Steering Societies Beyond GDP to the SDGs with Hazel Henderson and Green Banker Ken LaRoe

Originally aired February 24, 2021

In this installment of SSF’s Steering Societies Beyond GDP to the SDGs series, ecological economist and futurist Hazel Henderson joins green bank pioneer Ken LaRoe to explore how values-based banking can steer capital toward the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2009, LaRoe founded First Green Bank — the first community bank explicitly designed to advance positive environmental and social responsibility. Now he is launching Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg, Florida, a full-service community bank on a mission to positively impact people, planet, and prosperity.

Speakers

Hazel Henderson

Futurist & Ecological Economist; Founder, Ethical Markets Media

Hazel Henderson was a world-renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, and author of numerous books on sustainable development and ethical markets. She founded Ethical Markets Media and developed the Ethical Markets Quality of Life Indicators as an alternative to GDP. Her lifelong work challenged conventional economics and advocated for measuring societal progress through human and planetary well-being rather than growth alone.

Ken LaRoe

Founder, First Green Bank; Founder & CEO, Climate First Bank

Ken LaRoe is a pioneer of values-based banking. In 2009 he founded First Green Bank, the first community bank of its kind explicitly built on environmental and social responsibility while operating as a traditional financial institution. Building on that foundation, he launched Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg, Florida — a full-service community bank with a mission to positively impact people, planet, and prosperity through every lending and investment decision.