Sustainability Talks

About Sustainability Talks

The team at ETF Partners presents 'Sustainability Talks', a new series featuring in-depth conversations with influential leaders from across the global sustainability, investment, and startup ecosystems. The podcast examines the biggest challenges and opportunities in delivering sustainable prosperity.

Publisher

ETF Partners

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Jul 2021

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

42 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Making New Energy Work for Everyone with Chris Norbury

   In this episode of Sustainability Talks, Rob Genieser, Managing Partner at ETF Partners, sits down with Chris Norbury, CEO of E.ON U.K., one of the country’s largest energy suppliers and a leading voice in the energy transition. E.ON is investing heavily in digital platforms and new business models. This includes its strategic partnership with Amber Electric (https://www.amber.com.au/), an ETF Partners portfolio company, and Allume Energy to help households and businesses use energy in fairer, greener, and smarter ways. In this conversation, Rob and Chris examine why the energy transition is at a critical inflection point, where climate sustainability must be paired directly with consumer affordability. Chris outlines E.ON’s customer-outward philosophy for designing the grid of the future, demonstrating how deploying domestic flexibility, such as home batteries and vehicle-to-grid integration, can alleviate billions in distribution network upgrade costs while directly reducing customer bills. They also explore what it takes for major energy suppliers to be true strategic partners to tech scale-ups, the transformative role of AI and data centre integration in grid orchestration, and the critical policy shifts needed to ensure the energy transition delivers value for everyone. Whether you are interested in energy technology, utility innovation, or how consumer-facing software and hardware can accelerate global decarbonisation, Chris’s insights are essential listening. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Sustainability Talks and E.ON U.K. 02:19 The UK Energy Transition: Navigating the Affordability and Sustainability Inflection Point 04:46 Designing the Grid Consumer-Outward: Batteries, Flexibility, and Reducing Network Costs 07:36 How Utilities Choose Technology Partners and Align Purpose with Commercialisation 12:06 Strategic Partnerships, Fast-Following, and Incubating Scale-Up Ecosystems 16:13 The Utility of Tomorrow: Orchestrating a Decentralised Grid 18:16 AI and Data Centres: Turning Surging Demand into Circular Grid Assets 22:09 Deploying Agentic AI for Internal Efficiency and Next-Generation Customer Propositions 26:24 Reasons for Optimism: Customer Demand, Market Motivation, and Emerging Tipping Points 30:30 Key Milestones Ahead: Vehicle-to-Grid, Time-of-Use Tariffs, and Heat Pump Adoption 34:33 Policy, Regulation, and Avoiding a Ghettoised Energy Market 38:44 Final Thoughts: Making New Energy Work for Everybody About the Guest: Chris Norbury Chris Norbury is the Chief Executive Officer of E.ON U.K., leading the company’s efforts to drive the energy transition through digital innovation, customer-centric energy solutions, and strategic partnerships across the sustainable technology landscape. With extensive leadership experience within the energy sector, Chris is focused on transforming traditional utility models into decentralised, intelligent, and affordable energy ecosystems. Follow Chris Norbury on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisnorburyeonukceo/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisnorburyeonukceo/) Find out more about E.ON U.K. here: https://www.eonenergy.com/ (https://www.eonenergy.com/?utm_source=gemini) Find out more about ETF Partners here: https://etfpartners.capital (https://etfpartners.capital?utm_source=gemini)

2. 

   28 Jul 2026

   How Decision Intelligence Solves Construction's Carbon Crisis with Greg Lawton

   In this episode of Sustainability Talks, Lucy Rands, Partner at ETF Partners, sits down with Greg Lawton, Co-Founder and CEO of Nodes & Links, an AI-driven project intelligence platform and an ETF Partners portfolio company. Greg co-founded Nodes & Links in 2018 alongside Dr Christos Ellinas. In the years since, the company has grown into a market leader in decision intelligence for major capital infrastructure projects, having deployed its system across more than 22,000 projects in 23 countries. The platform serves global technology conglomerates, major mining groups, and state-level infrastructure entities. Nodes & Links recently raised a significant funding round backed by ETF Partners, representing a bet that fixing the chronic inefficiencies of the construction industry can materially shift the needle on global carbon emissions. In this conversation, Lucy and Greg dive deep into the reality of deploying AI within high-stakes, risk-averse environments. They discuss the "decision crisis" in capital infrastructure and how Nodes & Links uses engineering-grade, auditable AI, rooted in the laws of physics and mathematics rather than speculative patterns, to eliminate generative AI hallucinations. They also explore the critical debate surrounding human-in-the-loop governance and liability as the industry moves closer towards AI-managed projects. Turning to sustainability, Greg outlines the massive carbon costs of project delays and explains how optimising traditional project management parameters—quality, timeline, and budget—into a square that incorporates environmental impact enables enterprises to actively reduce emissions during execution. Finally, Greg shares his journey as a founder, the changing landscape of AI procurement, and what it means to build a deep-tech enterprise with trust and assurance at its very heart. Whether you are interested in the frontier of enterprise software, the economics of global infrastructure, or how advanced computation can tackle climate change at an industrial scale, Greg's insights on system accountability and project orchestration are essential listening. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Project Intelligence and Capital Infrastructure 01:00 The Reality of the "Decision Crisis" in Modern Construction 04:23 Beyond the Optimism Bias: Why Capital Projects Run Late 07:08 Breaking the Data Bottleneck and Enterprise Systems of Record 09:22 The Evolution of AI Procurement: From Experimentation to Procurement 11:16 Engineering-Grade AI vs. Generative Hallucinations 14:36 The Future of AI Governance, Liability, and Autopilot Projects 18:38 Meeting the Customer Demand for Non-Hallucinating Assurance 21:40 Commercial Moats: Human Sweat, Workflows, and Data Security 23:53 Global Standardisation in Waterfall Project Management 26:02 Quantifying the Carbon Cost of Project Inefficiencies and Delays 28:07 Turning the Project Management Triangle into an Impact Square 29:48 The Energy Debate: Can AI Truly Be Sustainable? 32:15 Founder Journeys, Personal Purpose, and the Road Ahead About the Guest: Greg Lawton Greg Lawton is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nodes & Links, where he has pioneered the use of specialised decision intelligence to bring predictability and speed to the world's most complex engineering projects. With a background in project controls and complex systems, Greg drives the strategic growth of Nodes & Links, bridging advanced cloud algorithms with industrial-scale rollout requirements. Outside of transforming the infrastructure sector, Greg is a dedicated father of two daughters. Follow Greg Lawton on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greglawton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/greglawton) Find out more about Nodes & Links here: https://nodeslinks.com (https://nodeslinks.com/)

