Assets under management in the impact and ESG space are close to an all-time high, somewhere between $1.5 and $1.6 trillion. So why is capital actually leaving the sector? In this episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed takes a detour from resilience and volatility to dig into what's going wrong, and where the genuine opportunities still exist.

The short answer: the industry has an identity problem. ESG labels get applied to mainstream tech stocks on the basis that they carry low environmental risk. Returns across impact funds are wildly inconsistent and the gap between what the sector promises and what it can actually deliver has become impossible to ignore.

Saif traces how impact investing developed along two tracks. Private markets had early pioneers like the Acumen Fund building something genuinely mission-led. Public markets then borrowed the language through ESG frameworks, with rather looser results.

Three lessons from that history:
ESG was never designed to do this job. It emerged in the 1990s as a risk-assessment tool, not as a valid basis for investment inclusion. Retrofitting it into a mainstream strategy was always going to cause problems.

The trade-off question needs an honest answer. You cannot simultaneously maximise financial returns and social impact without giving something up. The industry has spent years avoiding that conversation.

Measurement doesn't scale. Comparing affordable housing projects with renewable energy infrastructure under a single performance framework produces numbers that mean very little.

Where does that leave things? Saif argues the sector needs a significant rebrand and a serious recalibration of financial expectations. But there are three areas where impact investing still has real potential: generating brand equity and strategic value for corporate venture capital; venture philanthropy, where charitable capital gets recycled for compounding impact rather than disappearing into operational costs; and catalytic first-loss capital inside blended finance structures run by multilateral development institutions.

The through-line: accepting below-market returns might be the only way to preserve what impact investing was actually supposed to be.

What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

What if the secret to unbreakable supply chain resilience isn't squeezing your suppliers for the lowest price, but actively paying them to heal the planet?

In this episode of the State of Sustainability, host Saif Hameed is joined by David Croft, former sustainability lead at Reckitt, Diageo, Waitrose, and Cadbury, to explore the critical shift from short-term agility to long-term resilience in global supply chains.

David shares his extensive experience in building sustainable procurement strategies, emphasising the 'triple win' concept: an approach that delivers value for the business, the supplier, and the planet.

A core focus of their discussion is the changing dynamic between large organisations and primary producers, such as farmers in the cocoa and latex industries. By rewarding sustainable land management, such as nature-based solutions that sequester carbon or prevent downstream flooding, companies can secure reliable, high-quality resources while mitigating significant ecological and financial risks.

Ultimately, this episode offers a compelling look at how addressing environmental externalities head-on is no longer just a compliance exercise, but a fundamental driver of future business growth and resilience.

What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Just 25% of industry experts believe the standalone sustainability function will exist in five years. So what is the next great frontier for sustainability leaders?

In this episode, host Saif Hameed asks a provocative question fresh from hosting the Chicago State of Sustainability Summit: Will corporate sustainability functions still exist in five years? To help answer, Saif breaks down the three massive shifts currently challenging the sustainability professional's day-to-day workflow.

First, integrating green goals into mainstream roles means CFOs, procurement officers, and supply chain teams are absorbing sustainability tasks - a double-edged sign of success.

Second, rapid advancements in automation and agentic AI is likely to completely overtake routine tasks like carbon accounting, data aggregation, and stakeholder reporting in the coming years.

Finally, a macro backlash against corporate sustainability has stifled the ambitious blue sky thinking that characterised the late 2010s, leaving behind more mundane compliance work.

The good news, as Saif explains, is an exciting new horizon for the profession: Volatility Management. Driven by geopolitical conflicts and the terrifying reality that seven of our nine planetary boundaries are now breached, businesses face unprecedented high price variability in crucial commodities like rice, wheat, and cocoa. True business resilience now requires constant transformation and stabilisation to survive these shocks.

