Ashurst’s Elena Lambros welcomes special guest Natalie Kyriacou OAM for a wide-ranging chat that encompasses financial innovation, supply chains, and crucially, how Australia’s legal system can be a powerful force for climate action.

Having worked with corporates, government and charities, Natalie has seen what drives change from inside and outside the business world. In our podcast, she argues that governments and companies should be subject to a legal duty of care for young people and nature (similar to directors’ fiduciary duties). She also questions the logic of established economic frameworks and explains how these could be rewired to benefit people, planet and profit.

Natalie shares her pragmatic take on how corporates can regain trust in the wake of greenwashing scandals. She and Elena also discuss why supply chains are a two-way street when it comes to environmental accountability. And they shine a spotlight on overseas examples of nations taking bold steps to prioritise nature, economic progress, and social good.

Listen to more episodes in the Game Changers mini-series – featuring an array of talented guests – by subscribing to ESG Matters @ Ashurst on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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In this episode, Ashurst Head of First Nations Strategy Trent Wallace is joined by colleagues Natsuko Ogawa and Lea Constantine to reflect on their recent visit to Japan. As well as several productive meetings with clients in Tokyo, the trio also attended World Expo 2025 in Osaka where Trent spoke about engagement with First Nations people in Australia.

Natsuko reflects on her work over the past three decades, which has helped strengthen relationships between Ashurst’s Japanese clients and Australian businesses in the mining, resources, real estate and energy sectors. Lea explains why businesses seeking to invest in Australia are increasingly focusing on First Nations engagement. And Trent recalls the respectful, polite – and very frank – conversations he enjoyed with clients in Japan.

Natsuko describes the “revelation” that there are so many “clear links between First Nations and Japanese culture” and explains how progressive Japanese businesses are seeking more opportunities to connect with and employ First Nations people in Australia. Lea reflects, “One thing that dawned on me in Japan was that Australia is well known for safety, security and stability. And Japan really values those things as well.” While Trent adds: “It was a joy to recognise our similarities and find synergies.”

Packed with optimism, inspiration and insight, this episode provides plenty of food for thought for business leaders in Australia and Japan alike.

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Ashurst’s Elena Lambros welcomes special guest Dr Dariel De Sousa, a former Director of Compliance and Enforcement at the Australian Energy Regulator, who is now a leading voice in climate risk, regulation and governance.

Dariel draws on her deep professional and academic expertise to reveal the urgent need for regulatory reform in the face of systemic risks caused by climate change. The discussion traverses from the fragmented regulatory frameworks that have been inadequate to effectively respond to past natural disasters (e.g. Queensland’s 2011 floods and Victoria’s 2009 Black Saturday bushfires), to more promising regulatory progress in the US and in Victoria that reflect a system-wide approach to managing climate risks. Dariel argues that we cannot afford to wait for natural disasters to occur before we reform regulatory frameworks. Instead, regulation should embed a proactive risk governance approach so that climate risks can be pre-empted and managed in a similar way to how large corporations manage the spectrum of risks they face across their diverse operations through their enterprise risk management frameworks.

This episode is a powerful call to action for governments to codify climate resilience into law, to adapt society’s critical systems to the shocks stemming from our warming world.

Listen to more episodes in the Game Changers mini-series – featuring an array of thought-provoking guests – by subscribing to ESG Matters @ Ashurst on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.