ESG Matters @ Ashurst Podcast
by Ashurst Perkins Coie
Sustainability is an issue that affects us all, but how can we take steps to provoke meaningful change and make a lasting impact on environmental, social and governance issues across the globe? We explore the intersection of business value with business values for a more prosperous and sustainable future.
Episodes
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Nearing Net Zero: Life’s a gas for US data centers
In this episode, Ashurst Perkins Coie’s Elena Lambros and Dan Brown are joined by colleague Buck Endemann, global co-head of energy and infrastructure. Together, they peer “behind the meter” at a gap in US clean energy rules: the rules apply to utilities, but don’t stretch to data centers that...
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Game Changers special: Modern slavery and the case for a just transition to net zero
While the ‘E’ in ESG commands plenty of attention, the ‘S’ can sometimes be overlooked. In this episode, we consider why environmental progress is only possible when social progress is made too. Regular Game Changers host Elena Lambros, Risk Advisory Partner, is joined by colleagues from around…
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Nearing Net Zero: Can we really mine our way to net zero?
Mining and net zero might seem incongruous, but actually the world’s energy transition depends upon what we dig out of the ground. Every battery, solar farm, transmission network and electric vehicle requires critical minerals – and Australia has an abundance of these raw materials. In this...
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Nearing Net Zero: Disclosure or distraction? Is Mandatory Climate Reporting actually driving the transition
Australia's climate-related financial disclosures are now mandatory, and the first wave of reports is already drawing scrutiny. In this episode of ESG Matters, Ashurst Perkins Coie's Elena Lambros and Dan Brown explore what the shift from voluntary to regulated reporting really changes. They...
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Game Changers: Making carbon count
What if better carbon data could help unlock the investment needed to accelerate the energy transition? In this episode of Game Changers, Ashurst Perkins Coie partner Elena Lambros is joined by Amy Brachio, CEO of Carbon Measures, to explore why measuring the carbon footprint of products...
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Nearing Net Zero: Data centres and the social license question
Across many parts of the world, data center investment is being blocked due to community opposition. In this podcast, Ashurst Perkins Coie’s Elena Lambros and Dan Brown reflect on the lessons for data center developers and financiers in Australia. Together, Dan and Elena reflect on the eye…
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Game Changers: Financing the energy transition
Investment in the low carbon economy is growing, but so too are the challenges of allocating capital effectively. In this episode, we explore how investor priorities are evolving, what drives investment decisions, and the economic principles shaping the transition to a lower-carbon future.…
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Game Changers: Season 3 Wrap-up – The Big Themes that Shaped our Conversations
In this special wrap-up episode, Ben McAlary joins Season 3 hosts Elena Lambros and Lorraine Johnston to reflect on the recurring themes that shaped nine thought-provoking conversations across the last 10 episodes of Game Changes. Across sectors and geographies, one message came through clearly:...
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Game Changers: The Case for Community Energy and Smarter Grid Connections
Ashurst’s Lorraine Johnston speaks with Claire Reid, Director of Strategic Partnerships at SNRG, about how smarter grid connections and shared renewable infrastructure can reshape the UK’s energy future. Claire explains how SNRG’s microgrid model works in practice, pooling solar generation across...
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Game Changers: Inside Australia’s fight against Modern Slavery
Ashurst’s Elena Lambros sits down with Australia’s inaugural Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Chris Evans, for a grounded, practical conversation about why modern slavery is no longer just a compliance topic but a core business risk that belongs in every boardroom. Drawing on his work with major...
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Game Changers: A conservation conversation with environmentalist Natalie Kyriacou
Ashurst’s Elena Lambros welcomes special guest Natalie Kyriacou OAM for a wide-ranging chat that encompasses financial innovation, supply chains, and crucially, how Australia’s legal system can be a powerful force for climate action. Having worked with corporates, government and charities…
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Let's Yarn: Building bridges between Japan and First Nations peoples in Australia
In this episode, Ashurst Head of First Nations Strategy Trent Wallace is joined by colleagues Natsuko Ogawa and Lea Constantine to reflect on their recent visit to Japan. As well as several productive meetings with clients in Tokyo, the trio also attended World Expo 2025 in Osaka where Trent…
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Game Changers: Rewiring Australian regulation for long-term climate resilience
Ashurst’s Elena Lambros welcomes special guest Dr Dariel De Sousa, a former Director of Compliance and Enforcement at the Australian Energy Regulator, who is now a leading voice in climate risk, regulation and governance. Dariel draws on her deep professional and academic expertise to reveal the...
