Financing the Agentic Economy, Sustainably
A discussion of sustainable finance and the agentic economy at the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group’s 2026 summit.
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Watch or read conversations with Bob on business, sustainability and the decisions that shape society.
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23 videos
Is sustainable finance fit for the age of AI?
The Oxford summit’s debate puts the relationship between artificial intelligence and sustainable finance up for discussion.
The Path to Purpose
Bob considers the role of corporations in society in this introduction from Oxford’s Leading Sustainable Corporations Programme.
How Sustainability Reporting Is Evolving
Bob and Egon Zehnder discuss the changing landscape of sustainability reporting.
Finding Common Ground on Sustainability Politics
An Egon Zehnder conversation with Bob about the politics surrounding sustainability.
The Role of Boards and CFOs on Sustainability
Bob in conversation with Egon Zehnder about the responsibilities of boards and finance leaders.
Sustainability Reporting Standards
Eccles, Lopatta, Rees, Motles, van der Enden and Skylakaki discuss the standards shaping corporate reporting.
The Ecoright: A Conservative Climate Movement
A panel on conservative approaches to climate, featuring Bob alongside Baworowsky, Flint, Franz and Loris.
Sustainability as a Competitiveness Driver in the EU
A Delphi Economic Forum discussion connecting sustainability and European competitiveness.
How Did We Get Here?
What the current landscape means for investors and companies, in a video published under Robert Eccles’s name.
Sustainable Value Creation
A discussion of the gap between sustainability commitments and operational realities, hosted by Trellis Group.
SEC Rule 14M
Crain, Doyle, Eccles, Miazad and Morse discuss SEC Rule 14M in this Notre Dame Business recording.
Climate Disclosure and SEC Authority
A discussion of climate disclosure and the SEC, published by Notre Dame Business.
Greentech Across America’s Heartland
A Finpublica video exploring green technology across America’s heartland.
The Current State of Corporate Sustainability Activities
Eccles, Hoefnagel, Marmot and Webster examine corporate sustainability in this panel recording.
ESG Debate
A CECP discussion featuring Bob, drawn from the video collection on his website.
The Politicization of ESG
· 66 min
A public lecture at Cambridge examining the substantive issues and political debate surrounding ESG.
Greenwashing: A Conversation with Desiree Fixler
· 23 min
Bob and Desiree Fixler discuss greenwashing in this fireside conversation published by Notre Dame Business.
The ESG Debate at Trinity Business School
· 61 min
A full lecture from Trinity’s Business Ethics Speaker Series, recorded in November 2022 and published in 2023.
Impact Masterclass with Robert G. Eccles
· 63 min
An extended masterclass on ESG, sustainability, integrated reporting and the impact economy.
Corporate Disclosure: Deciding What Matters
· 8 min
John Authers interviews Bob about corporate disclosure and who should decide which information is material.
Integrated Reporting with George Serafeim
· 3 min
Bob and George Serafeim introduce an integrated reporting education programme developed with Harvard Business School, BWise and Nasdaq OMX.
A Tesla in Finance: The Full Interview
· 18 min
A MAD Talks interview with Tariq Qureishy exploring sustainable business, integrated reporting and capital markets.
Questions & answers
Interviews to read.
Bob’s written interviews, preserved in the archive.
