Podcast

The regulatory pincer is real — California and New York together effectively capture any meaningful American business; federal rollbacks at the SEC level are largely beside the point.

New York's macro track casts a wide net — just $1M in state revenue qualifies as "meaningful business," pulling in companies far beyond their HQ location, including whole conglomerates via subsidiaries.

New York is more durable than CSRD — single-state control, a high revenue threshold, a narrow emissions-only focus, and a built-in citizen lawsuit mechanism make it far harder to roll back than EU legislation.

Scope 3 data requests will cascade downstream — once large companies are forced to disclose, expect pressure to ripple through supply chains, pushing smaller suppliers to improve data quality too.

Slow and steady beats fast and backlashed — the DEI rollback is a cautionary tale; legislation that moves too far too fast triggers reactions that leave things worse than before.

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The sustainability function is being absorbed, not eliminated — most of the work is migrating into procurement, supply chain, and finance, not disappearing entirely.

Be antifragile, not just resilient — build hard, transferable skills (data, insights, stakeholder management) that are most valuable precisely when things go wrong.

In corporates, follow the margin — high-margin companies in pharma, personal care, flavours, and fragrances are the most committed and resourced to sustain the function long term.

Consulting is shrinking, software is consolidating — both are riskier bets right now; wait for the software market to consolidate before picking a side.

Nonprofits may be a hidden opportunity — after two bruising years, many have reset and stabilised; the need for honest brokers bridging corporations and governments isn't going away.

Small packaging is the real enemy : sachets and multi-layer films are nearly impossible to collect or recycle economically; PET bottles are actually one of the good guys.

Most waste never gets collected : 2.3 billion people have no collection, making infrastructure the most urgent fix before recycling technology even matters.

Waste-to-energy locks you in : oversized plants create perverse incentives to keep generating waste and undermine recycling efforts.

Technically recyclable ≠ actually recycled : without end-market demand and minimum recycled content regulation, the business case for recycling simply doesn't exist.

Design for the consumer : the simplest thing brands can do is make packaging that people instinctively know how to recycle

Sustainability is fragmenting : Scope 3 moves to procurement, reporting moves to finance, and the CSO role is quietly being demoted.

2026 is still a down year : budgets, headcount, and ambition continue to shrink; don't expect a rebound before 2027.

PCFs are the new baseline : product carbon footprints are becoming standard practice and entering procurement negotiations as competitive leverage.

2030 targets are quietly dying : most were unrealistic from the start; expect accelerating retrenchment through 2029.

Vendor collapse incoming : most sustainability software and consultancy providers are in distress; consolidations and closures will be disruptive for those who rely on them.

Performance beats purpose: mainstream consumers want the product to work first; sustainability is a bonus, not a draw.

Safety is the new sustainability: most consumers hear "sustainability" and think "is this safe for my family?"

The sugar pill works: embed sustainability into the product, drop it from the pitch.

One checkbox is enough — consumers don't want depth, just reassurance that it's not a zero.

Message for the market: safety sells in North America; environmental credentials resonate in Europe and Japan.

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EPR is coming fast — municipalities need the money, consumers care about waste, and the political backlash that hit ESG is largely bypassing EPR.

Compliance will be a nightmare — dozens of schemes, different rules, different PROs; a major consolidation opportunity for whoever solves it first.

PRO conflicts of interest are a ticking scandal — waste management companies running waste-reduction schemes is a problem waiting for an exposé.

The real prize is circularity, not compliance — getting packaging back to the original producer to close the loop is where the biggest value lies.

Durable packaging + EPR = less waste into the system — fewer top-ups of virgin material needed if you design for return from the start.

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ESG was never designed for operating companies — it started as an outside-in investor checklist and was never meant to become a corporate operating framework.

Clubbing unrelated metrics together is the root problem — there's nothing that connects child labour, water intensity, and emissions under one optimisation logic.

