How does a corporate sustainability professional meet the moment?

That’s one of the questions we posed to Unilever’s chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer Rebecca Marmot in a live-on-stage podcast recording session during this year’s London Climate Action Week.

Marmot, who joined Unilever 18 years ago after stints at L’Oreal and in the U.K. government, discussed the some of the keys to success for today’s CSO.

Also in this episode, Soli and I discuss how to think about artificial intelligence through the lens of sustainability.

How much circularity can one company squeeze out of a toothpaste tube?

That’s the mouthwatering challenge taken on by Colgate Palmolive, the iconic 220-year-old company whose chief sustainability officer, Ann Tracy, has been leading the charge to make Colgate toothpaste tubes not just recyclable, but potentially turned back into new tubes.

It’s not just toothpaste, as Tracy told us. If the process works with toothpaste it can work with its other products, from household cleaners to skincare products and more.

Also in this episode, we assess this moment in the sustainability profession, including the critical need for telling new and better stories.

Financial services is high on the list of the most fascinating and challenging sectors for sustainability. Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, is one of the sector's leaders. In just a few years at the financial services giant, she's helped pioneer approaches to using payment systems to inspire, inform and enable change at a mass scale.

Jackowski talks about her company's role in effecting systemic change and shares several examples of how the company innovates solutions for its customers and banking partners.

Also in this episode, Soli and Joel discuss the state of greenwashing and greenhushing, including how much of it is a distraction from more ambitious sustainability work that companies need to do.