Climate Rising

As climate risks intensify, understanding their financial
implications is becoming critical for businesses, investors, and homeowners alike. Ed Kearns, Chief Science Officer at First Street, joins Climate Rising to explain how climate data is being translated into actionable financial risk insights.

The conversation explores how First Street models physical climate risks—including flooding, wildfire, and extreme weather—and translates them into property-level financial impacts. Ed discusses why traditional tools
like FEMA flood maps fall short in a changing climate, and how new approaches combine physics-based modeling with high-resolution data.

The episode also examines how climate risk is reshaping real estate markets, insurance systems, and investment decisions, and why transparency is driving a fundamental shift in how risk is priced. Ed reflects
on the growing demand for climate risk intelligence and the role of both
private markets and public policy in adapting to a warming world.

Patagonia Provisions General Manager Paul Lightfoot joins Climate Rising to discuss why Patagonia expanded beyond apparel into food, and
how regenerative organic agriculture is central to its mission of addressing climate change. Patagonia’s food business was built on the belief that agriculture is one of the largest drivers of environmental degradation—and therefore one of the most important opportunities and levers for change.

The conversation explores how Patagonia’s early transition to organic cotton shaped its approach and evolution into regenerative organic agriculture. Paul that Patagonia’s focus seeks to encourage regenerative
practices that improve soil health, nutrition, and environmental performance.

Paul also describes some challenges of building regenerative supply chains, including working directly with farmers, creating demand signals, and managing supply constraints in a fast-growing business. He discusses the role of the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) standard in addressing greenwashing and scaling adoption, as well as Patagonia’s broader strategy to influence industry practices—not just gain market share.

The episode closes with a discussion of the future of regenerative agriculture, the limitations of policy-driven change, and Patagonia’s belief that market demand and consumer awareness will ultimately drive transformation in the food system.

Alyse Russel, Senior Manager of Global Sustainability
Programs at VF Corporation, joins Climate Rising to discuss how one of the
world’s largest apparel companies is embedding sustainability across a complex, multi-brand supply chain. VF owns major global brands including Vans, The North Face, and Timberland, and is working to reduce product-related emissions by transforming how key materials are sourced and produced.

The conversation explores why raw materials—such as cotton,
leather, rubber, and wool—account for the majority of VF’s emissions footprint, and how the company is prioritizing regenerative agriculture to address this challenge. Alyse explains how VF is scaling regenerative cotton, rubber, and wool programs across different geographies, while navigating trade-offs related to cost, verification, and supply chain complexity.

The episode also examines how VF collaborates with farmers,
NGOs, and researchers to implement regenerative practices, the challenges of measuring outcomes like soil carbon and biodiversity, and the evolving role of traceability and certification in validating sustainability claims. Alyse also reflects on the future of regenerative agriculture in the apparel sector, including the need for better standards, broader environmental metrics beyond carbon, and stronger industry-wide coordination.

Simon Haldrup, founder and CEO of Agreena, joins Climate
Rising to discuss how regenerative agriculture can scale beyond early adopters by focusing on farmer economics, data-driven decision-making, and flexible practice “toolboxes” rather than rigid labels. Based on Copenhagen, Agreena combines agriculture, finance and technology to work with 10,000 farmers across 20 countries.

The conversation explores why adoption remains challenging
despite long-term benefits, including thin margins, short planning horizons, and the risk of yield dips in the initial transition years. Simon also explains how Agreena uses satellite imagery, machine learning, and outcome-based verification to support both carbon credits and carbon insets, and how its two-sided platform aligns farmer incentives with corporate climate commitments. The episode closes with Simon’s perspective on the role of policy, finance, and technology in making regenerative agriculture the “new normal,” and advice for those interested in careers at the intersection of agriculture, climate, and systems thinking.

Indigo Ag is one of the most active companies at the intersection of agriculture, carbon markets, and regenerative agricultural practices. A.J. Kumar, Vice President of Sustainability Sciences at Indigo discusses how the company is working with farmers, food companies, and carbon credit buyers to scale regenerative agriculture and unlock environmental and financial benefits.

He explains how Indigo supports farmers with both biological inputs and sustainability incentives—from seed coatings and microbial sprays to data-driven tools and market access for carbon credits. A.J. also outlines the challenges farmers face adopting new practices, how Indigo addresses concerns around additionality and permanence in soil carbon projects, and how advances in AI and remote sensing are changing what’s possible in sustainable agriculture.

This episode is a part of our series on Regenerative Agriculture, which includes two prior episodes featuring McKinsey & Company Partner Tom Brennan and our next episode with Agreena CEO & Founder Simon Haldrup. Visit climaterising.org to learn more