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Game Changers: Turning waste into data, action, and economic empowerment
Oliver Kade, Chief Technology Officer and UK Country Manager at Seven Clean Seas, joins Ashurst’s Lorraine Johnston to share how the organisation is addressing plastic pollution through a powerful mix of innovation, systems change, and strategic partnerships. Oliver breaks down the core pillars…
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Game Changers: Inside Oxford Properties’ global decarbonisation strategy
In this episode Elena Lambros, Partner in Ashurst’s Risk Advisory practice, speaks with Pauline Martin, Associate Director at Oxford Properties, and Becky Clissmann, Sustainability Counsel at Ashurst, about how Oxford Properties is embedding ESG into decision-making across its global real estate...
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Game Changers: Banking on a more sustainable future
Sarah Lalor, General Manager ESG and Sustainable Finance at Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) explains the bank’s multi-pronged approach to supporting businesses at every stage of their sustainability journeys. It’s a wonderful case study of how one organisation can multiply its ESG impact by...
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Game Changers: Energising the transition via tech, partnerships, and more
Sustainable procurement. Water and waste management. Regulatory compliance. Annual reports and climate action policies. Biodiversity programs. A community fund. It’s all in a day’s work for Conrad Energy’s Head of ESG, Nishikant Gupta! In the latest episode of our Game Changers mini-series, Nish...
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ICJ opinion raises the stakes on climate compliance
On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a historic advisory opinion on climate change. While not legally binding, the opinion confirms that states have obligations under international law to prevent environmental harm, including from greenhouse gas emissions, and that...
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Game Changers: Building climate-resilient investments through smart ESG strategy
You can tell Charlotte O’Meara loves her job, from the way she champions collaboration across investment teams to the way she explains the nuts and bolts of integrating ESG into complex portfolios. In this episode, she joins Ashurst’s Elena Lambros to explain how Challenger is building...
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Game Changers: Capital for Climate
After a successful spell working in corporate law at Ashurst, today’s guest Rebecca Ogg carved out a stellar career as a sustainable investing analyst. In this episode, she joins Ashurst’s Elena Lambros to explain how sustainable finance and smart policymaking can help redirect capital towards...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Season Two wrap-up
After a range of insightful conversations with innovators in the ESG space, series co-hosts Elena Lambros and Lorraine Johnston are back to reflect on their key-takeaways from season two of the Game Changers and Transition Makers series. Guests such as John Mellowes (BioCarbon) and Poppy Mardall...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: : How ESG writes the rule book for this printing giant
In this episode, Ashurst’s Lorraine Johnston chats with Taranpreet Rai from Epson UK about how to integrate sustainability into the very core of a business. Taran describes Epson’s innovative approach to ESG, including its groundbreaking micro piezo printing technology which reduces energy...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Helping shape the green business revolution
What does it take to bridge the gap between environmental concerns and commercial priorities? In this episode of Game Changers and Transition Makers, Lorraine Johnston speaks with Roger McKerlie, a seasoned sales and marketing entrepreneur and founder of EBN, a movement uniting 1,800 businesses…
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Ending plastic pollution with CleanHub
For passionate surfer Joel Tasche, co-CEO of CleanHub, the groundbreaking work his company is doing to combat ocean plastic pollution before it even reaches the ocean just makes sense. CleanHub connects brands committed to sustainability with waste management services in underserved coastal...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Mega-scale battery transformation with Akaysha Energy
In this episode of Game Changers and Transition Makers, you'll discover how Akaysha Energy is pioneering mega-scale battery projects essential for stabilising and decarbonising electricity grids. Host Elena Lambros speaks with Paul Curnow, Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer of Akaysha...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Engineering a more sustainable world