Brand ESG is dead and that's fine — its politicisation, especially on the social side, has made it a liability; losing the label doesn't mean losing what matters.

Fewer metrics, owned by the right teams — water belongs in ops, diversity belongs in talent; sustainability teams should do five things well, not 218 things badly.

Compliance or conviction — pick one — if a metric is just a regulatory requirement, do the minimum; if it's core to the business, treat it as a strategic priority and resource it accordingly.

SECR is backward-looking; UK SRS is forward-looking — the shift from energy usage reporting to risk, opportunity, and transition planning is a fundamental change in what's being asked of businesses.

Sovereignty explains the UK's own version — it's largely IFRS copy-pasted, but the UK won't adopt external rules directly; it never has.

This is partly a professional services play — the UK is positioning its law firms, accountancies, and banks as global experts by shaping the standard early.

Finance teams will own sustainability disclosure — aligning climate and financial reporting together means the CFO's office, not the CSO's, leads on compliance.

Scope 3 finally gets teeth — moving from optional to expected will force businesses to engage with their supply chains in ways most have never done before.

Shadow AI is already here — 90% of companies have employees using personal AI accounts at work, pilots or not.

Most people use AI wrong — Treating it like Google leaves the majority of the value untapped.

Builders beat buyers — Companies that built their own AI tools consistently outperform those that bought off-the-shelf.

Sustainability's natural fit — Unstructured, hard-to-collect data is exactly where Gen AI delivers the most value.

Trust requires testing — Build evaluations (question → expected answer sets) and run them every time your AI system changes.

Greenwashing attacks backfired badly — Campaigning NGOs scared off the very companies voluntarily trying to act, producing green hushing instead of better climate action.

The voluntary market was a fallback, not a plan — South Pole pivoted to voluntary credits out of survival after Kyoto collapsed, not strategic vision.

Perfect is the enemy of impact — Waiting for a flawless carbon credit means never launching a project; imperfect action in hard places still beats inaction.

A government-backed currency could unlock the market — Replacing "carbon credits" with sovereign-endorsed "climate units" could restore corporate confidence to participate openly again.

China is running the real sustainability race — While Western companies retreat, China is dominating EVs, batteries, solar, and rare earths — securing tomorrow's economy today.

Down-cycles are where the real work happens — Pressure waves always return, faster each time; the companies cutting sustainability budgets now will face harder, faster change when the tide turns.

Nature risk is the most underrated business risk — Shelving water and nature agendas is strategically reckless, especially for any company that buys physical commodities from the natural world.

Sustainability professionals need harder skills, fast — Storytelling and convening aren't enough; data fluency, AI, and cross-functional technical depth are now the real differentiators.

Be entrepreneurial, not just employable — The next 10–15 years will reward those who take risks and build deep expertise over those who optimise for the next promotion.

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• The dramatic shift from the sustainability hiring boom of 2-3 years ago to today's restructuring wave
• Which sustainability roles are most vulnerable (hint: it's not who you might think)
• Where sustainability functions are being relocated within organisational structures
• Whether this integration is actually good for sustainability's long-term impact
• Practical advice for navigating your career during this transition

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Saif Hameed sits down with Adam Henkel, a 7th generation farmer and 3rd generation conservationist from Illinois. They break down:

• The true meaning of sustainability on the farm
• Bridging the farmer-corporate gap
• Easy wins vs real challenges in practice
• How corporations and sustainability professionals can help

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In short… yes. But is that really a bad thing?

In this episode, we ask whether the hype around sustainability is deflating, and what that means for progress.

We dive into the latest headlines:

- Is the UK on the brink of scaling back its climate ambitions?

- Are we stuck in a loop of ever-rising energy demand?

- What's next for sustainability-linked executive pay?

PLUS: A climate tech reality check.

This week’s headlines:

• Trump’s Tariff’s and the climate fall out
• Soaring commodity prices and what to do
• Just Stop Oil to disband - victory or retreat?

PLUS: Our how-to segment tackles a question many of you have asked: how to run a board meeting that secures sustainability buy in.

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• Business + Science = Impact: How applying process engineering to conservation created unprecedented restoration scale
• Project set up: Why success starts with understanding local needs, empowering communities, and tailoring interventions to context
• Measuring what matters: Beyond basic coral counts, why and how the team tracks ecosystem health, skills transfer, and ROI.
• Practical takeaways: Consumer insights, cross-team collaboration, and stakeholder alignment strategies

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• The true carbon impact of plastic vs. other packaging materials
• The hidden trade-offs between recyclability, emissions, and functionality
• Why recycling systems struggle and how EPR can help
• Innovations transforming packaging, from light-weighting to full recyclability
• How businesses can navigate legislation and consumer expectations

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In today’s episode we tackle two critical market signals:

• The SEC's dramatic climate disclosure rollback and what it means for corporate transparency
• The Net Zero Banking Alliance's retreat from 1.5°C commitments and if financial institutions are losing their climate ambition

Then we break down the EU Deforestation Regulation essentials:

• Who's affected and compliance timelines
• Geolocation data requirements and verification challenges
• Implementation strategies across different commodity sectors
• Navigating smallholder farmer relationships
• Leveraging compliance data for strategic advantage

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Tired of supply chain engagement programs that create more paperwork than progress? In this video, Saif Hameed and Beth Jones (Supply Chain Decarbonisation Lead, Altruistiq) reveal a no-nonsense framework for turning supplier engagement into real carbon reductions:

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• Align Before Action – Get procurement on board; they hold the supplier keys.
• Evolve Data, Don’t Overhaul – Move from compliance surveys to real PCFs.
• Integrate Commercials – Make carbon a procurement metric, not an afterthought.
• Prioritise Ruthlessly – Target suppliers that matter most for emissions & impact.

• The limitations of traditional emission factors
• Why PCFs provide more accurate, supplier-specific data
• Where businesses need to focus their efforts as PCFs scale up
• Key considerations when transitioning from EFs to PCFs

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• Strategic governance models that actually work
• Proven tactics for building finance team credibility
• Hard-won lessons on protecting sustainability budgets
• Metrics that make the business case stick (even without immediate ROI)

• Sustainability & Capitalism: Can they coexist in today’s unapologetic capitalist system?
• Why Sustainability is Under Fire: Criticisms and confusion—what’s fuelling the backlash?
• The Business Case: Why sustainability is essential for business—resource scarcity, regulation, and more.
• Reframing for Leaders: How can sustainability leaders better align with business goals?
• Strategic Priorities: What should CSOs focus on over the next 5 years to ensure long-term success?

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• What’s really happening with the Science-Based Targets Initiative
• What changes are needed to restore confidence in SBTs
• Alternatives to target-setting that are gaining traction
• Predictions for the future of SBTs in 2025. Companies that are most likely to pull out

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• Effective leadership: Tips for preparing to meet with your CEO on sustainability — what to consider and how to get buy-in.
• Decarbonise manufacturing: The optimal brand partnership approach to accelerate decarbonisation with manufacturers, without bogging them down with excessive audits.
• The new supply chain: How to rethink sourcing and supply chain design with smart, sustainability driven criteria, like renewable energy reliability.
• Monetise sustainability: Easy ways to turn decarbonisation into a business opportunity, enhancing brand equity and capturing market share.

In our latest episode, Saif Hameed unpack’s two big bets and two red herrings that sustainability professionals need to know:‍

Big bets for 2025

• Emission factors will become commoditised: Expect new databases to emerge as EF providers overprice their offerings.
• Data security will drive siloes: As accuracy improves, stricter data sharing policies will fragment data access.

Red herrings to avoid

• Generative AI will fix everything: Don’t buy the hype.
• Real-time data is a must: Weekly or monthly data is far more practical.