In this episode of Turbo Impact, Lee Qian, CFA, Portfolio Manager of the Positive Change Strategy at Baillie Gifford, joins host Kenny Chen to explore how public market investing can help move capitalism toward more purposeful, long-term value creation. Drawing on his experience helping build the Positive Change Strategy into a global impact investing platform, Lee explains how Baillie Gifford identifies companies that can solve material social and environmental challenges while generating attractive financial returns over time.

At the heart of the conversation is a more pragmatic view of sustainability: not as a separate agenda, but as a source of innovation, competitive advantage, and durable growth. Lee discusses the idea behind his upcoming book, Purposeful Capitalism, including why businesses should focus on “profitable problem solving” and how the Sustainability Flywheel can help leaders connect purpose, strategy, business model strength, and financial performance. The discussion offers a timely perspective on how investors and companies can move beyond polarized debates and focus on where impact and economics genuinely reinforce each other.

Key Topics Covered

• How Baillie Gifford’s Positive Change Strategy defines long-term impact investing
• Why product-led impact can create both societal value and financial value
• What long-term institutional investors look for in companies preparing for public markets
• What “profitable problem solving” means for business leaders and investors
• How the Sustainability Flywheel links purpose, strategy, and long-term competitive advantage

Who Should Listen:

Private capital managers, institutional allocators, and corporate leaders

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Produced by: Turbo Net Zero

In this episode of Turbo Impact, Viviana Occhionorelli, Partner and Head of Sustainability at Astorg, joins host Kenny Chen to discuss how private equity firms can translate sustainability into disciplined value creation across the investment lifecycle. Grounded in Astorg’s philosophy of “the art of listening,” Viviana explains how understanding management ambition, customer expectations, and operational realities helps embed sustainability directly into investment strategy.

The conversation explores how climate became a central pillar of Astorg’s approach, including its early commitment to Science Based Targets at the fund level and the structured playbooks used to drive decarbonization across portfolio companies. Viviana also highlights how practical tools—such as EcoVadis assessments and sustainability-linked loans—help translate sustainability priorities into measurable operational improvements and financial outcomes.

Key Topics Covered

• Integrating sustainability through Astorg’s “art of listening” investment philosophy
• Building a practical portfolio-wide decarbonization strategy
• Turning sustainability priorities into operational execution across portfolio companies
• Aligning sustainability performance with tangible financial outcomes
• Why biodiversity and nature-related risks are moving onto private equity investors’ agenda

In this episode of Turbo Impact, Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor of Practice at NYU Stern and founder of the Center for Sustainable Business, joins host Kenny Chen to discuss how sustainability becomes a measurable driver of financial performance. Over the past decade, Tensie has advanced the Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI) framework to help companies and investors move beyond ESG reporting and quantify the financial value embedded in sustainability strategies.

The conversation centers on how ROSI is being applied within private equity and companies to link material sustainability KPIs directly to operational efficiency, risk mitigation, growth, and exit value. Drawing on her Responsible Private Equity research, Tensie explains what distinguishes proactive integration from reactive compliance, and why outcome-based performance matters more than process-based disclosure. She also highlights circularity as an emerging financial resilience strategy amid commodity volatility and supply chain risk, reinforcing the case that sustainability, when treated as disciplined management, becomes a source of competitive advantage.

Key Topics Covered

• Why sustainability must be evaluated through financial performance rather than disclosure metrics

• ROSI as a structured framework to connect material sustainability practices to measurable value creation

• Responsible Private Equity research findings on integrating sustainability into operational strategy and exit outcomes

• Human capital and employee ownership as drivers of productivity, retention, and multiple expansion

• Circularity and resource efficiency as financial resilience strategies in a volatile global economy

Further Reading

Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI) Framework

https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/about/departments-centers-initiatives/centers-of-research/center-sustainable-business/research/return-sustainability-investment-rosi

Responsible Private Equity Research

https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/about/departments-centers-initiatives/centers-of-research/center-sustainable-business/research/value-drivers-private-equity-building-accountability-framework-positive-stakeholder

Who Should Listen:

Private capital managers, institutional allocators, and corporate leaders

Subscribe to our newsletter: www.turbo-impact.com

Email us: contact@turbo-impact.com

Follow on X: @turbo_impact

Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/turbo-impact

Produced by: Turbo Net Zero