At $96 billion in assets, the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System is one of the largest public pension funds in the US. As of this year, it is also one of the few to have been handed a legal mandate to manage climate risk in its investments.

In this episode, Oregon state treasurer Elizabeth Steiner discusses the state's new legislation on climate investment, the challenges and trade-offs of steering a giant portfolio towards net zero, and the conversations the fund is having with portfolio companies and asset managers over their climate rollbacks.

Steiner spent over a decade as an Oregon state senator before being elected treasurer last year. Her responsibilities include running the state's debt management operations and savings programmes, as well as managing its pension funds and other investments.

After a turbulent first half of the year following the release of the EU's sustainability Omnibus, Brussels is back in session and gearing up for a busy autumn of discussions and decisions on how to simplify a number of sustainable finance regulations.

Formal negotiations between EU lawmakers are expected to kick off shortly on proposed changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), while a consultation on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will close at the end of this month.

It comes as the European Commission last month promised the US that it will make efforts to ensure its corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence rules do not impose “undue restrictions” on transatlantic trade.

In this episode, senior reporter Fiona McNally – who has been on the ground in Brussels – talks to deputy editor Elza Holmstedt Pell about the biggest things to watch for as the future of EU sustainability and green rules are determined.

In this episode, we are joined by Amy O'Brien, global head of responsible investing at asset manager Nuveen.

She joins us to discuss her new book, A Field Guide to Responsible Investing: Asset Management in the Age of Polycrises. Drawing from her three decades of experience in responsible investment, the book "takes readers on a journey of the evolution of responsible investing, how it works today, why it’s integral to investment considerations, and how we can finally get a grip on its efficacy."

This episode covers data dilemmas, what critics get right – and wrong – about responsible investment, what might help bridge the divide, and Amy's thoughts on the future of the responsible investment industry.