Eco-business Podcast

Former Yale-NUS environmental social sciences professor Michael Maniates tells the EB Podcast that individual actions like going vegetarian, using less plastic or avoiding air travel are not only insufficient in saving the planet – they are counterproductive.

What does it mean to build a truly resilient food system? For two of the palm oil sector's leading experts, the answer lies not in ticking sustainability boxes, but in fundamentally reshaping the trust, partnerships, and long-term thinking that hold global supply chains together - especially as geopolitical and climate shocks grow more frequent and more severe.

Government must call on development finance institutions to tap on risk management tools to make the capital-intensive technology more investible, Global Wind Energy Council’s Ann Margret Francisco tells the EB Podcast.

On this episode of the Eco-Business Podcast, climate comedian Stuart Goldsmith talks to Robin Hicks about a career turning one of the world’s most complex and anxiety-inducing problems into something people can actually talk about – even laugh at. Tune in as we discuss: Is climate comedy getting harder? Should climate comedy now be called something else? How is comedy more effective than traditional forms of communication at changing behaviour? Are there elements of climate change that just aren’t funny? How does comedy get through to corporates? How does climate comedy persuade people to lead more environmentally aware lifestyles? Climate gags that bombed

In the latest episode of the Climate Tech in Asia series, Eco-Business speaks to Breakthrough Energy and Green COP about what the shifting geopolitical landscape means for the climate tech ecosystem in Asia.

Critical minerals will be a key part of the discussion at this year’s Asean, said environment assistant secretary Noralene Uy, as the Philippines ushers the region towards domestic processing of raw ore in its role as summit chair.

In the second episode of a new podcast series that profiles Southeast Asia's clean energy pioneers, Eco-Business spoke with Frank Phuan, co-founder of Singapore solar pioneer Sunseap and now founder of Equator Renewables Asia, a new company focused on unlocking cross-border green power.

As a global powerhouse for clean technology and green finance, China can do more to help Southeast Asia lower its greenhouse gas emissions and transition to net zero, says Dr Jeffrey Sachs, economist, Columbia University professor and president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Tune in to this episode of the Eco-Business podcast as we discuss: - How the GBA can help finance Asean's energy transition - Asean's rise as a strategically important player - How China can improve its climate leadership - Why investing in climate action and data still matters

Capping methane release in the oil and gas sector is one of the fastest – and cheapest – ways to tackle climate change. But measurement mandates are first needed to abate the dangerous climate agitant, Viknesh Andiappan and Shareen Yawanarajah tell the EB Podcast.

In this episode of On the frontlines, which profiles the changemakers on the hard edge of sustainable business, Anita Neville, chief sustainability and communications officer of palm oil company Golden Agri-Resources, talks about how the job of the chief sustainability officer is changing, and the growing influence of finance over the role in the context of the palm oil industry.

At the close of COP30, nations agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035, while the fund for loss and damage appeared to remain sidelined. A veteran attendee of the climate conference explains why.

As the Philippines gears up to lead the Southeast Asian bloc next year, Departmet of Energy director Michael Sinocruz says the government will push offshore wind power to bolster cross-border renewable energy trade, while protecting marine life impacted by structures. An Asean bloc must be formed at COPs to drive such initiatives.

Countries are gathering once again for the annual United Nation’s annual climate conference, known as COP. This year’s COP30 host, Brazil, has pledged to focus on topics that range from boosting climate finance, adopting new adaptation goals, updating national climate targets, and launching a fund to protect forests that is the first of its kind. But all this is happening against a backdrop of the United States, one of the world’s largest historical emitters, pulling out of the Paris Agreement. Can the rest of the world maintain momentum on climate action through COP, and who are experts looking to for climate action today? Eco-Business spoke to two veteran COP attendees who have spent decades on the ground supporting the work of negotiators and communicating what’s happening to the public and press: ▸Meenakshi Raman, head of programmes at Third World Network ▸Ani Dasgupta, chief executive officer at the World Resources Institute Tune in as we discuss: ▸The key climate finance issues at COP30 ▸The US’ nex

