As geopolitical tensions rise and sustainability faces growing scrutiny, some long term investors are doubling down instead of pulling back. In this live episode of Sustainable Edge, Siri Sachs of the Wallenberg ecosystem and Johan H. Andresen of FERD explore how resilience, competitiveness, ethics, and sustainability shape investment decisions in a world where uncertainty has become the new normal.

Siri Sachs and Johan H. Andresen share how family ownership structures can enable long term thinking and why sustainability remains deeply tied to resilience and competitiveness, even in a more fragmented global landscape.

Learn about:

• Long term investing in uncertain times Why some investors continue backing large scale green transitions despite market volatility and political uncertainty
• Sustainability and competitiveness How climate investments are increasingly viewed as essential for future industrial strength and resilience
• Risk taking and transformation: Why family owned businesses can take longer term bets that public markets often avoid
• Purpose beyond profit: How responsibility, social impact, and ethics influence investment decisions and talent attraction
• Engagement versus exclusion: Why active ownership and supplier engagement can sometimes drive more meaningful change than divestment
• AI and ethical leadership: How investors are thinking about the opportunities and risks tied to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems
• Regulation and execution: Why predictable frameworks matter, but overregulation can risk slowing competitiveness and innovation
• The future of Nordic leadership: How collaboration, trust, and long term ownership models could help shape a more sustainable economy

Siri Sachs is a Board Member at Wallenberg Investments and part of the sixth generation of the Wallenberg family. The Wallenberg ecosystem includes foundations, industrial holdings, and global companies such as ABB, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, and SEB. Her work focuses on long term ownership, competitiveness, and ensuring that investments contribute to future resilience and innovation.

Johan H. Andresen is the Owner and Chair of FERD, a family owned investment company focused on long term value creation and social impact. Under his leadership, FERD transformed from a tobacco business into a diversified investment platform with holdings across industry, technology, and sustainability focused ventures. Johan has also chaired the Ethics Council of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, helping shape ethical investment practices for one of the world’s largest funds.

What does it take to lead on climate in a world shaped by distrust, geopolitics, and competing priorities? In this episode, former Colombian President Iván Duque shares how sustainability can be positioned not as a cost, but as a driver of competitiveness, and why leadership matters more than ever in turning ambition into action.

Host Joachim Nahem, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Position Green, sits down with Iván Duque, former President of Colombia, to explore what sustainability leadership looks like at the highest level of government.

During his presidency, Duque led one of Latin America’s most ambitious climate agendas, balancing economic growth, peacebuilding, and environmental protection. Under his leadership, Colombia expanded protected areas to cover more than a third of its territory and committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent by 2030 .

Today, as global cooperation weakens and political landscapes become more fragmented, the question is no longer just what needs to be done, but how to move forward in a world where trust is declining and priorities are shifting.

Learn about:

• Sustainability as competitiveness Why climate ambition can strengthen economic positioning rather than weaken it
• Leading through uncertainty What it takes to advance climate action in a world of declining trust and geopolitical fragmentation
• The role of middle powers How countries like Colombia can shape global cooperation even without the largest economies leading
• From ambition to implementation What enabled Colombia to pass climate legislation and scale environmental protection at speed
• Markets and capital flows Why unlocking private finance and market mechanisms is critical for global climate progress
• Bridging polarization How reframing sustainability conversations can create alignment across political and ideological divides
• Long term leadership Why sustainability must be embedded into decision making as a core principle of governance and business

Iván Duque is the former President of Colombia and a global advocate for climate action and sustainable development. During his presidency, he led efforts to expand environmental protection, implement a national climate strategy, and position Colombia as a leader in biodiversity conservation. He currently serves as a trustee of the Science Based Targets initiative and holds advisory roles across leading global sustainability organisations, continuing to shape the conversation on climate, policy, and economic development .

What does accountability look like in a world shaped by AI, geopolitics, and rising stakeholder expectations? In this episode, Robin Hodess of GRI explores how the role of sustainability reporting is shifting and why companies that treat it as strategic data, not compliance, will be better positioned to compete.

Host Joachim Nahem, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Position Green, sits down with Robin Hodess, CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), to explore how corporate accountability is being reshaped in a world defined by geopolitical tension, technological disruption, and rising expectations.

As the original standard setter for sustainability reporting—emerging from initiatives that followed major environmental crises like Exxon Valdez—GRI has played a central role in defining how companies measure and communicate their impact. But today, the landscape is far more complex. Accountability is no longer limited to environmental damage. It now includes issues such as data privacy, AI, social inequality, governance, and the broader role of business in society.

Robin Hodess unpacks how sustainability reporting is evolving from a compliance exercise into a critical source of strategic insight. She explains why businesses must move beyond fragmented frameworks and focus on what truly matters, using data to navigate risk, identify opportunities, and make better decisions.

Learn about:

• From reporting to decision making: Why sustainability data is becoming essential for strategy, risk management, and long-term business growth
• The expanding scope of accountability: How issues like AI, data centres, nature, and social impact are redefining what companies are responsible for
• Complexity vs clarity: Why more frameworks and regulation have created confusion and how leaders can focus on what truly matters
• Materiality in practice: How companies can prioritize the most relevant impacts without being overwhelmed by the breadth of ESG topics
• Global fragmentation and standards: What rising geopolitical tensions mean for reporting requirements and why harmonisation matters more than ever
• The business value of transparency: Why 73 percent of studies show a positive link between sustainability reporting and financial performance
• Leadership and credibility: How companies can rebuild trust by moving beyond claims and focusing on evidence, progress, and accountability

Robin Hodess is the CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world’s leading standard setter for sustainability reporting. With a career spanning finance, ethics, and global governance, she has held senior roles at Transparency International and other international organisations. Robin brings a long term perspective on corporate transparency, accountability, and the role of business in addressing global challenges. Under her leadership, GRI continues to shape how companies measure, manage, and communicate their impact in an increasingly complex world.

Resources from this episode:

From Impact to Income: How sustainability reporting affects the bottom Line:

Decoding biodiversity impacts: A practical guide to corporate reporting with the GRI Standards:

Case studies on reporting with GRI 101 and TNFD: