"Many UAE banks have seen sustainable finance as a profit center", says Vijay Bains, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. In this episode of ESG Currents, Grace Osborne, BI’s ESG integration analyst for EMEA, speaks with Bains about the rising momentum of sustainable finance in the GCC and its intertwinement with the region's economic diversification plans. With UAE's national banks' pledging to mobilize AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, alongside strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions, opportunities for capturing sustainable value creation are mounting. From water scarcity solutions to green building initiatives, the GCC is scaling its sustainability ambitions at a time where other regions in the world appear to be stepping back.
This episode was recorded on May 1, 2025.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As climate change accelerates water scarcity, investors are eyeing scalable solutions with environmental integrity. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane and senior ESG associate Melanie Rua speak with OceanWell CEO Robert Bergstrom about a subsea desalination product that uses deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 40% while protecting marine ecosystems. Bergstrom outlines OceanWell’s phased road map, including pilots and global scaling, and makes the investment case for water infrastructure, citing research showing a $7 return for every $1 invested. The episode explores why valuing water appropriately is key to driving innovation, policy and climate resilience. Recorded April 23.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It’s very important to understand that we need to deliver sustainability, not simply be passionate about it," says Eric Lim, managing director and chief sustainability officer at United Overseas Bank, our first guest from Asia on the ESG Currents podcast. Lim joins Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG integration analyst for Asia-Pacific, to discuss what the ESG backlash means for companies' sustainability efforts, the role of banks in driving sustainable practices in different industries, and the nature-climate nexus and business dependencies on natural capital. They also talk about the importance of aligning with ecosystem partners to enhance impact in a region spanning myriad political structures and development priorities.

This episode was recorded on April 2, 2025.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.