In this episode of Sustainable Intelligence, we are joined by Bob MacKnight, VP and Head of Sustainability Products at S&P Global Energy Horizons, to unpack what’s next for sustainability in the private markets. Fresh from PRI and Pre-COP, Bob shares the biggest signals he’s seeing, from the maturation of carbon markets and momentum in sustainable agriculture, to the rise of AI-powered workflows and a clear shift from ambition to delivery. Drawing on his background in geoscience, data, and analytics, Bob explains how companies and investors can move past noise, focus on material impacts, and use high-quality data to drive resilience, adaptation, and real financial outcomes.
About Sustainable Intelligence
Novata’s Sustainable Intelligence podcast brings honest, forward-thinking conversations about sustainability in the private markets. From carbon accounting to turning data into impact, each episode explores how investors and business leaders are tackling real challenges, meeting rising regulations, and building long-term value. Join us for expert insights, practical strategies, and authentic dialogue that empower action and progress in the evolving sustainability landscape. Listen to more episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Conversation with Bob MacKnight (Transcript)
Ella Williamson: Welcome to Sustainable Intelligence, where we discuss all things sustainability for the private markets. Today we’re joined by Bob MacKnight, VP and Head of Sustainability Products at S&P Global Energy Horizons, where he leads a team focused on building software analytics and data solutions to help companies around the world embed sustainability metrics into their overarching business strategy.
Bob recently attended PRI and Pre-COP. Today we’re going to dig into the emerging themes around carbon markets, sustainable agriculture, AI-driven workflows, and the shift from promises to actual delivery.
So before we jump in, number one, it’s brilliant to have you here. S&P is one of our partners and one of our earliest investors. And I’d love you to start by telling us a bit about your career and how you got into sustainability.
Bob MacKnight: Thanks Ella. It’s great to be here. Thank you very much for having me on the podcast. So my career and how I got sustainability. I will go all the way back. So, my educational background is actually as a geologist, and a lot of my master’s work was actually focused on utilizing remote sensing imagery, so think like satellites and airborne imagery. So using that data to identify hydrothermal resources that can be used for geothermal energy, sustainable renewable energy. But at the time, geothermal energy was not very commercial. So I actually transitioned into working for a small boutique global energy consulting firm doing M&A and strategy work.
And then ultimately have, throughout many iterations of different types of companies that have been acquired and and merged, found myself in the data and analytics space. In about, gosh, maybe six or seven years ago now during my time at IHS Market, one of the things that I realized is that we had a lot of very deep, deep granular data around operational assets across the energy value chain, and that data could actually be used to help companies assess their scope one emissions data to help really drill into specifically where some of this emissions, the emissions were coming from in order to identify what are the actionable steps that they could take to decarbonize. So that was really the beginning, starting to figure out how we could put together some of these deep data sets that, at the time IHS Market had, and now S&P Global has to really help companies be able to identify where in their operations they can really take material steps towards reducing their overall missions. That has really now since, since first starting out at that, I then went into roles within leading climate and nature risk software and data products for within the sustainability division of S&P Global. Now to leading our overall product and services suite.
It’s certainly been a bit of a journey, but one of the things I I like the most is just being able to kind of leverage the deep industry data that we have in order to really help clients get to that answer is where can they take concrete material steps to improve, whether it’s just their operational emissions or reduce cost impact from physical climate risk or name any other topics. So that’s kind of, yeah that’s, that’s a bit of a background of myself.
Ella: Fascinating. Thank you so much for taking the time to go through that. I think all of those things, emissions, climate, risk, and how you actually build those into products is exactly what everyone would love to know more about. So based on that experience and based on the fact you’ve just come back from PRI and Pre-COP, what were the big themes and headlines that you think are most interesting from this year’s event?
Bob: Yeah, I found both PRI and Pre-COP to be really exciting. I think the sense that I, kind of , took away was one of urgency. So I think people had moved past some of the risk identification work of the past and really, kind of, moving into where can they now make the most difference and what are the steps that they can take. So some of the kind of hot topics that really are big themes and headlines that really stood out were, how to stabilize the rapid development of carbon markets, making sure that standards for verifying those markets are solid. So that’s a very active space that S&P Global is participating in. Sustainable agriculture was also a very big topic. So, we hosted a number of roundtables on that topic, and Brazil is a powerhouse in this space and doing a lot of very exciting things. So I saw people collaborating and brainstorming around ideas about whether it was regenerative farming transparency and supply chain. And taking specific steps in order to, again, make sure that they have sustainable operations in order to maintain future growth.
Another big thing that came up was the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund. So I think that was exciting to see people taking steps towards making sure that we are protecting kind of key ecosystems.
