Emma Jane Joyce is a sustainability specialist at the National Treasury Management Agency based in Dublin. She spent most of her career at the Agency holding roles such as Head of Responsible Investment and Investment Director. She’s a member of the Ireland steering committee of the CDP Global Environmental Reporting System.

We start with Emma Jane’s university education which was in the field of science and genetics.  Although she didn’t know it then, it would end up preparing her well for a career in investing that quickly started to move in the direction of sustainable investing and ESG standards.  After a stint in investment consulting Emma Jane came to the National Treasury Management Agency and we discuss the leadership role that that organization has held in implementing policy and setting the standard in terms of divestment and ESG integration. We speak about the organization’s goals, how they are evolving and how they are measuring progress against them.

We speak about the characteristics that are required to pursue a career in sustainability, which often has long-dated goals and challenging aspirations. Emma Jane describes these as patience, stubbornness, resilience and optimism. She acknowledges the role played by Eugene O’Callaghan, another guest in this series, with whom she overlapped at the NTMA, and how he encouraged her in her career as well as the influence of her mother – a climate warrior who made an impression from a very early stage.

Series 5 is sponsored by Astarte Capital Partners, an asset management firm focused on sustainable real asset sectors, acting as anchor investor and partner to specialist emerging managers. Astarte is headquartered in London with a presence in Sydney and Toronto.