Management’s first official foray into impact investment. She tells us:How (and why) Apollo designed its impact strategyThe benefits of operating within a larger platformWhy new entrants shouldn’t be ‘riding the rails for free’The dangers of proprietary approaches to impactWhat this means for Apollo’s other $500bn+ of assetsand more...Produced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1217 min

20/30 Visions: Ella Goldner on impact-driven entrepreneurs

If we're going to have any hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, business and enterprise clearly need to play a central role. So it follows that we need to get many more of the world's best entrepreneurs working on solutions to our biggest social and environmental challenges - and then give them the resources they need to succeed at scale.This week's guest is Ella Goldner, the co-founder and GM of UK-based Zinc, whose model offers an interesting exemplar of how to do this. Zinc gets would-be entrepreneurs excited about solving a pressing societal challenge, helps them identify a specific commercial solution, and then provides them with the capital, expertise, and connections they need to scale the business up.In our interview, Ella discusses:How to get the best talent focusing on big societal challengesThe importance of breaking down silosWhat to look for in a co-founderThe support these fledgling businesses needWhy ecosystems matterThe funding outlook for mission-driven businessesAnd moreProduced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions

January 10, 2024Episode 1119 min

20/30 Visions: Daniel Izzo on scaling impact investing in emerging markets

It's clear that we cannot build a more sustainable and inclusive world without substantial investment in emerging markets - not only because of the need to improve access to services and opportunities for low and middle-income consumers, but also because many of these countries are on the front line of some of the planet's biggest environmental threats. Impact investing can help to direct capital towards these challenges - but in most of these markets, the sector remains small and nascent. So how do we scale it up?To discuss this, we're joined by Daniel Izzo, co-founder of Brazil-based VOX Capital. VOX has been a real pioneer of impact investing in Brazil over the last decade, focusing primarily (and very successfully) on the venture capital space. However in recent years it has been expanding its platform across other asset classes - in response to both the range of the challenges in Brazil, and also the urgent need to attract more capital into impact.Given VOX’s pioneering role in Brazil, Daniel is ideally placed to assess the challenges - and the opportunities - of scaling up impact investment in emerging markets. In our interview, he discusses:Overcoming investor scepticism in a nascent marketThe importance of good impact storiesWhy VOX is expanding into new asset classesThe compromises needed to attract retail investorsThe influence of politicsInvesting in the resilience of local systemsAnd moreProduced & presented by James TaylorEditing by Jake Hatt @ Free Bird FilmWatch the videos at www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/2030visions