And then, I guess the last kind of big like future topic was really around AI. So, how is AI gonna start being integrated into sustainability workflows? We’re certainly taking a crack at that. I know Novata’s actively involved in that. But really around how can AI actually help with translating data to create insights that companies can then use, whether it be companies or investors to make specific decisions. And so, it was exciting to see some of the kind of innovation that people are doing, whether it’s around machine learning or utilizing large LLMs as well. So that was neat.
Ella: Thank you so much for that. AI is everywhere at the moment and especially in the sustainability sphere. You talk about how S&P is doing its bit to integrate it into core workflows and translate the data into usable information that will ultimately make impact.
What do you think we’re gonna see in the sustainability space and AI this year and going into next year?
Bob: Yeah, that’s a good question. We certainly see it everywhere and I think one of the things that we’re most focused on is how can we use it in a way that actually provides structure and insight to the data that helps people draw conclusions that they haven’t actually been able to do in the past?
So two very kind of clear examples of this are, we’ve been connecting a lot of our existing transition risk data sets to help identify, and very clearly connect, what is the progress that companies have actually made throughout their decarbonization targets and actual the evolution of those targets over time? But actually how are they financing them? So one of the things that we’ve been using agentic AI for is being able to connect the data sets to help identify what the targets are, how they progress against those targets, how they compare against their peers, but then also structure the data, be able to identify potential funding gaps. And so then that kind of, helps, whether it’s through corporate engagement or whether it’s through looking at bond issuance, being able to target what might be a gap between a company’s strategy and where they’re applying funding to that strategy and where they might need additional funds in order to meet their targets longer term. That’s one area.
The second area would be really around climate risk. So, we’ve seen a huge advancement in, and I’m not an expert in this area but I have got a lot of great people within the S&P world that are looking at this, which is great advancement within weather models so that we can get better predictions and forecasts of the near-term weather, but how could we leverage that advancement in near-term weather, towards the longer term views on potential climate outcomes? So that’s an area where you can run many simulations of potential future climate outcomes and using those future simulations, again, built off of actual real physical climate models. I think that’s a very kind of critical thing to point out here. But how can we use AI to sample across those, to generate probability ranges for what potential financial impacts are if certain climate outcomes come to bear.
So, those are two areas that we’re very focused on for AI and that has a lot of kind of trickle down impacts on the agriculture topic that I was mentioning earlier. So there are these longer term impacts that AI can help with and we’re trying to bring that to bear to help companies make decisions that will impact their real business operations longer term.
Ella: Amazing. So it’s all about what are those opportunities that we can harness using AI that will ultimately improve the financial state and the operational state of businesses worldwide. A very, very exciting breakthrough.
In terms of those four themes, agriculture, carbon markets, the Tropical Rainforest Fund, and AI. How do you think all or some of them are really impacting the corporate sustainability space today?
Bob: I think the challenge with the sustainability space is that there’s so much that both companies and investors are being asked to track. I mean, even just those kind of four topics are a lot. And so I guess the, one of the things that, whether it’s for corporates or for investors, is trying to really drill down and identify what are the material impacts on your business or your investments. And being able to try to filter out what’s not, because there’s a lot of things that likely are not. So that’s where we really try to, or where S&P Global tries to be able to provide the data and information that helps our clients be they corporates or investors, really drill down into what’s, so there could be agriculture companies where the Tropical Forest Fund is absolutely critical because it will make it such that their business operations are better focused on maximizing output from existing operations, existing farms, rather than looking for kind of new areas to grow into that would then put at risk some of these sensitive ecosystems. So, advancements in, and that’s some of the things that we also heard in Brazil, is just what some of the local companies are doing in order to maximize output from current operations rather than needing to go into other areas that would then cause deforestation, for example.
So, yeah, I think it’s just being able to do that drill down, starting at the high level and understanding of All the things that are going on, but then being able to focus down into what is impactful, material to either the investments or to the operations.
Ella: I really like the way you frame that in terms of not having to do something net new. It’s actually about taking what you already have, the data you have in the industry you are in and making the most of that information in the long term. So in your experience, what would you say are the three most actionable pieces of data that sustainability leaders should have on their agenda for 2026?
Bob: Ooh that’s a good one. Let’s see. All right, so the top three. So I’d say the first thing, and this really should be like bread and butter for folks by now, which is just clear reporting on Scope one, two, and three. So with the full understanding that Scope three will likely be murky, but there should now be a point where you’re driving towards better understanding of exactly where and how that data’s being calculated and whether it’s through assurance processes or other audit frameworks becoming comfortable with how those were calculated, how that’s informing targets that you may have set. So I’d say that’s like the number one bread and butter, everyone should be very comfortable with that by now.
