Caspian Climate Conversations

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, our host Sanjoy Sanyal engages in a candid and insightful conversation with Divya Pinge, the Head of Research at Impact Investors Council (IIC).

Throughout the episode, Sanjoy and Divya delve into the intricacies of blended finance for climate impact. They explore how leveraging private capital alongside public resources can catalyze sustainable projects and drive positive environmental change. Divya's expertise and deep understanding of the impact investing landscape in India bring valuable insights to the discussion.

With over 15 years of experience spanning financial services and social impact, Divya Pinge is a seasoned expert in her field. At IIC, a leading member-based industry body dedicated to nurturing the impact investing ecosystem in India, Divya spearheads research initiatives aimed at advancing climate finance and blended finance.

Caspian Climate Conversations is not just a podcast; it's a platform where industry leaders like Divya Pinge share their knowledge, experiences, and vision for a more sustainable future. Join us as we uncover innovative strategies, collaborations, and opportunities to address climate challenges and promote impactful investing practices.

Step into the world of climate philanthropy with Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, and Sucharita Kamath, Chapter Head at Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), in this engaging podcast. They dive deep into the latest trends, impactful work, and the transformative potential of climate-focused philanthropy.

Through thought-provoking conversation, we dive into the heart of sustainable development, uncovering the profound work and impactful initiatives led by ANDE and other pioneering organizations in the Climate Philanthropic space.

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, join us as Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Dr. Ruchika Singh, Executive Director of Food, Land, and Water at World Resources Institute (WRI). Together, they delve into the crucial topic of empowering India's transition towards sustainable and resilient food and land use systems. Explore innovative tools and strategies aimed at addressing the pressing challenges of sustainability and resilience in India's agricultural and land management practice while also outlining actionable solutions for a more sustainable future. WRI is a global force for positive change, committed to transforming how we approach food, energy, and urban design through research-driven solutions.

Listen to this Caspian Climate Conversation hosted by Sanjoy Sanyal, featuring Maya Chandrasekaran, Co-Founder of Green Artha, a climate venture fund.

Green Artha stands out for its commitment to driving impactful change in combating climate change by investing in sustainable solutions that address pressing environmental challenges. With a focus on nurturing a low-carbon economy, Green Artha identifies and supports innovative ventures that have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions while promoting sustainable development.

Gain valuable insights from their latest publication, 'The India Climate Finance Report', and tune in to an impactful discussions on climate action. Don't miss out on this opportunity to explore transformative climate innovations and business models shaping the future of sustainability.

This episode of Caspian Climate Conversation features Namita Vikas, Founder & Managing Director of auctusESG. Hosted by Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, this episode has a dynamic discussion on climate strategy and sustainability.

Namita Vikas is a distinguished senior business leader with over 30 years of global experience in climate strategy and sustainability. She has made significant contributions across the banking, technology, and FMCG industries. Recognized as one of the "Leading Women in Business Sustainability" by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Namita has garnered international acclaim, earning the title of "Sustainability Leader of the Year" by Ethical Corporation, UK, in 2017. Her impact extends further, having been named one of "Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen" by CSRWorks International in 2018, and featured in the prestigious "India’s Top 100 Women in Finance" list by the Association of International Wealth Management of India in 2019.

Tune into the enlightening episode of Caspian Climate Conversations where Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, engages in a compelling conversation with Subhashree Dutta, Managing Partner of Social Entrepreneurship at The Nudge. Together, they explore the transformative power of partnerships between for-profit and non-profit companies in creating real impact. Gain insights into how these strategic partnerships contribute to environmental and social initiatives, creating a ripple effect for positive change.

Join the insightful dialogue between Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, and Akanksha Priyadarshini, Co-Founder & CEO of Aurassure, as they explore cutting-edge Solutions for Monitoring Air Quality in Urban Spaces. From groundbreaking technology to transformative initiatives, this podcast sheds light on the significant impact being created by Aurassure to address environmental challenges head-on.

Get ready for an electrifying episode of the Caspian Climate Conversation podcast! Join us as we dive into the future of sustainability with the brilliant Siddhanth Jayaram, Co-Founder of Climes.io. Discover groundbreaking insights on climate tech, innovative solutions, and the power of technology to combat climate change. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with our distinguished guest, hosted by our very own Sanjoy Sanyal. Tune in and be inspired to make a difference!

