Navigating the Green Brick Road towards a Net Zero Path // Preview

Denise: And I mean, [00:01:00] we still remain the show where sustainability meets smart business, and I certainly have learned something new on every single episode that I've been a part of. And I'm really looking forward to this next season and the wonderful speakers we have lined up. [00:01:15]

Shari: So season three came off the heels of COVID and it was all about the opportunity to build back better.

And we covered solutions, including cooling and heating and cement and fashion and power generation and utilities and a bunch more.

Denise: [00:01:30] We did a lot actually. And. Do you know, we do need all those resources to build back better. And we ended the season by looking at how companies are financing, the greener operations, but the major focus on green [00:01:45] and sustainability linked bonds.

Shari: You know, one of my big takeaways looking at this is that there's a lot of solutions out there and, and there's a lot of financing looking for the solutions. So, so that piece seems to be coming together now.

Denise: [00:02:00] Right. I mean, there really is a lot of financing looking for solutions. And so it's creating that pipeline of bankable green projects.

And this is where the rubber meets the road with what we do [00:02:15] at IFC. And essentially in, in making these kinds of products come to reality and bring in a finance is into it. And so

Shari: we will continue to follow these companies and sectors, and we fully expect the innovation to come

Denise: from. [00:02:30] And I would say that a major takeaway was that you can be doing and profitable across business sectors as we saw in everything from cement to fashion.

Shari: Absolutely. And we'll get to continue to follow these companies and sectors and keep bringing those conversations back [00:02:45] into season four. And I just fully expect this innovation to connect.

Denise: Yes in season four, we are going to consider various paths to a network. Yeah.

Shari: You know, it's, it's really exciting, how many companies, [00:03:00] banks, asset managers have made net zero pledges and, and in the financial sector, evaluating a carbon path of your on lending is really one of the key drivers for change.

Denise: You know, it really is. And for corporates, [00:03:15] I think what we're finding and that they're being held to and rightly so the words need to be married to action.

And so these actions isn't that zero actions that they ought to make need to be backed by consumers, [00:03:30] policies and funding. And that's the area that we plan to turn our microscope on in seasons. It really is a big deal.

Shari: So that's going to be the focus of our season four, and we really want to hear what you're interested in.

So drop us a line at climate [00:03:45] biz. That's climate_biz@ifc.org with your questions, comments, and what net zero means to you. And until then we'll be working on the next episode of climate.

Denise: So for you then [00:04:00] thanks to all our listeners for joining us. If you enjoyed the show, please do review us on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is.

You're listening to your podcast. We love to hear from you. So please do send us your comments. You can find our show. [00:04:15] Bio's and leavers messages on our website, which is ww.ifc.org/climate biz. And that's climate be eyes at one word.

Shari: The content producer is Andrew Hiller. The news [00:04:30] researcher is Elizabeth Minshew.

Our editor is Gabrielle Jones. Special thanks to Vivek Pathak, Nadia Nikiforova. Ludymila Podgova, Hlazo Mkandawire, Irina Sarchenko, Daisy Serem and Nicolas Dioulet. The theme music was [00:04:45] composed and engineered by Crime Dog Revival.

Denise: The podcast was made possible by the generous support of the ministry of foreign affairs of the Netherlands.

Thanks again for joining us and see you on the next episode of Climate Biz.[00:05:00]