The region has been historically underrepresented in leadership at global standard setters like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The region has been historically underrepresented in leadership at global standard setters like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Sharath Martin, who holds positions in global accounting body ACCA and WWF-Malaysia, tells the Eco-Business Podcast what must change. Tune in as we discuss: The reasons behind Asean's lack of leadership at global financial and sustainability standard setters The region's strengths and challenges  The need to price in nature and biodiversity Whether the consensus-driven Asean Way is still relevant How Asean's mindset needs to shift

One of the biggest challenges facing Venisa Chu, Asia Pacific sustainability director for L'Occitane Group, is living up to the cosmetics giant's circular economy ambitions. Tune in as we discuss: How Venisa Chu started out in sustainability The hardest sustainability target to achieve How to persuade suppliers to get on board with sustainability Is being a B Corp an advantage in Asia? The impact of the ESG backlash Where sustainability sits in the corporate structure Is re-fill working? Advice for aspiring sustainability practitioners Managing burnout

The public backlash has been intense for the ongoing probe on the flood control scandal facing the Philippines. On this podcast, Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, executive director of nonprofit Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), talks about how so-called Filipino resilience has been "trivialised" and often been used as an "excuse" for developers to dodge accountability for substandard projects.

Southeast Asia's energy ministers will meet in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025 to discuss the future of the Asean Power Grid. Kitty Bu, vice president for Southeast Asia at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), talks to the Eco-Business about what will be on their agenda. Tune in as we discuss: - How geopolitics is affecting Asean’s energy transition - Ideal outcomes from the Asean minister’s meeting - Upholding social justice in the energy transition - Optimistic examples of transition finance

Even as cases of greenwashing have declined globally as environmental, social and governance (ESG) language fades from the corporate lexicon, in Australia, greenwashing has remained a mainstream issue as regulators and consumer groups have pursued questionable green claims in the courts. Joining the Eco-Business Podcast to discuss how Australia has taken the lead in tackling greenwashing is John Pabon, a former United Nations policy analyst and China-based Business for Social Responsibility strategist who now runs sustainability consultancy Fulcrum Strategic Advisors. He authored the book, The Great Greenwashing: How Brands, Governments, and Influencers Are Lying to You. Tune in as we discuss: How did John Pabon get interested in greenwashing? Greenwashing cases in Australia this year How did Australia get to grips with greenwashing? Has Australia been influenced by Trump and a pivoting Europe? Why are companies still falling into the greenwashing trap? Greenhushing and corporate vulnerability

In a new podcast series that spotlights Asia's clean energy pioneers, Eco-Business spoke to Assaad Razzouk, chief executive of Singapore-headquartered Gurin Energy, about the challenges and opportunities of the renewables sector in Asia in uncertain times. Tune in as we discuss: * From finance to carbon markets to renewables: Razzouk's career path * Scaling renewables and the localisation imperative * Where are the opportunities in Southeast Asia? * Intermittency and planting wind farms in nature reserves * "Winning" the conversation on renewables in the Trump 2.0 era * China, India and the growth trajectory for clean energy * Advice for a new generation of clean energy entrepreneurs

The latest round of negotiations for a global plastic treaty ended in failure. Speaking to the Eco-Business Podcast, Doug Wooding, managing director of Hong Kong-based nonprofit Ocean Recovery Alliance, said that countries do not need to wait for a treaty, and should enact polluter-pays laws that mandate firms to recover the plastic they put into the market and finance the chronically under-funded circular economy. Tune in as we discuss: What now? INC5.3? Is no treaty better than a watered down treaty? Recycled content mandates versus virgin plastic caps Pressure brands not petrochemical producers Action is possible without a treaty The need for regulatory consistency for plastics What will a realistic treaty look like? What should a treaty look like for Asia?