The second one is really around climate physical risk, and then also opportunities that may exist. So we were talking about earlier maximizing kind of current operations. What are investments that could be done to switch to renewable energy, for example? But then also ways that what are the financial impacts whether it’s across portfolios or across operations that are likely creeping in due to physical climate risk and how could those be mitigated. I think over the last year we’ve seen a lot of switch from language, using climate physical risk now into like resilience and adaptation. So being able to identify where that risk exists is now, that’s the number two, but then being able to then figure out how can you make investments that will limit that risk, whether it’s through adding sorts of flood barriers, for example, or other options that will then translate those risks into either reducing them or into a potential opportunity that could make operations more profitable going forward. So that’s the second one.
And then just again, like tracking those and again, identifying the ones that are material and for the ones that aren’t, maybe just being aware of those, but not putting so much focus on them. So I think it’s now again, just like picking up and focusing on the first and the second items that I mentioned, which are the ones where you can make material progress on improving over time. And again, I’m focusing on those.
Ella: And would you say, are there any differences between companies and investors and that data specifically?
Bob: Definitely, I probably spoke a lot about on the investor side earlier so I guess for companies, I would probably say more about shifting towards like supply chain. Again, supply chain traceability, materiality. Maybe looking at also some social impact metrics like where could, again, coming back to physical climate risk, where could things like heat stress be impacting, productivity, for example. So looking at workforce, community engagement. And then lastly, updating, improving the transition plans to figure out, how has funding that you’ve set against those, how has it actually performed in relation to the target? .I guess those are the main things I would highlight for companies.
Ella: Great. And going back to your top data to measure and Scope three, you said it was a little murky for many companies. How would you advise companies to treat Scope three and also set realistic targets based on that observation you have?
Bob: Yeah, I mean, Scope three emissions for almost any company out there gonna be its largest source of emissions. So I think the first thing is really digging into and getting that kind of reliable data from suppliers. I think companies likely by now, should have, hopefully should have, I should put it maybe a different way, hopefully should have maybe between three to four years of data from at least their tier one suppliers and then maybe have started to get into tier two, tier three suppliers, over the last few years.
And so I think, using companies like yourselves to be able to gather that information, document that data, and then also start to drill into where the certain problem areas are. And so I think that’s really just trying to get data from the suppliers as you can and start demanding it.
So there’s a lot of companies out there that will require that data for specific contracts, or for, preferable pricing. So, I think, it’s creating the incentives for companies to be able to provide that data or for them to be able to go out and do some of the measurements themselves.
So just with the full recognition that it’s a journey and that they’ll likely need a little bit of time. So patience and grace probably also goes a long way. But then, we talked about AI earlier. There’s a number of tools that could likely be leveraged to, for people to come up with a very quick, albeit dirty and a bit rough assessment, to then improve over time. So just start with generating a quick estimate, getting comfortable with that, and then again improving. We do some of that as I know that Novata does as well. And I think just starting on that journey, leveraging the historical data so that you again, narrow in on what are the problem areas. I think that’s the best place to start.
Ella: And overall just getting started. If you haven’t got started, and don’t let perfection be the enemy of getting started, really. So very sound advice. Now we’re heading into reporting season, which is always a busy time for sustainability teams. Would you say there’s anything in particular that they should be paying attention to this year specifically? Any trends in the market that we think are gonna be different this year?
Bob: Oh my gosh. I feel like this is one of the segment that’s been upended so much over the last year with changes in multiple different ways. I think one, there’s been a lot of changes to what are reporting requirements geographically, right? So in terms of what’s being required now in Europe and how that, given kind of the changes around CSRD. Also, what’s going to be required in California. So I think that this is already a crazy time of year and both investors and companies have had to think through and probably reevaluate where they actually do need to report, where they’re still comfortable with reporting, given some of these changes.
I guess the other thing I would mention is that, it’s been nice to see that a lot of the regulators are now requiring different levels of assurance. And so being able to now implement controls and auditing process and governance over that data is likely something that all the companies, whether it’s investors or corporates, have now been embedding into their processes, which may have been a little bit different depending upon where they’re reporting over the last few years. So I think that’s, you know, hugely important. And then hopefully they’re getting a bit of reprieve with the changing standards and then also with the fact that a lot of these are now being integrated into the ISSB so that there’s just one standardized reporting framework that may be replicated across different types of geographies with a few different flavors, but generally people are coalescing along into kind of one standardized framework, which hopefully makes it easier.
Ella: Great. Those really resonate with me and I was actually reading an article that S&P wrote all around COP 30 and how there’s been a real shift from all these promises and projections around sustainability to actually now this being the time for delivery. And I think those three points really reflect that.
So thinking about 2026, specifically reporting season and beyond, what do you believe is the most exciting thing that we’re gonna see in the sustainability space? Big question.