49 written interviews · Newest first
2025 2 interviews
A Conversation with John Pope: Engineering Carbon Solutions at Scale
I’ve worked with Tony Calandro on several projects with clients of his who do work in sustainability. A few months ago he brought to my attention a webinar with John Pope, Founder and CEO of Carbon GeoCapture, titled…
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An Interview with Harald Walkate and Robert van Zwieten of Route17
I’ve known Harald Walkate for many years. We first met in person in New York in the early days of the Impact Management Project being led by Clara Barby. That project played an important role in laying the foundation…
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2024 19 interviews
A Conversation With Sacha Sadan, Director Of Sustainable Finance At The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
I met Sacha so many years ago I can’t remember how it happened. At that time, he was Director of Corporate Governance of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), a large British asset manager that now has around…
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Interview with Katie McGinty, VP & Chief Sustainability Officer at Johnson Controls
I met Katie McGinty at a small private dinner in Washington, D.C. where the topic was climate change and the energy transition. The dinner group included very senior people from companies, investors, current and…
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A Conversation With Heather Reams, the President of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions
For the past several years I have been engaged in a “GOP Outreach Campaign.” This campaign started with a focus on the “ESG Culture Wars.” I’m finding substantial common ground with thoughtful conservatives. Out of…
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A Conversation with Peter Cashion, Managing Director, Sustainable Investments, at CalPERS
I met Peter Cashion, Managing Director, Sustainable Investments, while doing research for my piece “The Evolution Of Sustainable Investing At CalPERS.” We touched on what CalPERS is doing today in terms of…
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Lee Qian Discusses Baillie Gifford’s Positive Change Investment Strategy
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of being a guest in an executive education course at Columbia Business School being taught by my good friend Professor Shivaram Rajgopal. I was on a panel with James Andrus of…
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A Conversation With Nolan Lindquist, Executive Director Of The Center For Active Stewardship
I first heard of the Center for Active Stewardship (CAS), a non-profit research organization backed by hedge fund manager Bobby Jain’s Jain Family Institute, in a April 15, 2024 Financial Times article by Lee Harris.…
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A Conversation with Andrea Yodsampa and Alex Bozmoski of DEPLOY/US about Accelerating Bipartisan Climate Action
Over the past year I have made a point of learning about the views of conservative leaders who are on the front lines of tackling climate change. This has included conversations with corporate executives, board…
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Fidelity’s Julia Pei Discusses Her Approach To Sustainable Investing
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of being a guest in an executive education course at Columbia Business School being taught by my good friend Professor Shivaram Rajgopal. I was on a panel with James Andrus of…
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Claude Letourneau, CEO Of Svante
I met Claude Letourneau a few weeks ago at a private gathering of climate and energy CEOs and leaders organized by one of the world’s largest financial institutions. While I’m no expert on carbon capture and storage…
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A Discussion About Ranked Choice Voting With Meredith Sumpter, The New CEO Of FairVote
I first met Meredith in 2021 at a gathering of sustainability CEOs organized by FCLTGlobal and the CFA Institute. At the time, she was CEO of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism and the Coalition for Inclusive…
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Danielle Butcher Franz Discusses The Work Of The American Conservation Coalition
This is Part 2 of my interview with Danielle Butcher Franz, the CEO of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC). In Part 1 we discussed her background, her views on the differences between liberals and conservatives…
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An Introduction To Danielle Butcher Franz, CEO Of The American Conservation Coalition
Over the past year I have become increasingly interested in the work being done by conservatives to address the challenge of climate change which I discussed in this piece. In this course of this work I learned about…
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A Conversation With Professor Stephen Porder About Climate Change
Professor Stephen Porder introduced himself to me on LinkedIn after he read my piece “What I’ve Learned From Conservatives Addressing The Challenge Of Climate Change.” Professor Porder said he agreed with this…
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A Conversation about Sustainability with Cornelia Gomez of General Atlantic
I met Cornelia Gomez, Head of ESG & Sustainability at General Atlantic several years ago when I was doing a research project on sustainability in the private equity industry. The results were published in the Harvard…
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Roy Swan Explains His Concept of “Patriotic Capitalism” (Interview Part 3)
This is Part 3 in an interview series I’m doing with Roy Swan, Director of Mission Investments at the Ford Foundation. In Part 1 we talked about his incredible life story. In Part 2 we discussed his work at Ford. At…