Saif explains how sustainability professionals can secure their future by repositioning themselves as volatility managers. By leveraging their three bedrock skills - systems thinking, data insight, and storytelling - and combining them with deep business context, sustainability experts can build the crucial playbooks CEOs need to navigate an increasingly unpredictable world.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you already pivoting towards volatility management as a way of insulating yourself from these developments in the sustainability space? I'd love to hear from you. Email Saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Are sustainability teams about to be automated out of existence, or will they lead the food industry's next big shift?

Saif Hameed records this episode on the road ahead of the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago. His argument: traditional sustainability workflows are increasingly vulnerable to AI automation or absorption by procurement and finance. To stay relevant, sustainability professionals need to move into new territory - specifically, nutrition and nutrient density.

Saif walks through the commercial pressures making health credentials non-negotiable for food and beverage companies right now. Retail access is being gated by evolving health standards. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are changing how consumers eat. Clean labels are commanding a premium. Big corporations are responding: Danone and Unilever have both made recent acquisitions to strengthen their health and wellness positions.

That creates an opportunity for sustainability professionals. Product formulation has traditionally sat in R&D, but Saif sees a real gap for sustainability teams to step into - applying the same data and systems thinking they've used for packaging optimisation and EPR reporting to nutritional complexity and portfolio-level decision-making.

Sustainability, he argues, is a transformation capability. This episode makes the case for what that looks like in practice.

We'd love to get your thoughts on this topic. Email saif@altruistiq.com and if you enjoyed this podcast, don't forget to share it with a friend.

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

"If you were to calculate all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste, it would be the third largest country after the US and China."

In this episode of The State of Sustainability, Saif Hameed sits down with Catherine David, CEO of WRAP, for a "vibe check" on the global food sustainability landscape. From the shift toward "Resilience" in the US to the "Polluter Pays" principle of EPR, Catherine brings a level of radical candor to the challenges of leading a global circular economy non-profit.

We dive deep into why the industry is moving past surface-level CSR pilots and into "scale play," and Catherine shares a fascinating, counterintuitive discovery about why removing plastic packaging from fruit might actually be the key to reducing household food waste.

Key Discussion Points:

• The WRAP Mission: How a "British export" is helping US and European businesses transition to a circular economy through outcome-driven programs.
• Resilience vs. CSR: Why "Resilience" is the hottest topic in sustainability right now, and why the era of the "sustainability pilot" is officially over.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): A deep dive into the "polluter pays" principle and how it incentivizes businesses to design better, more circular systems.
• The Food Waste Paradox: Insight into WRAP’s research showing that removing plastic packaging and date labels from fresh produce actually reduces waste by changing consumer behavior.
• Leadership in a Volatile World: Catherine’s experience stepping into the CEO role during a period of global economic and political instability.
• The Future of Nutrition: Why nutrient density is poised to become as significant a metric as carbon footprint in the coming years.

"I’m someone who thinks that decisions should be made with evidence, analysis, fact, and data... but the way I actually make decisions is to listen to the key voices and trusted people in my circle." — Catherine David

Meet Saif Hameed in person at the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago on April 15th! To book your place, email saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Are global geopolitical crises derailing your sustainability targets, or creating unexpected opportunities? As the Iran War sends shockwaves through global markets, sustainability professionals must urgently recalibrate their strategies to navigate volatile supply chains, fluctuating commodity prices, and shifting corporate financial pressures.

In this episode of the State of Sustainability podcast, host Saif Hameed, founder and CEO of Altruistiq, dives deep into the macroeconomic fallout of the Iran War and outlines four vital themes every sustainability team needs to prepare for.

Commodity Price Volatility: With crude oil and fertilizer (ammonia, phosphate) costs surging, the financial business case for renewable energy, alternative packaging, and sustainable agriculture has never been stronger.

Financial Market Pressure: A rising global "fear index" (VIX) means corporate leadership will increasingly push for cost-cutting to boost earnings. Sustainability teams must be prepared to aggressively defend their budgets and ROI.

