4 hard truths about capitalism and climate | Steve Howard

TED Talks Daily

TED

Creativity, Ted Podcast, Ted Talks Daily, Business, Design, Inspiration, Society & Culture, Science, Technology, Education, Tech Demo, Ted Talks, Ted, Entertainment, Tedtalks

4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For decades, investor and business leader Steve Howard watched companies pour money and effort into sustainability initiatives ... and still fall short. The problem isn’t a lack of will, he says; it’s that capitalism and climate have been wired to work against each other. He shares four realities that explain why even well-intentioned businesses fail at climate action — as well as a plan to flip the system, making green innovation so powerful the market can’t resist it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.
0:11.7	I'm your host, Elise Hu. Could capitalism, which many believe has led us to the climate crisis we're in today, also be the thing that helps us out of it?
0:21.5	In this talk,
0:22.2	sustainability investor Steve Howard
0:24.1	flips the lens to capitalism itself
0:26.7	and wonders,
0:28.2	can profit-driven systems
0:30.0	help to scale climate solutions
0:32.1	at the speed we need?
0:33.9	Steve says yes,
0:35.0	but only if we dare to change the rules.
0:41.9	How can capitalism help solve climate change?
0:47.8	I'm Steve Howard and vice chair sustainability
0:50.4	at global investment firm Tamasek.
0:52.5	I've been wrestling with this question for about
0:54.2	three decades. I was formerly, I was chief sustainability officer at IKEA. I've helped set up
1:00.8	several climate change organizations, we mean business coalition, the climate group, and recently
1:06.0	TILT Collective. And I've come to conclusions that there are some real hard truths.
1:11.6	The first hard truth, every business is a machine.
1:16.9	They are hardwired and softwired to do what they do.
1:21.5	That's why they're really good at it.
1:23.7	Let me give you an example.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.