Sustainability Leaders

Hosted by BMO Financial Group

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233

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Sustainability is a rapidly evolving field, driven by billions of dollars in global investment. Join BMO as we introduce you to the innovative minds and diverse perspectives that are pushing the boundaries in sustainability good practice. With topics ranging from climate change to sustainable finance and green bonds to human rights and responsible investing, we explore the world of corporate sustainability through interviews with corporate practitioners, investors, scholars and the NGO community.

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June 16, 202625 min

Using AI to Unlock Building Upgrade Opportunities

Most building upgrades and retrofits stall not because of technology or economics but because owners lack clear data on their buildings, delaying decisions and raising costs. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, speaks with Brodie Boland, Co‑Founder and CEO of Upgraid, about how better data and analytics can accelerate building upgrades and unlock emissions reductions. Boland explains why the market for building upgrades remains highly manual and inefficient, despite widely available and cost‑effective technologies such as heat pumps, lighting upgrades, and automation systems. The conversation explores how Upgraid uses machine learning and large datasets—from satellite imagery to permitting records—to create a detailed view of building systems and identify where upgrades make economic sense. Visit BMO for more thought leadership from Michael Torrance: Michael Torrance Learn more about the financial performance of green and climate-aligned buildings: Banking on Buildings: Green and Climate-Aligned Real Estate Performance

June 9, 202623 min

Investment Opportunities in Food, Energy and Oceans During the 10,000-Year Megatrend

Climate change is not a belief or a niche theme—it’s a 10,000‑year economic shift that reshapes how we should be thinking about energy, food, and materials. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Angela Adduci of the BMO Climate Institute speaks with Sanjeev Krishnan, Managing Partner of S2G Investments, about how investors need to rethink capital, risk, and returns in the climate economy. Krishnan explains why traditional venture and private‑equity models often fall short in energy, food, and ocean systems, and why S2G focuses on a “fit‑for‑purpose” framework instead. The conversation explores the growing “missing middle” in climate investment, how systems‑level thinking shapes portfolio construction, and why climate investing is ultimately about turning useful energy into useful materials. Visit BMO for more thought leadership from Angela Adduci: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/our-bankers/aadduci/

June 2, 202623 min

What’s Next for Sustainable Finance and Investment

Despite global policy divergences, the fundamentals underlying sustainable finance and investment still hold and corporate issuers, asset owners and investors are using them to make business-first decisions. Host Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, is joined by John Uhren, Global Head of Sustainable Finance for BMO Capital Markets, and Nalini Feuilloley, Head of Sustainable Investment, BMO Global Asset Management, for a roundtable discussion on a range of topics about what’s changing in sustainable finance and investing—and what isn’t. They unpack demand drivers like electrification, energy efficiency, and capital-intensive transition investments; why renewables remain a major destination for labeled capital; and where momentum is building next (including AI data center financing). For more thought leadership from Melissa Fifield, visit: Melissa Fifield Learn more about the BMO Climate Institute: Climate Institute

May 26, 202625 min

Turning Organic Waste into Permanent Carbon Removal

What if the organic waste we send to landfills could instead become a scalable climate solution? In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Alma Cortés Selva, Senior Advisor at the BMO Climate Institute, speaks with Jerry Kristian, co‑founder of NuLife GreenTech, about how industrial waste—from food processing residues to sewage sludge—can be transformed into permanent carbon removal and low‑carbon fuels. Kristian explains how NuLife’s hydrothermal liquefaction technology mimics the natural process that formed fossil fuels, but in minutes rather than millennia, converting wet organic industrial waste into carbon‑rich biocrude and biochar. The conversation explores why modular deployment matters for municipalities and industry, how underground geological storage enables permanence, and why rigorous third‑party verification is critical to building trust in carbon removal markets.

May 19, 202622 min

Strengthening Food Supply Chains Through Data and Transparency

Food businesses are discovering that transparency and better data can strengthen food supply chains, reduce risk, and support growth at the same time. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Emily Hobbs, Senior Advisor at the BMO Climate Institute, speaks with Anya Doherty, founder of Foodsteps, about how improved measurement and traceability are helping food companies navigate rising volatility, complex global sourcing, and increasing scrutiny from customers and stakeholders. Doherty shares real‑world examples of how food brands, retailers, and restaurants are using data to reformulate recipes, source ingredients differently, and partner with regenerative producers to improve resilience across their supply chains. From tracing highly fragmented global food systems to validating lower‑impact farming practices, the conversation explores why food price volatility, climate risk, and supply‑chain resilience are increasingly interconnected—and how businesses that invest in better data today are positioning themselves for long‑term competitiveness. To explore more thought leadership from Emily Hobbs, visit: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/our-bankers/emily-hobbs/ Discover other BMO thought leadership on related topics:Exploring U.S. Organic Food Opportunities: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/insights/exploring-us-organic-food-opportunities/ Healthy Soils, Resilient Supply Chains: Why Regenerative Agriculture Is a Strategic Hedge : https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/insights/healthy-soils-resilient-supply-chains-why-regenerative-agriculture-is-a-strategic-hedge/