Bob: It’s kind of already started to some degree. I mean, I think with some of the changes in the reporting that we mentioned, they’ve been driven off of the fact that, honestly, and this probably sounds a little bit crazy given my role, but I think people are being asked to do a lot and I think that that kind of muddled the view around what is actually going to make the biggest difference from a sustainability perspective to whether it’s their investments or their operations.
So I think the pivot that we’ve seen into like adaptation and resilience over the last year has been a very good one. Because all of the work that was done previously over the last years in terms of identifying risk, everyone should have now a relatively good understanding of what are the areas throughout their investment portfolio or throughout their operations as to where they can start making investments in order to reduce the risk.
So building resilience into exactly what they’re doing, and we’ve seen a trend of a lot of sustainability teams being integrated into actual business operations. I think this is a very positive trend. So that they can be able to say, okay, investments that we’re making either to build flood walls or to build green roofs or to create certain changes in our operational footprint in order to reduce potential supply chain impacts on our or physical climate risk on our supply chain or whatever it might be. Those are material investments that you can now make in order to reduce the financial impact of physical climate risks over time and even climate transition risks over time.
So I think that shift in mindset from risk to resilience and adaptation investments, those are the most exciting things ’cause it’s now like shifting into action and also showing how companies can drive top-line growth as opposed to just limiting like bottom-line losses. So I think that’s what I’m most excited about is just the, what are the investments that people can make now in order that will not only have a positive top-line impact, but also reduce the risks that have been identified over the last few years?
Ella: So do you think the term sustainability should be resilience, or do you think the term sustainability still has a place?
Bob: I think sustainability definitely still has a place. But I think you’re right that we’re gonna see resilience and adaptation probably come out a lot more over the next few years. I think it’s all within the umbrella of sustainability, but I think that’s gonna be what most people are saying in the next few years: resilience, adaptation.
Ella: Brilliant. Thank you, Bob. That has been absolutely fascinating. Now, we always end these episodes on a few quick fire questions, so whatever comes top of mind. We’ve obviously spoken about the top three metrics you think companies and investors should be tracking. Is there any rogue metric out there that you think people should just throw in there because it’s interesting and good for their bottom line?
Bob: Oh well, I’ve planted the seed a little bit and my guess is the listeners may actually know given how many times I’ve said this, but top one metric would be how are physical climate risk and natural catastrophes increasing costs in your operations, your supply chain? They might be creeping in there in ways that you don’t know. So that’d be the number one thing to track.
Ella: Great. Everyone take note. Is there a particular moment in your career that has shaped the way you approach your work today and going into future projects?
Bob: Ooh, the one thing that has helped me and I guess this might also resonate with listeners. Someone a long time ago told me that there will always be critics, and I think this has helped me because coming back to your original point, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Don’t be afraid to continue to make progress in areas that you think you may not have the best data in. It’s okay to start and at least start with something and improve it. So I think it’s okay to accept that there will always be critics. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to take that first step either in quantifying a risk or in making an investment that’s going to reduce that or even just asking the question of, we talked about supply chain, just asking the question of your suppliers. Have you estimated your, done your Scope one emissions estimation? Just starting with those questions and you may hear back it’s going to increase our cost if we have to do that, but we have to do that. But it’s, again, there will always be critics. It’s okay to take that first step and to try to get something done.
Ella: I love that. And then finally, building on that in a similar vein, if there was one skill that every sustainability leader should build and practice and perfect in 2026, what would it be?
Bob: Oh my gosh, if you’d asked me this question probably a few years ago, I would say good luck trying to memorize all the acronyms and maybe that should be the one thing that you can try to do is memorize all the acronyms. But that would’ve just been a joke. What is the one thing that every sustainability leader can do?
I think that one of the things I can share that we’re working on is, and I mentioned it earlier with materiality, but just what is the financial impact of what you’re doing? And some people might think not everything has a financial impact, but you can try to at least put a number to it. I think that’s what we found is that was what most is just again, what is the financial impact? Could be positive, could be negative. But I think if people can build one capability, it’s just translating it back to that, if you can.
Ella: Yeah, value creation, return on investment, definitely a priority for many sustainability teams at the moment. Bob, this has been absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for summarizing so succinctly all the key takeaways from COP. It’s really fascinating to hear about your advice around the top three pieces of data that you should be collecting, everything from Scopes one to three through to climate and physical risk data. And then actually really focusing on what’s material to your business. That’s something that I think is really important in this day and age. And then finally, the pivot to risk and resilience rather than just being sustainability.
So I think 2026 is set to be a fascinating year. Great to get your views on it at the end of 2025. Until next time, let’s keep building sustainable intelligence together. Find out more at novata.com.
