ESG Explorer

Hosted by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Nov 2024

Language

EN-US

About the show

From evolving regulatory requirements and investor activism to the physical effects of climate change on business operations and more, Osler’s newest podcast, ESG Explorer, looks at the developments and issues affecting your business. Knowledgeable guests from Osler and across the business world guide listeners through the critical topics modern organizations are facing.

Listen to episodes

15 recent

November 6, 2024Episode 1623 min

Diversity in corporate Canada: a ten-year retrospective

In October 2024, Osler released its tenth annual Diversity Disclosure Practices – Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies report. This publication examines diversity disclosure by companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act subject to disclosure requirements. This milestone edition provides a comprehensive look at the progress corporate Canada has made over the past decade to increase diversity of their leadership, highlighting best practices and identifying areas where work remains, especially for diverse groups beyond gender. In this episode, host John Valley, a partner in the Corporate group and a co-author of the report, moderates a discussion on its findings with his co-authors, partners Andrew MacDougall and Joanna Cameron and associate Jessie Armour. This podcast contains up to 20 minutes of Substantive credit for lawyers in Ontario. Click here to record your time in the LSO portal.

October 16, 2024Episode 1510 min

Diverse Voices: A conversation with Catherine Roome

In this episode, Joanna Cameron, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Catherine Roome, a tech innovator with a passion for serving the public interest. Catherine is a director of BC Hydro, where she chairs the board of its energy trading subsidiary, Powerex, and is a member of the Site C Hydroelectric Project oversight board. Catherine also serves on the private sector boards of Prospera Credit Union and McElhanney Engineering, where she chairs her operating board. She recently served as Interim CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society, supporting governance and operational renewal for B.C.’s largest supportive housing organization. Previously, she led Technical Safety BC for a decade. Catherine is dedicated to fostering justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and encouraging the next generation of leaders.

October 16, 2024Episode 149 min

Diverse Voices: A conversation with Mark Podlasly

In this episode, John Valley, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, interviews Mark Podlasly, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation in British Columbia. Mark is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national 170+ member First Nations organization dedicated to ensuring Indigenous environmental and economic values are incorporated into major projects in traditional territories. He is a board director at CIBC and Hydro One, serving on the audit and human resources committees, and is a trustee of his First Nation’s mining revenue trust fund. Mark was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for founding Teach for Canada, a non-profit organization that works with northern First Nations to recruit and support committed teachers.

October 16, 2024Episode 136 min

Diverse Voices: A conversation with Dexter John

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Dexter John, Chief Executive Officer of Sodali & Co, Canada. Before Sodali & Co acquired Gryphon Advisors, Inc., Dexter served as President and CEO of Gryphon, where he led the North American business and a team of experienced governance and financial professionals. He holds the ICD.D designation and sits on the boards of Organigram Inc., the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and Can PR. Dexter also previously served as the Chair of the Board of Partners Real Estate Investment Trust.

October 16, 2024Episode 129 min

Diverse Voices: A conversation with Wendy Kei

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Wendy Kei, who serves as Board Chair for both Ontario Power Generation and NFI Group. She is also the Audit Committee Chair for Centerra Gold Inc. Wendy is an accomplished financial executive with over 25 years of senior business experience in mining and other industries. She was recognized as a Fellow from the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2022 and honoured as a BMO Celebrate Women on Boards Honouree that same year. Wendy was also named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020 and selected as a Diversity 50 Candidate by the Canadian Board Diversity Council in 2016.

October 16, 2024Episode 1113 min

Diverse Voices: A conversation with Andrea Wood

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, interviews Andrea Wood, executive vice president and Chief Legal and Governance Officer of TELUS, who also serves as Corporate Secretary to the TELUS Board of Directors. Andrea shares her perspectives on diversity, particularly at the executive level, and her role in advancing TELUS’ social purpose and global leadership in sustainability. In addition to her corporate leadership, Andrea is an active volunteer, serving on the boards of several community-based organizations, and serves as TELUS’ executive sponsor for Connections, a grassroots initiative supporting women’s networking and career growth across the organization. Andrea has also been recognized as the 2024 recipient of the Blakes Judy L. Wilson Diversity Award by the Canadian General Counsel Awards.

July 22, 2024Episode 1031 min

ESG trends in venture capital: governance matters

In this episode of the podcast, guest host Laura Webb, a partner in the Emerging and High Growth Companies Group at Osler, and Olivia Hornby, Managing Partner of Spring Impact Capital, an impact-focused venture capital (VC) fund, discuss the continuing growth of ESG in the private sector. Laura and Olivia also dive into what ESG factors Spring considers when making investments.

March 13, 2024Episode 942 min

Trends in shareholder activism

In this episode of the podcast, guest host Teresa Tomchak, a partner in the litigation group at Osler, and David Salmon, President of Laurel Hill Canada dive into the topic of trends in shareholder activism. Teresa and David discuss ESG issues they are seeing in the shareholder activism space, steps companies can take to address and prepare for ESG issues and the role of proxy advisors.

May 29, 2023Episode 843 min

The growth mindset – lessons learned from women founders

In this episode of the ESG Explorer podcast, guest host Jennifer Humphrey, an associate in the Emerging and High Growth Companies Group at Osler, speaks with Patricia Thaine, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Private AI, and Lourdes Juan, founder and CEO of Calgary-based Knead Technologies about their founder stories and the unique experiences they’ve had as successful female entrepreneurs. They also discuss current market conditions and the trends they are seeing. They also dive into the findings of the EHG team’s second annual Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings published in March 2023.

December 16, 2022Episode 754 min

Diversity in corporate Canada: Is progress being made?

In October 2022, Osler released its eighth annual Diversity Disclosure Practices - Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies. The report looks at how well companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act are doing at working to improve diversity in senior leadership positions. This includes increasing representation of women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities in senior leadership positions.In this episode, guest host Colleen Moorehead, Osler’s Chief Client Officer, moderates a discussion about the report’s findings with regular podcast host and report co-author John Valley and Deborah Rosati, Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board.