Emerging Market Sovereign Risk: Expensive energy imports and a strong U.S. dollar are depleting foreign reserves in the Global South. This will force procurement teams to restructure global supply chains, which will radically shift your Scope 3 emissions.

Shifting Consumer Habits: Squeezed discretionary incomes require brands to strongly rearticulate their sustainable value proposition to justify guilt-free consumer purchases.

Saif also explains why now is the crucial time to shift from complex 'one time' MAC curves to agile, scenario-based glide paths to keep your targets on track.

Episode Resources:
Check out the latest White Paper: A Marginal Abatement Cost Analysis of Sustainability Initiatives for the CPG Sector Following the 2026 Iran Conflict, here: https://bit.ly/40zTJ2V

Meet Saif Hameed in person at the State of Sustainability Summit in Chicago on April 15th! To book your place, email saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

This time we dive into the shifting landscape of corporate climate regulation, focusing specifically on the robust new rules emerging from New York State.

Saif Hameed, Founder and CEO of Altruistiq, discusses a recent conversation with Anthony Scaramucci, highlighting how California and New York are forming a regulatory "pincer" that captures major American businesses. Because these two states mandate heavy compliance, federal rollbacks on SEC regulations are becoming somewhat moot.

Saif breaks down New York's two-track reality for climate reporting: the already enacted 'Micro Track' (Part 253), which targets physical assets like factories and smokestacks, and the soon to be enacted 'Macro Track' (S9072A), which mandates Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting for billion-dollar companies generating as little as $1 million in revenue within New York.

We also explore how these state laws compare to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Saif explains why the EU's broad ESG scope and low revenue thresholds created a multi-million-dollar reporting burden triggering a greenlash from small and mid size businesses such as farming cooperatives. In contrast, the more resilient, emissions-focused U.S. state laws are poised to set a permanent new standard for global business practices.

Finally, Saif shares his perspective on why he hopes for no new climate legislation right now, and explores the impending trickle-down effect of Scope 3 data requests and rigorous third-party auditing that all businesses should prepare for.

Note: If you're going to be in Chicago on April 5th, reach out to Saif on saif@altruistiq.com to meet up at the State of Sustainability Summit!

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

While the corporate world remains laser-focused on decarbonisation and Net Zero targets, a critical component of climate strategy is being overlooked: Adaptation.

In this episode, we sit down with Mekala Krishnan, partner at McKinsey Global Institute, to discuss why the world needs to simultaneously "walk and chew gum", managing the transition to a low-carbon economy while urgently preparing for the physical risks already locked into the system.

Mekala breaks down the staggering economics of adaptation, estimating that the world will need to spend $1.2 trillion annually by 2050, mostly to protect against heat and drought. However, the business case is undeniable: for every $1 invested in adaptation measures, there is an average return of $3 in avoided damages.

We dive deep into the specific challenges facing sustainability leaders today, including the psychological barrier that "no one gets paid for a disaster that didn't happen". Mekala also exposes a critical vulnerability in Fortune 500 companies: while their direct operations are often designed for "1 in 10,000 year events," their indirect supply chains remain dangerously exposed to climate disruption.

Key Takeaways for Sustainability Professionals:
• The "Walk and Chew Gum" Strategy: Why planning large CAPEX buildouts without accounting for higher warming levels is a failure of risk management.
• The Fortune 500 Blindspot: Why corporate HQs are resilient, but their supply chains and distribution channels face massive resiliency gaps.
• The Heat Penalty: How chronic heat stress will impact worker productivity and agricultural yields, shifting from acute events to chronic conditions.
• The Innovation Opportunity: Why cooling solutions and agricultural resilience represent the next frontier for R&D and investment.
• Building the Business Case: How to frame adaptation to the C-Suite by moving from "invisible benefits" to tangible ROI.

Read the full report here.

Contact Saif directly via email: saif@altruistiq.com

Ready to transform your sustainability reporting? Start your journey at Altruistiq.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.