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A Conversation With Maria Teresa Zappia About Blended Finance And Impact Investing
I met Maria Teresa Zappia at the top1000funds “Sustainability in Practice” 2023 conference held at Oxford in November 2023. Being the small world that it is, she was on the same panel on “3D investing for impact”…
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Piet Klop Discusses Responsible Investing and Impact at PGGM
I met Piet Klop, Head of Responsible Investment at the big Dutch pension fund PGGM, so many years ago I forget how long it was. Through our shared interest in sustainable investing we’ve stayed in touch over the…
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Roy Swan Discusses His Work as Director, Mission Investments at The Ford Foundation (Interview Part 2)
In my first interview with Roy, we discussed his childhood, education, and career in law and financial services before joining the Ford Foundation as Director, Mission Investment. The story of how that happened is an…
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An Introduction To Roy Swan, Director Of Mission Investments At The Ford Foundation
I was introduced to Roy Swan through a mutual friend, Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation. Roy is the Director of Mission Investments and Margot reports to him in her role of Senior Program Officer. I have…
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2023 20 interviews
A Conversation with Sandy Boss, Chief Operating Officer for BlackRock’s Global Client Business
I met Sandra (Sandy) Boss soon after she joined BlackRock in 2020. BlackRock has found itself the political target of both the left and the right, each unhappy for different reasons. In short, the left thinks…
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Continuing The Conversation With Brian Marrs On Carbon Removal: Addressing Challenges And Criticisms, Sharing Lessons Learned
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to talk with Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft about the company’s efforts to help build the market for high-quality carbon removal projects…
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Rini Greenfield Discusses Her Rethink Food Venture Capital Fund
I met Rini Greenfield in 2018 at a wedding in Edinburgh for the daughter of a mutual friend. Rini has been close with the family since she was a child and I’ve known them for over 25 years. Rini and I kept in touch a…
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Delaware State Treasurer Colleen Davis Discusses Her Career And Decision To Run For The House Of Representatives
I met Colleen Davis, the State Treasurer for Delaware, when we were on a panel together at a conference earlier this year. We stayed in touch based on a range of mutual interests, including sustainable investing. I…
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Carbon Removal 101: An Interview With Microsoft’s Senior Director Of Energy & Carbon Removal, Brian Marrs
Carbon removal is having a moment. The latest report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is essential for meeting the goal of limiting…
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Eric Mittenthal Discusses Animal Agriculture’s Continuous Improvement For People, Animals, And Planet
A mutual acquaintance introduced me to Eric Mittenthal, Chief Strategy Officer of the North American Meat Institute. He had previously been Vice President of Sustainability. On our first call I joked that being the…
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A Conversation With Katherine Neebe Of Duke Energy On The Evolving Role Of The CSO
This Spring I did an interview with Katherine Neebe, Chief Sustainability and Philanthropy Officer, SVP National Engagement and Strategy at Duke Energy, for a piece in the Harvard Business Review on CSOs that I wrote…
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Joseph Noss Discusses Measurement Issues Connected To The Net-Zero Transition And The Financial Sector
I met Joseph Noss at the launch of Liberty Mutual’s “Climate Transition Center.” At that time, he was Senior Director and Head of Financial Services in WTW’s (formerly Willis Towers Watson’s) Climate & Resilience…
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Mary Cerulli Discusses How Climate Finance Action Is Bridging Finance And Climate Activism
Mary Cerulli is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Finance Action. Although we are both local to the Boston area—she resides in the very hip South End while I live closer to nature in the more pastoral…
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An Interview with Former SASB Board Member Bob Herz: Part 2
This is Part 2 of my interview with Handsome Bob. In this one we discuss the work he’s been doing since he retired from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Topics include his board seats at Fannie Mae,…
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Interview with Former FASB Chair Bob Herz: Part 1
Bob Herz is a good friend of mine going back 20 years. He has had a distinguished career in accounting, starting with financial accounting and then into sustainability accounting. I thought it would be fun to…
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Laura Brooks Reflects on Sustainability in the Mining Industry
I met Laura Brooks when she was the Group Head Sustainability Integration and Impact for Anglo American, when doing interviews for my Harvard Business Review article with Alison Taylor about the evolving role of the…
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An Interview With Eli Lehrer Of The R Street Institute: Part 2
Eli Lehrer of The R Street Institute Discusses Artificial Intelligence, Section 230 of The Communications Decency Act, and Elections
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A Conversation with Smurfit Kappa’s Garrett Quinn on the Evolution of the CSO Role.
