When we talk about how climate change impacts our lives, many people are surprised to learn that it’s even affecting the way we should consider investing our money. And there’s a lot to consider, from supply chain issues to how committed companies are to climate action. In this episode, we asked an investment expert – Mark Hays – what do we need to know to build climate-smart portfolios?

Mark Hays is the president of Endowments & Foundations at Prime Capital.** At Prime, Mark is responsible for overseeing Prime’s national nonprofit practice, seeking to deliver comprehensive institutional investment management, mission, and impact strategy, and foundation governance and philanthropic strategy.

Mark brings nearly two decades of institutional investment experience with a focus on sustainable investing, including in roles at Glenmede, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Cambridge Associates. Mark earned his M.B.A. from London Business School, his B.S. from Wake Forest University, and completed executive education in sustainability leadership from Harvard University. He is on the leadership committee of CFA Society Philadelphia and is on the board of Believe in Students, a national education-focused nonprofit.

**At the time of recording, Mark was managing director and director of Sustainable Investing at Glenmede.

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Simmer Down is hosted by Kathleen Biggins. It is produced by Hans Buetow and Rebecca Fishkin.

Creative director: Carrie Dyckman

Associate producer: Nicole Curnan

Logo design: Sherri Locker

Music: Andrew Atkin at Charts & Leisure

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For more information on this topic:

Ceres

A nonprofit organization working with investors and companies on climate risk, corporate accountability, and financial resilience.

Carbon Tracker

A nonprofit financial think tank that analyzes how climate change and the energy transition affect investments, companies, and financial markets. Especially useful for understanding stranded assets and fossil fuel investment risks.

McKinsey Sustainability

Research and explainers on how physical climate impacts can affect businesses, supply chains, and financial assets.

As You Sow

Impact Alpha

Environmental Finance

Sports are a major part of our lives. Many of us play some sort of sport, whether professionally or recreationally. Still more are avid fans – hours and hours spent rooting for our favorite teams and sitting on the sidelines cheering on our children. But as climate change affects our weather, athletes and spectators are feeling the heat. In this episode, we asked a sports expert – Walker Ross – is it getting so hot we’ll have to call off the game?

Walker J. Ross is a lecturer in sport management and digital marketing at the University of Edinburgh and the director of the Sport Ecology Group, a nonprofit collective of academic educators and researchers. His research focuses on the bidirectional relationship between sport and the natural environment.

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For more info, go to C-Change Conversations

Email us

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Simmer Down is hosted by Kathleen Biggins. It is produced by Hans Buetow and Rebecca Fishkin.

Creative director: Carrie Dyckman

Associate producer: Nicole Curnan

Logo design: Sherri Locker

Music: Andrew Atkin at Charts & Leisure

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For more information on this topic:

Sport Ecology Group

A consortium of academics that conducts research in sport ecology and builds public awareness of sports ecology-related topics.

Green Sports Alliance

A group that shares best practices and promotes collective action through sports to support sustainable communities.

Sports for Nature Handbook

A document outlining the basics of the sport-environment relationship.

Insuring our homes used to be a given. Today, it’s increasingly a luxury that more and more can’t afford – if it’s even available at all. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the insurance industry as rising sea levels, severe weather, and other impacts threaten our biggest assets – our homes. In this episode, we asked an insurance expert, Ben Keys, will we be able to protect our homes in the near future?

Ben Keys is the Rowan Family Foundation professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Keys's recent research has focused on climate risk, housing, and mortgage markets; foreign investment in the U.S. housing market; and the geography of household financial distress. His research has been published in such journals as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies, and has been profiled in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

Before joining Wharton, Keys taught at the University of Chicago and worked as a staff economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He holds a B.A. in economics and political science from Swarthmore College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

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For more info, go to C-Change Conversations

Email us

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Simmer Down is hosted by Kathleen Biggins. It is produced by Hans Buetow and Rebecca Fishkin.

Creative director: Carrie Dyckman

Associate producer: Nicole Curnan

Logo design: Sherri Locker

Music: Andrew Atkin at Charts & Leisure

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For more information on this topic:

First Street climate risk data

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/08/climate/home-insurance-climate-change.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/19/climate/home-insurance-premiums-costs-usa.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/09/climate/home-insurance-credit-scores.html

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-proposal-for-a-us-federal-property-reinsurer/