All Things Sustainable

Three years ago, one of the world's largest banks, Switzerland-based UBS, completed the acquisition of another major global bank, Credit Suisse. In today's episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're talking to UBS Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Historian Christian Leitz. He tells us how the combined bank is embedding sustainability into its operations, culture and strategy. Christian also explains how he brings his background as a historian to the CSO role — ensuring that clients, shareholders and employees understand the long-term context for current geopolitical volatility. "I don't want to distract from the fact that there is this noise, but I also want to do a bit of a reality check," Christian says. "There are enormously positive movements that we've seen" when it comes to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Christian also shares his takeaways from the inaugural Climate Week Zurich in May 2026, and what to expect at London Climate Action Week, which kicks off June 20 and includes a focus on climate adaptation alongside continued mitigation. "We need to do both, and we need to do both well," Christian says. This interview is the latest installment in our CSO Insights podcast series, where we talk to Chief Sustainability Officers around the world and across industries. Listen to all the episodes here: CSO Insights by All Things Sustainable - YouTube Further reading: S&P Global's Top 10 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026 | S&P Global Learn about the Building Bridges 2026 event: Building Bridges : Aligning Finance with Sustainability - Home Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights). This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

How do you balance near-term energy priorities with the long-term reality of climate change and nature loss? That's the big sustainability question we're asking in 2026, and in today's episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we sit down with Daniel Yergin to explore the answer. Daniel is a Pulitzer Prize winner, S&P Global Vice Chairman, and Chair of CERAWeek, the annual S&P Global conference that has been described as "the Davos of energy." Daniel tells us what to expect when leaders from the public and private sectors convene in Houston, Texas March 23-27 for CERAWeek 2026. This year's theme is Convergence and Competition: Energy, Technology and Geopolitics, and the conference will focus on many of the key issues we're watching through a sustainability lens this year, including AI, electrification, climate and critical minerals. Daniel explains how geopolitical fracture and economic competition are reshaping the landscape for all these topics. "What we're seeing is the fragmentation, the end of the kind of globalization that we've known for the last three and a half decades," Daniel says. "How are people arranging their priorities when the agenda is more complex?" Read S&P Global's Top 10 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026 | S&P Global Read CERAWeek 2025 Key Takeaways for Sustainability Professionals Read Copper in the Age of AI: Challenges of Electrification | S&P Global Learn more about CERAWeek by S&P Global | The World's Premier Energy Conference | CERAWeek Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights). This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

In this week's episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're exploring how aging global populations are impacting retirement, the workforce and the economy. We talk to Pat Tomlinson, President and CEO of global consulting firm Mercer, a Marsh McLennan business. Pat took the reins in 2024 and brings both global perspective and hands-on experience from the World Economic Forum's Longevity Economy Initiative, which aims to address the demographic and financial challenges of aging societies. "Having fewer workers as people age and … a lower birth rate will impact employers and will impact business and will impact society as we think about how to grow GDP," Pat says. Pat explains how retirement savings and healthcare systems need to evolve to meet the needs of the aging global population. And he outlines creative solutions that employers and governments are considering to address these challenges — including through public-private collaboration, AI, reskilling workers and flexible working arrangements. Read the research: S&P Global's Top 10 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026 | S&P Global Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights). This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we explore the geopolitical and macroeconomic issues impacting sustainability, energy and climate strategies in 2026. We speak to Carlos Pascual, Senior Vice President and Head of Geopolitics and International Affairs at S&P Global Energy and a former US Ambassador to Mexico and Ukraine. Carlos describes a fragmented geopolitical landscape marked by significant uncertainty about the direction of global climate policy, action and finance — leaving progress largely in the hands of the private sector. "We have huge changes ahead and look for the private sector to have to play a much more central role in the overall momentum on clean technology and investments in renewable energy," Carlos says. We speak to S&P Global Ratings Global Chief Economist Paul Gruenwald to understand the macroeconomic factors influencing sustainability. Paul says AI is the dominant story for 2026. "We're seeing great numbers out of data center and AI-related investment, but almost everything else is flat," Paul tells us. To understand the outlook for climate change and the growing importance of adaptation alongside mitigation efforts, we speak to Dr. Terence Thompson, Chief Science Officer at the S&P Global Climate Center of Excellence. He explains how advances in climate science are helping to better understand the probability of climate hazards. "Getting at that probability is really key to making those kinds of very practical decisions about how do we allocate limited resources to cope with climate change and adapt to it," Terence says. And to understand the outlook for the energy transition, we speak to Roman Kramarchuk, Head of Integrated Narratives and Policy Analytics at S&P Global Energy. Roman explains how the world is balancing growing energy demands with sustainability priorities in an increasingly fractured global landscape. "There's a big regional story here, and this is a regional story that plays out both in the technology, in the supply chains, and in the geopolitical side," Roman says. Read S&P Global's Top 10 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026 | S&P Global Read The Copper Conundrum: Why Meeting AI-Era Electrification Demands Is a Race Against Time Listen to a replay of the Jan. 29 webinar: Sustainability Nexus: S&P Global's Top 10 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026 This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global. Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights). This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.