ESG Talks

In this episode of ESG Talks, Pat Welch, KBRA’s Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer, chats with Shannon Doherty, the Volunteer Program Director of Partnerships for Parks, a private-public partnership between NYC Parks and City Parks Foundation. Partnerships for Parks supports and champions neighborhood volunteers by giving them the tools they need to advocate and care for their community parks and green spaces. KBRA has been a supporter of Partnerships for Parks for the past few years and every year on Earth Day KBRA employees volunteer to help revitalize a park in NYC. Pat and Shannon talk about how Partnerships for Parks’ work fits into the ESG movement and discuss KBRA’s upcoming Earth Day event.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Gordon Kerr, KBRA’s Head of European Research and Emilie Nadler from KBRA’s ESG team discuss a recent KBRA research report, “An Overview of the European Green Deal,” which is the first piece in a series focusing on ESG-related regulation in Europe. Gordon and Emilie discuss details of various policies included under the Green Deal including the EU Climate Law, Fit for 55, the Just Transition Fund, and the Sustainable Finance strategy, which includes the EU Taxonomy, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

In this special cross-over episode of ESG Talks, we’re featuring an episode from KBRA’s podcast series, Conversations in European Credit. Listen in as Emilie Nadler from the ESG team chats with KBRA’s Head of European Research, Gordon Kerr, and Killian Walsh from KBRA’s European ABS ratings team. The three discuss the increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) funding in Europe and the potential for the use of securitisation to support the green transition.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Karen Daly, Senior Managing Director, and head of KBRA’s Public Finance team, interviews Anne Coglianese, the Chief Resilience Officer of the City of Jacksonville, FL. Anne is Jacksonville’s first Chief Resilience Officer and has been in the role since its creation in 2021. Before joining Jacksonville city government, Anne held various roles focused on the environment and climate change including as the Coastal Resilience Program Manager for the City of New Orleans and the Special Assistant for Climate Preparedness for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In her Chief Resilience Officer role, Anne leads the development and implementation of resilience initiatives to ensure Jacksonville can adapt and thrive in the face of acute shocks and chronic stresses brought on by climate change.

Correction: Anne Coglianese has been in the role of Chief Resilience Officer since its creation in 2021, not 2019 as mentioned in the podcast.

In this episode of ESG Talks Emilie Nadler, a Director on KBRA’s ESG team interviews, Gordon Kerr. Gordon gives an overview of climate-related developments during COP27. The 27th annual conference of the parties, COP 27, concluded on Friday, November 18. This year’s event, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, took place as many global challenges continue to unfold and become more severe including the Russia-Ukraine war, rising inflation, and fears over energy security. Gordon and Emilie talk about key takeaways from the proceedings including the tense discussions around international climate finance, icy relations between China and the U.S., and the fossil fuel interests present at COP27.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, a Director on KBRA’s ESG team, interviews Bill Shevlin, CEO of Net Zero Beyond. Net Zero Beyond is a platform that develops, finances, owns, and operates carbon neutral and carbon negative microgrids, and virtual power plants across the United States. The technologies Net Zero uses include energy storage, solar, wind, waste to energy, biodigesters, hydrogen, energy management software, fuel cells, electric vehicle chargers, hydrogen production, IoT devices and more. Net Zero serves residential and commercial markets as well as industrial, manufacturing, controlled environmental agriculture, and government markets.

In this special episode of ESG Talks, KBRA’s Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer, Pat Welch, and KBRA’s Chief Strategist, Van Hesser, speak on all things ESG and give an overview on current trends in credit markets on the Bermuda Royal Gazette (RG) Business Podcast with Shivani Seth. RG Business is a podcast that examines global business in Bermuda, the industries and sectors that lead its economy, and the impact it has globally. KBRA recently hosted an ESG and Credit Market Lunch in Bermuda on Oct. 12 where similar topics were covered.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Karen Daly, Senior Managing Director and head of KBRA’s Public Finance Team interviews Lia Cairone, the first Director of Sustainability & Resiliency at the NYC Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, and Louise Yeung, the first Chief Climate Officer to serve at the City’s Office of the Comptroller. Karen, Lia, and Louise discuss the risks that climate change poses to NYC and how city agencies are working to mitigate the City’s climate risk exposure while investing in sustainability, resiliency, and adaptation measures.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Peter Giacone, Senior Managing Director and head of KBRA’s Insurance team interviews Dr. Ryan Truchelut, Co-founder, President, and Chief Meteorologist of WeatherTiger. WeatherTiger provides customized seasonal weather forecasts and full-spectrum decision support for commodity, weather risk, public safety, and retail markets with a proprietary technology fusing meteorological insights and the power of Big Data. In Ryan’s eleven years as a lead professional meteorologist, he has provided mission-critical forecast guidance and consulting to satisfied clients across the full spectrum of agricultural markets, including producers, processors, end-users, and traders. Ryan’s comprehensive knowledge of client needs and deep background in mid- and long-range forecasting, quantification of extreme event risk, and innovative product development are at the forefront of the field and inform every WeatherTiger forecast.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Karen Daly, Senior Managing Director and head of KBRA’s Public Finance Team interviews Kim Bizor Tolbert, Deputy City Manager of Dallas and Liz Cedillo-Pereira, Assistant City Manager. Kim provides executive leadership to the Office of Risk Management, Aviation, Dallas Water Utilities, Human Resources, Communications, Outreach, & Marketing, Office of Homeless Solutions, and the Small Business Center. As Assistant City Manager, Liz provides executive leadership to the Dallas Public Library, Office of Arts & Culture, Office of Community Care, Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability, Office of Equity & Inclusion, and Ethics. Karen, Kim, and Liz discuss city initiatives aimed at improving equity and inclusion for Dallas’ diverse population.