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, our host, Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, sits down with Arun Sreyas Reddy, the visionary Co-Founder of RACE Energy. RACE Energy is at the forefront of sustainable transportation, pioneering innovative and eco-friendly technologies that are set to transform the future of mobility.

Tune in to gain valuable insights into RACE Energy's groundbreaking initiatives, as Arun Sreyas Reddy delves into the challenges and opportunities within the clean mobility sector. Join the conversation as they explore the vital roles each of us can play in shaping a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious future.

In this insightful episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Senior Advisor at Caspian Debt, engages in a conversation with Emmanuel Murray, Investment Director at Caspian Impact Investments. Together, they delve into the profound subject of the Climate Change's Impact on Indian Agriculture and its effect on the Agtech Startup landscape.

Tune into to this captivating episode of Caspian Climate Conversations where Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt is joined by Shameek Chakravarty, the visionary behind Farmizen.

Farmizen is a source traceable farm-to-fork marketplace, enabling discovery, transactions and fulfilment between responsible and regenerative farmers and consumers looking for clean food. They are all about connecting people back to the roots of their food and fostering sustainable practices.

Pretreatment and primary water treatment are crucial components due to the potential of untreated water to seep into the ground, leading to contamination of public water sources and presenting risks to both health and the environment.

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt talks to Amrit Om Nayak, Founder & CEO, Indra Water on how they are treating the most affluent streams of wastewater using electricity.

The focus of their conversation lies in the innovative approach of utilizing electricity to treat the most concentrated streams of wastewater. The discussion covers several key points, including the integration of six distinct wastewater treatment methods to attain good efficiency, a remarkable reduction of over 70% in sludge wastage, and the impressive achievement of reclaiming 99% of water for subsequent usage.

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt demystifies what an El Nino could mean for India's Agriculture Enterprises with Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor, KREA University.

Chirag is a quantum turned climate physicist holding two doctorates: one in Earth System Science (2017) from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and University of Hamburg, Germany and the other in Photonics (2013) from the Institute of Photonic Sciences and Universitat Polytecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. He co-authored India's first comprehensive climate change assessment report released by IITM in June, 2020 (as an official report of the Ministry of Earth Science).

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt, is in conversation with Varun Raheja, CEO & Director, Business Development, Raheja Solar Food Processing Pvt. Ltd. as they talk about the food processing market, their journey and attempts to creating livelihood opportunities to people in the remotest parts of India.

Stepchange empowers enterprises and brands with dedicated tools to accelerate their journey to net-zero, via an enterprise SaaS platform built by climate scientists and technology experts. This includes environmental accounting, target-setting, reduction analysis, offsetting, reporting and cost-benefit risk analysis.

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt, is in conversation with Ankit Jain, Founder & CEO, Stepchange where they discuss in depth how different companies in different sectors measure ESG and what steps they can follow to do so. He also explains the importance of data to effectively measure ESG.

The demand for toxin-free beauty, cosmetic and personal care products has been on the rise in recent times. Addressing this concern through its platform and making well-being easy, Kindlife offers consumers toxin-free, plant-based/organic/eco-conscious/cruetly-free products for on in and around the body.

In this podcast, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt discusses how Kindlife is creating its own mark as a sustainable well-being platform with its co-founder Manasa Garimella.

The impact through technological adoption of masses at the grassroots level, especially in agriculture has been immense. The facilitators have not only played a crucial role, but have been an integral part of this much-necessary transition that has made life easy for millions of farmers. Bharat Krushi Seva is one such organisation which is on the mission to drive the mass adoption of digital agriculture, thereby helping the rural beneficiaries make informed decisions.

In this podcast, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr. Advisor, Caspian Debt discusses the impact of digital agriculture and more with Sharayu Lande, Founder & CEO, Bharat Krushi Seva.

In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Sanjoy Sanyal, Sr, Advisor, Caspian Debt is in conversation with Venkatesh Modi, Investment Team, Blume Ventures. Venkatesh gives us insights into the landscape of EVs, what are the barriers to entry, what are the opportunities in this sector and what really are the requirements to build a scalable business. Blume Ventures is a Venture capital firm to reimagine start up financing in India.

 In this episode of Caspian Climate Conversations, Vasudha Madhavan, Founder, Ostara Advisors, gives us insights into e-mobility market, the key trends and the sub-sectors in this sector and about their work on the Investment landscape of electric mobility. Ostara Advisors is a specialist investment banking firm focused on electric mobility and sustainability.