“A lot of the keys to decarbonisation are really simple, cheap ones if only we could break ourselves out of our normal patterns,” says Arup’s Joan Ko in this illuminating episode of Game Changers and Transition Makers. In conversation with Ashurst’s Elena Lambros, Joan describes how Arup works…
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: When the norm is not normal, find a better way
Perhaps surprisingly, this is one of the most uplifting and positive episodes of Game Changers and Transition Makers to date. If you’re wondering how that’s possible – when talking about death, bereavement and funerals – then you probably haven’t come across our guest, Poppy Mardall. Poppy is the...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Revolutionising nature protection with Wilderlands
As Ash Knop, CEO and Co-Founder of Wilderlands, tells host Elena Lambros, the vision to create a simple yet powerful way to value and protect nature through the introduction of one of the world's first voluntary biodiversity credits, the Biological Diversity Unit (BDU) was one made to recognise…
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Powering EVs with Net Zero Lithium
How do we produce the essential materials for electric vehicles without adding to the world's carbon footprint? Host Elena Lambros explores this critical question with Dr Francis Wedin, founder and executive chair of Vulcan Energy Resources. Dr Wedin shares the innovative approach behind Vulcan's...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Carbon credits that make a deep and lasting impact
Ashurst's Johnston chats with Climate Impact Partners' CFO ShanMae Teo about voluntary carbon markets and how businesses can purchase credits from carbon projects that align with their goals and values. And opportunities for companies to finance the development of new high-impact projects. In an...
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Let’s Yarn: The inside story of how to expand and empower First Nations procurement
Proven tips and real-life examples of how to expand business procurement in a culturally safe and sensitive way that builds lasting relationships with the First Nations businesses. Ashurst’s Head of First Nations Strategy, Trent Wallace, is joined by Ashurst Procurement Lead APAC Will Houston to...
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Game Changers & Transition Makers: Creating more flexible, affordable transport for cities
In this episode, Kyle Bolto takes Ashurst’s Elena Lambros on a journey through the past, present, and future of city transport. It's a tale of inspiration and perspiration that leads towards Kyle's "audacious vision" of flexible, affordable, greener transport options for those who live and work…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: How to turn biomass into green steel
Makers, host Elena Lambros sits down with John Mellowes, the chief engineer and co-founder of BioCarbon, an innovative Australian company that is turning low-value biomass streams into high-value carbon renewal products through advanced manufacturing. In this episode, John discusses the…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Season 1 wrap-up
The tables are turned in this season one wrap-up episode of Game Changers and Transition Makers, with new series co-host Lorraine Johnston, Partner in our global finance regulatory practice, interviews Ashurst Risk Advisory Partner Elena Lambros about her key takeaways from the first 13 episodes…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Confessions of an environmental capitalist
Sam Marks and his colleagues at Setmetrics collaborate with building owners, service providers and engineers to reimagine existing buildings to make them more energy-efficient. Using technology such as digital twins and simulation tools, Setmetrics finds creative ways to unlock new capabilities…
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Let's Yarn: Managing psychosocial risks for First Nations employees
Head of First Nations Strategy and Advisory Trent Wallace welcomes Tony Morris, who leads Ashurst Risk Advisory's work health and safety (WHS) and psychosocial risk capability, to learn more about psychosocial risks in the workplace and the unique challenges First Nations employees face. This...
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Empowering corporates to boost biodiversity
Xylo Systems CEO Camille Goldstone-Henry is a startup founder with a difference. With a vast knowledge of the natural world, Camille combined her data analysis skills and commercial acumen to create a platform to help corporations understand their biodiversity impact. In this eye-opening episode…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Overflowing with ideas to put an end to plastic packaging
Partnering with supply chains, reimagining consumer packaging, and extending producer responsibility. All these issues – and more – are brought to life in this episode, where we hear from Raegan Kelly, Head of Product at Better For All. Raegan and her colleagues are tackling plastic pollution...
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: How A.I is shaping the future of sustainable buildings
Host Elena Lambros is joined by Robert de Burgh-Day, an innovative entrepreneur who transitioned from a diverse background into founding and becoming the CEO of Brightspace. Brightspace enhances building efficiency with an AI-driven HVAC ecosystem that optimises energy use and improves air…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Repurposing data centre heat for social good
Mark Bjornsgaard and his co-founder saw an opportunity to turn waste into wealth. "What's that tub of massage oil in a home-brew bucket?" asked a day one investor. "It's free heat," was the reply that marked the beginning of an energy revolution. In this compelling discussion, Elena Lambros...
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Utopian thinking for sustainable development
Elena Lambros learns how Nikhil Chouguley's early experience in the Himalayas deeply influenced his path towards creating Sustopia, an ecosystem of blockchain, AI, and eventually quantum computing which are increasingly being harnessed to navigate financial investments to facilitate sustainable...
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Painting ESG on city walls and beyond
There’s nothing ordinary about the events that Chris Pensa creates for corporate clients, and his personal story is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode, Ashurst’s Elena Lambros hears how this former competitive figure skater carved out a career that combines creativity and...
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Game changers and transition makers: Pursuing sustainability in the construction sector
In this episode, Cameron McKenzie talks about the power of innovation in pursuing sustainability and his journey from construction to creating ASPIRE, a platform that is empowering over 3,500 businesses to reuse and recycle over two million tonnes of resources. Cameron discusses the concept of a...
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Game changers and transition makers: The quest for negative emissions
Join Elena Lambros in a captivating discussion with Magnus Drewelies, the visionary founder of CEEZER, as they explore negative emissions, transforming the carbon credit market while advancing the sustainability agenda. Discover the challenges and triumphs faced by Magnus as he articulates the...
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Game changers and transition makers: Transforming capitalism for good
Elena Lambros, our ESG and Sustainability Partner, delves into the heart of corporate sustainability with Sarah Downie the CEO of the Shared Value Project. Introduced by Harvard’s Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in 2011, shared value is a concept that can have an impactful role in today’s…
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: Charting a Sustainable Future Through Clean Tech Solutions
In this episode, Elena Lambros, Ashurst’s Risk Sustainability and Climate Change partner, sits down with Christiaan Jordaan, founder and CEO of Sicona, a battery materials technology and manufacturing company. Christiaan shares his journey in founding Sicona, a company dedicated to increasing...
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Game Changers and Transition Makers: How data is transforming the neighbourhoods we live in
Discover how social analytics is shaping the communities of tomorrow with Elena Lambros, Head of Ashurst's Risk Sustainability and Climate Change practice and Neighbourlytics CEO and Founder Jessica Christiansen-Franks. This Game Changers and Transition Makers episode delves into Neighbourlytics'...
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Struggle, celebration, and inspiration
Four female professionals of South Asian heritage share stories of their family, their upbringing, and their careers in the UK. Along the way, they discuss the battles fought and won, and take an unflinching look at the challenges still ahead. Ashurst PR Manager Varsha Patel leads a discussion...
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Episode 30: Rewiring financial markets for the better
Is it possible to transform financial markets to reward organisations for positive impacts on people and planet? Absolutely, explains filmmaker and social entrepreneur Rupert Pearce. To conclude Ashurst’s 30 For Net Zero 30 podcast series, we’ve saved one of the best for last. Our final special...
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Episode 29: Sustainable Aviation Fuel
In this episode, Jeff Ovens, Managing Director UK, Europe and Middle East a Fulcrum BioEnergy joins Global Sustainability/ESG Partner Anna-Marie Slot. Fulcrum BioEnergy is a clean energy company pioneering the creation of renewable drop-in sustainable aviation fuel from landfill waste. Jeff talks...
About this show
Sustainability is an issue that affects us all, but how can we take steps to provoke meaningful change and make a lasting impact on environmental, social and governance issues across the globe? We explore the intersection of business value with business values for a more prosperous and sustainable future.
Hosted by
Ashurst Perkins Coie
Categories