May 12, 202627 min

How DHL Embeds Sustainability into Core Business Decisions

Running one of the world’s largest logistics networks requires managing fuel use, infrastructure constraints, customer expectations, and long‑term operational risk at scale. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, speaks with Andreas Mündel, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations at DHL Group, about how sustainability is shaping the company’s strategy, operations, and competitive positioning. The conversation explores why sustainable aviation fuel is critical to DHL’s future, how the company has built one of the world’s largest electric delivery fleets, and why infrastructure availability—such as power and charging capacity—has become a key operational constraint. Listeners will also hear how customer demand for lower‑impact logistics services is driving new product offerings, how sustainability is embedded into governance and incentives, and why DHL views these efforts as essential to long‑term competitiveness rather than a compliance exercise. For more thought leadership from Michael Torrance, visit: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/our-bankers/michael-torrance/ For more episodes of Sustainability Leaders, go to: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/podcasts/sustainability-leaders/

May 5, 202623 min

Powering the AI Economy Without Losing Community Trust

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is reshaping power systems and increasing the importance of social license where some communities are demanding greater transparency. Doug Morrow, Director of ESG Strategy at BMO Capital Markets, explains to host Alma Cortés Selva, Senior Advisor with the BMO Climate Institute, how surging investment in Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, and automation is transforming electricity markets and placing data centers under new kinds of public scrutiny. Morrow explores why concerns over rising power bills, water use, and questionable local economic benefits have turned data centers into a flashpoint for communities, investors, and policymakers alike. He discusses what responsible growth looks like in practice—from clearer disclosure of energy and water impacts to emerging industry pledges and community‑first approaches—and why trust and transparency will be just as critical as technology in determining whether the next phase of digital infrastructure build‑out succeeds. In this previous episode of Sustainability Leaders, Rich Powell, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association, discusses how innovative approaches – from data center flexibility to technologies such as geothermal and nuclear – are shaping the future of energy markets. Amazon Web Services was the focus of a previous podcast on the topic of energy-efficient data centers. Visit BMO for more thought leadership from Alma Cortes Selva with the BMO Climate Institute.

April 28, 202635 min

Farmland and Water as Investment Strategies

Farmland values, water rights, and climate resilience are reshaping how investors think about agriculture as a long‑term asset class. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Angela Adduci of the BMO Climate Institute speaks with Alyssa Go, Head of Impact at RRG Capital Management, and Craig Wichner, Founder and Managing Partner of Farmland LP, about how regenerative agriculture and water strategy are being used to unlock durable financial returns. The conversation explores why climate is the “third dimension” investors can no longer ignore when evaluating farmland, and how proactive land and water management can turn physical risk into opportunity. For more thought leadership from Angela Adduci, visit: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/our-bankers/aadduci/ For a Sustainability Leaders episode about opportunities in U.S. organic food, visit: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/insights/exploring-us-organic-food-opportunities/

April 21, 202627 min

Unlocking Blended Finance for Regenerative Agriculture: American Farmland Trust’s CEO in Conversation

Host Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, speaks with John Piotti, CEO of the American Farmland Trust, about why farmland should be viewed as essential climate infrastructure and what it takes to invest in it accordingly. They discuss how well-managed farms can deliver measurable climate and environmental benefits, and why connecting public and private capital to regenerative practices matters for resilience across food systems. The conversation covers practical financing pathways—including agricultural conservation easements as a tool to protect land and unlock capital—plus the realities of scaling regenerative practices like cover crops, reduced tillage, and crop rotations.

April 15, 202629 min

Redwoods Rising: Restoring Forests, Rebuilding Communities

This episode explores how large-scale ecological restoration can drive resilience and economic opportunity, using California’s Redwoods Rising project as a case study. Learn how environmental conservation can simultaneously heal landscapes and create jobs in rural communities. Hosted by Emily Hobbs of the BMO Climate Institute, the conversation features Shelana deSilva (California State Parks), Sally Bolger (Ecological Workforce Initiative), and Alma Cortes Selva (BMO Climate Institute). They focus on the Redwoods Rising initiative, including its forest and watershed restoration work, cross-sector partnerships, and new research showing how investment in nature-based solutions can strengthen local economies, support workforce development, and deliver lasting environmental and social benefits. The full research report referenced in this episode and additional resources are available at parkscalifornia.org, a partner in this work connecting communities and cultivating new career pathways across California's public lands: https://parkscalifornia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Technical-Report_Design_FINAL.pdf Visit Redwoods Rising to learn more about the initiative discussed in this podcast: https://www.savetheredwoods.org/project/redwoods-rising/ Visit BMO for more thought leadership from Emily Hobbs: https://capitalmarkets.bmo.com/en/our-bankers/emily-hobbs/