Nomura – ESG360 Nomura

We talk with the individuals who featured in the Winter 2023 edition of Nomura Greentech’s Sustainable Heroes magazine, which shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are transforming our key systems to create a better world.
All of this edition’s Sustainable Heroes have demonstrated tremendous courage and a mission-driven mindset to cut carbon emissions, grow vital new industries, reduce waste and provide access to funding. We hear from Amy Schumacher, CEO of The Heritage Group, a US-based sustainability investor, who explains how she applies generations of business experience to grow vital new industries such as battery recycling. Roeland Baan, CEO of Topsoe, a Danish engineering company, speaks about accelerating the rollout of green hydrogen to fight emissions in hard-to-abate industries. Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder of Notpla, a London-based maker of seaweed packaging, describes his mission to consign single-use plastic to history. Nancy Floyd, Founder of Nth Power, a US sustainability-focused venture capital firm, explains how the Inflation Reduction Act combined with strong funding are a game-changer for clean tech firms.

In our latest ESG360 podcast, we speak with David Verbitsky, Head of AgTech & Sustainable Food at Nomura Greentech, about precision fermentation, a technology that is now being used for the manufacture of food and food ingredients. 
David explores the demand for this nascent but growing market, as well as some of the challenges including scaling products, bringing down costs and convincing consumers.

In this episode, we feature 4 individuals who appeared in the Summer 2023 edition of Nomura Greentech’s Sustainable Heroes magazine, which shines a spotlight on some of the trailblazers who are leading the charge to accelerate the net zero transition.
We will hear from Niall Dunne, CEO of Polymateria, a UK-based maker of green packaging, who is pioneering the use of biotransformation technology to eliminate the scourge of plastic pollution. Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, a French renewables producer, explains how energy dependence concerns in Europe will accelerate the potential of wind and solar. Hidetake Takahashi, Head of Energy and Eco Services at ORIX, a leading Japanese financial services group, speaks about doubling renewable energy capacity through strategic acquisitions. Dharsono Hartono, CEO of PT Rimba Makmur Utama, which operates one of the worlds’ largest natural capital projects, explains how he is protecting and conserving forests in Indonesia to save millions of tons of carbon.

The recent UN accord to protect 30% of the Oceans by 2030 combined with growing investor appetite are providing the ingredients to unleash growth in blue bonds, which aim to conserve and grow the ocean economy.

In this episode, we discuss cyber security as an ESG factor or governance risk with Jason Mortimer, Head of Sustainable Investment for Fixed Income at Nomura Asset Management. We examine the growing threat of cyber security, regulatory tightening, and why it should be on the minds of ESG investors. We also take note of how Nomura Asset Management's approach to cyber security risk helps investors avoid companies that may be overly exposed to cyber attacks, by integrating measures of cyber security performance in the credit analysis of companies to help clients make better investment decisions.

In this episode, we delve into global policy and regulatory themes for the year ahead with Andrew Bowley, Managing Director for Group Sustainability Strategy at Nomura. We examine whether ESG can regain the ground it lost in 2022 after banks threatened to leave key climate groups and asset managers faced pressure from investors and politicians over their primary duty to maximize returns. We also discuss the policy outlook in Japan with Kohei Okazaki, Nomura’s ESG policy expert. We discuss how Japan’s GX (green transformation) league may evolve and whether Japan will make progress on reducing its reliance on coal.