In this podcast, Ms. Usha Zehr speaks about a holistic approach adopted by Grow Indigo for promoting climate-smart agriculture while improving farmers’ incomes. The approach includes making available bio-nutrients, building a digital B2B marketplace for agri inputs, a marketplace for sustainable produce, and a voluntary carbon market with credit contributed by farmers. By addressing challenges at different links of agri supply chains, the company aims to build long-term incentives for farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices.

In this podcast, Ashish talks about the pioneering investments done by the Shell Foundation in Asia and Africa in the areas of Access to Energy, Transportation, and Access to Finance for low-income communities. He also talks about the challenges of blended finance and impact investments in this area.

Green Artha is a climate venture and innovation fund. In this podcast, Maya talks about their work on climate financing, both commercial and catalytic as well as the commercial investment landscape in climate tech space in general.

Unlock Impact is a social impact advisory firm that helps social businesses grow through advisory and communication. In this episode, Priya talks about the work that Unlock Impact is doing in the area of climate action, with a specific focus on resilient housing, waste management, and climate-smart agriculture.

In this podcast, Amandeep talks about their Drone based crop monitoring services to help farmers reduce their losses due to pests, disease or nutrient deficiencies. They also make agri inputs available to farmers and then procure and aggregate the produce from farmers to supply it to larger customers looking for sustainable sourcing in larger volumes.

In this conversation, Arjun talks about his efforts to build a vibrant community SusMafia, for like-minded entrepreneurs to interact and grow together, all driven by a common intention to 'give' to the community. He also talks about his company Smart Joules' energy efficiency solutions.

In this conversation, the speaker talks about the EV and charging landscape in the country and the government efforts to give a boost to this area, with focus on the work of EESL under his stewardship. He also talks about the solar energy and financing landscape for this space.

Santosh Singh is Partner and Managing Director at Intellecap. In this podcast, he talks about various green projects being spearheaded by Intellecap, like in the areas of disruptive agriculture technologies and carbon financing platforms.

Vikram Mehta is the founder of Center for Research on the Changing Earth System (CRCES), a non-profit, scientific research organization in Maryland, U.S.A. Since its founding in 2002, CRCES has been funded by grants from NASA, NOAA, NSF, USDA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers-Institute for Water Resources.

In this podcast, Vikram talks about the specialised research programs that CRCES undertakes, with major focus on science and the societal impacts of natural decadal climate cycles.

Rajat Gupta is the co-founder and CEO of TESSOL, a company providing cold chain storage and logistics solutions across the temperature-controlled supply chain. They do this using their proprietary Phase Change Material-based heat exchangers which are sustainable alternatives to dry ice and other fossil fuels like diesel.

In this podcast, Rajat talks about how TESSOL is providing viable, reliable, and sustainable solutions to temperature-controlled supply chain needs of various industries like food and pharma.

In this session, the speaker talks about how they are recycling PET bottles to create polyester fiber.

In this episode, Ankit talks about the pressing need for ground water replenishment in Indian cities and how their product provides a simple but powerful solution to this problem.

Decision Intelligence- In this session, the speaker talks about the use of satellite data to create financial products for farmers.

In this episode, Nohar talks about how the circular economy is a sensible and responsible business model in fashion industry and the trends of its growing popularity among the younger generations.

Priya from Theia Ventures talks about their investment thesis and their investments into climate tech, circular economy and sustainability.

In this podcast, the speaker talks about the steps Mahindra group is taking to steer their business towards an environmentally sustainable future and the advice they have for the new businesses.

In this session, the speaker talks about the learnings of Shell Foundation on Electric Vehicles from the perspective of technology, economics, and safety, based on their work in India and Africa.

The speaker for the session is Ms. Rema Subramanian, the co-founder and managing partner of Ankur Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm in agritech, food, health and education.

In this podcast, she talks about, the investment thesis of Ankur Capital based on sustainable and responsible businesses and how does impact measurement in these businesses happen.

The speaker for the session is Dr . Rajib Shaw, Professor, Keio University, Japan. He is the Coordinating Lead Author of the Asia chapter in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report on Impacts and Adaptation. He is the recipient of the prestigious “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA)” in 2021 for his contributions in the education sector.

In this podcast, he talks about the climate trends that we can expect in the next decade, how could it affect food security and urban living, and what would be the role of technology in dealing with climate risks.