3. 

   2 Jul 2026

   The Race to Useful Large-Scale Quantum Computing with Matthijs Rijlaarsdam

   In this episode of Sustainability Talks, our Managing Partner, Rob Genieser, sits down with Matthijs Rijlaarsdam, Co-Founder and CEO of QuantWare, the world’s largest independent commercial supplier of quantum processing units (QPUs) by volume and an ETF Partners portfolio company. Matt co-founded QuantWare in 2021 as a spinout from QuTech at TU Delft, alongside CTO Alessandro Bruno. In just a few years, the company has become the world's largest commercial supplier of quantum processing units by volume, having shipped to more than 50 customers across 20 countries, spanning quantum computing companies, national technology institutes and major global technology conglomerates. QuantWare recently closed a €152 million ($178 million) Series B, the largest private round ever raised by a dedicated quantum processor company. We at ETF Partners were proud to join this round, and for us, this was an impact investment as much as a deep-tech one, a bet that scaling quantum hardware can accelerate breakthroughs in clean energy, materials and the natural sciences. In this conversation, Rob and Matt explore the reality of quantum today. They discuss breaking the hardware bottleneck and how QuantWare’s proprietary VIO™ technology solves the scaling architecture trap, shrinking a chip that would otherwise be the size of Central Park into a dense, scalable format. They also examine specialisation versus vertical integration and explain why applying the economic laws of the traditional semiconductor industry to quantum is essential for driving down cost curves. They also evaluate the direct and indirect sustainability impacts, focusing on how quantum computing will drastically reduce the energy required per watt for massive data processing whilst simultaneously unlocking breakthroughs in clean fuels, batteries and the natural sciences. Finally, Matt shares lessons in deep-tech entrepreneurship, reflecting on the importance of aggressive ambition from day one and transitioning the industry towards commercial scale and industrial production. Whether you are fascinated by the future of high-performance computing, deep-tech investment, or how next-generation technology will help us solve global environmental challenges, Matt's insights on open architecture and supply chain economics are essential listening. Listen now to discover how QuantWare is helping accelerate the timeline to a more sustainable future. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Quantum Computing and Sustainability 03:09 Current State of Quantum Computing 06:22 The Breakthrough of Independent Quantum Processors 11:01 Challenges in Building Quantum Processing Units 13:56 The VIO Technology and Its Impact 17:06 Business Models and Industry Scaling 19:10 Learning from Customers and Building Relationships 22:00 Quantum Computing's Role in Environmental Challenges 25:32 Cost Efficiency and Future of Quantum Computing 29:08 Global Ambitions and Market Positioning 33:04 Lessons Learned and Future Outlook About The Guest: Matthijs Rijlaarsdam Matthijs co-founded QuantWare and has since grown it into the world's leading quantum processor maker. He has a background in computer science and quantum information, with research experience in quantum simulation at QuTech. As CEO, Matthijs drives QuantWare's strategic direction and growth, bridging deep-tech innovation with real-world industrial scalability. He is also a member of the TechChampions. In his free time, he loves hiking in the mountains. Follow Matthijs Rijlaarsdam here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijs-rijlaarsdam (https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijs-rijlaarsdam) Find out more about QuantWare here: https://quantware.com (https://quantware.com ) Find out more about ETF Partners here: https://etfpartners.capital (https://www.google.com/search?q=https%3A%2F%2Fetfpartners.capital)

Who has been a guest on Sustainability Talks

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Pavan Sukhdev
• Mathias Boissonot
• Uday Khemka
• Rakhi Kumar
• John Elkington

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

4.9 / 5

15 ratings