Eccles: Garrett, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Just to get started, mind telling me a little bit about your childhood?
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An Interview With Eli Lehrer Of The R Street Institute: Part I
I have been avidly following and writing about the “ESG Culture Wars.” I have also been looking to have conversations with thoughtful conservatives in an effort to get behind the ideological rhetoric on both sides to…
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Dr. Isabelle Morley Discusses the Shocking Reality of the Reality TV Show “Love Is Blind”
Dr. Isabelle Morley Discusses the Shocking Reality of the Reality TV Show “Love Is Blind”
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Amy O’Brien Discusses The Challenges Of Responsible Investing Leadership For Asset Managers
Amy O’Brien is the Global Head of Responsible Investing at Nuveen, a TIAA Company, the $1.1 trillion global investment manager. Amy and I go way back. Recently we had a call just to catch up on things and to talk…
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From Professor To Politician To Sustainability Advocate: A Conversation With Jan Peter Balkenende
On November 4, 2022, I had the great pleasure and honor to deliver the second Piet Sanders Lecture sponsored by the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. My gracious hosts were Dean Harriët Schelhaas,…
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EFRAG’s SRB Vice Chair Professor Kerstin Lopatta Discusses Sustainability Reporting
I was introduced to Professor Kerstin Lopatta through some mutual friends. Our shared interest in sustainability reporting was the reason for the introduction. More particularly, at the time Professor Lopatta was the…
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So Much At Stake: Unilever’s Lysanne Gray On Getting Sustainability Reporting Right
Unilever’s Lysanne Gray is one of those rare people who has gone from financial reporting to sustainability reporting. She started her career at PwC working in audit, corporate finance, and risk management. She moved…
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2022 7 interviews
A Conversation With Greg Goff About The Energy Transition And ESG
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Greg Goff, an experienced oil and gas executive. Mr. Goff was President and Chief Executive Officer of Andeavor (an integrated downstream energy company) from 2010 to…
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From Businessman To Business Activist: A Conversation With Ben Tolhurst Of Business Declares
I was introduced to Ben Tolhurst by my good friend Charmian (Char) Love. I interviewed her last year after COP 26 to get her reflections on this event in her role as an “Activist in Residence” at B Lab UK. Mr.…
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Loving Your Leftovers: Unilever’s Christina Bauer-Plank On The Purpose Of The Hellmann’s Brand
Previously I have written about some investor controversy concerning Unilever’s commitment to purpose. There are those investors who simply assert that purpose hurts profits. Rather, done right, purpose makes a…
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Activist Investing: Insights From Patricia Olasker, A Lawyer Who Represents Both Sides
There are very few women who represent activist investors. There are very few lawyers of either gender who represent both them and companies. This puts Patricia Olasker of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg in a very…
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Bob Eccles and Jean Rogers on ISSB and the future of ESG reporting
Whatever your take was on COP26, a key takeaway at the intersection of capital markets and climate was the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). During the initial days in Glasgow, the…
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Activist Investing And ESG: A Conversation With Dianne Mckeever
Last month I sat down with Dianne McKeever, the Co-founder and CIO of Ides Capital, an impact activist investor. We met one morning at a Le Pain Quotidien in midtown Manhattan. She ordered the chamomile tea and I had…
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How The Behavioral Risk Team Is Innovating The Internal Audit Function At Natwest
The internal audit (IA) function is a largely unseen and unsung one compared to ones like sales and marketing, operations, and finance. But it is an essential one. Recently its role has been expanding beyond the…
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2021 1 interview
Reflections On COP 26 From An Activist In Residence: An Interview With Charmian Love
Charmian (Char) Love is Co-Founder of B Lab UK. She has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a very popular teacher in the MBA programme at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. Love also…
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This recording accompanies a podcast: Getting Beyond Polarization on Climate →