Tuesday
25 February 2025
08:00 - 08:50
Registration and breakfast
08:50 - 09:00
Chair’s opening remarks
09:00 - 09:45
BIODIVERSITY & NATURE – PANEL DISCUSSION
Addressing nature and biodiversity risks and the possibilities for market participants to turn these into something investable
- Identifying and investing in biodiversity opportunities
- Assessing the growing vulnerability of companies and investments to biodiversity loss
- Integrating biodiversity-related investments into sustainable finance strategies
- Understanding the need to measure and mitigate for biodiversity impacts
- Reviewing the importance of compensation methods when mitigation isn’t feasible
- Leveraging discussions on biodiversity to develop tangible solutions for risk mitigation
- Reviewing the pressures on nature and biodiversity following COP 16
- Recognizing the need to fully integrate nature into the economy and understanding it’s various impacts
- Understanding the complexities of nature risks
- Challenges they pose for data collection and investors
- Reviewing recent advancements in nature-based solutions
09:45 - 10:20
WATER FOOTPRINT
Exploring strategies to reduce environmental impact
- Measuring, mitigating and compensating for water consumption
- Addressing the increased emphasis on managing water usage in sustainability efforts
- Evaluating the significance of water usage as key sustainability metrics
- Focussing on reducing resource use and minimizing harm to the environment
- Reviewing impact to asset value and portfolio resilience from water risks
10:20 - 10:50
Morning refreshment break and networking
10:50 - 11:25
DATA
Exploring the challenges in finding quality data and complying with data requirements
- Reviewing the need for high-quality data in sustainability tasks
- Exploring strategies for acquiring top quality data in preparation for CSDDD
- Assessing the potential of AI and emerging platforms to manage large data sets
- Evaluating risks associated with transitioning to automated AI driven methods
- Understanding the necessity of improved data quality to measure the impact of sustainable investments
- Discussing the difficulties in ESG data collection and reporting
11:25 - 12:00
CSDDD
Navigating the shifting regulatory environment and whether CSDDD will facilitate more sustainable investments
- Reviewing impact to supply chain from new CSDDD regulation
- Recognising the complexities caused by lack of harmonization among regulatory standards
- Evaluating CSRD, CSDDD, SFDR and EU taxonomy can complement each other to improve efficiency
- Integrating CSDDD requirements into current frameworks
12:00 - 13:00
Lunch break and networking
13:00 - 13:35
ADAPTATION FINANCE
Mobilizing climate finance for vulnerable nations
- Rolling out financial solutions towards countries severely affected by climate change
- Addressing and mitigating the increasing frequency of extreme weather events
- Defining adaptation finance with a stronger focus from the industry
- Addressing the pressures of climate change on infrastructure
13:35 - 14:10
ESG RISKS
Managing ESG risks and addressing challenges to practical implementation
- Alternative approaches to incorporation of ESG into ERMFs of financial institutions
- Target state of ESG Risk Management Framework
- Building blocks for managing ESG risks
- Challenges to practical implementation
14:10 - 14:55
ESG RESISTANCE - PANEL DISCUSSION
Advancing ESG with a decline in discussions and global disconnect
- Highlighting the reduction in ESG discussions driven by political and economic factors
- Addressing the pushback against ESG initiatives
- Reviewing implications for global businesses and sustainable practises
- Tackling concerns about the influence of ESG strategies on a broader portfolio
- Exploring the decline of ESG topics and the global disconnect
- Increased challenge for investors
- Impact of US political dynamics on global sustainability practices
- Potential impact of the US elections
- Assessing the momentum of progress with the slowdown of government
- Understanding policy stance on environmental issues with new leaders
- Delayed reactions with IASB requirements due to election cycle in UK
14:55 - 15:25
Afternoon refreshment break and networking
15:25 - 16:00
CAPITAL
Integrating climate risk into credit assessments and impact to capital allocation
- Integrating climate risk into credit risk assessments
- Exploring the evolving significance of this topic and its impact in financial decision-making
- Understanding climate risks influence on banks’ capital allocation
- Fully embedding climate factors into the financial system
- Exploring climate risks impact to credit risk
16:00 - 16:35
COLLABORATION
Enhancing cross–functional collaboration for effective sustainability strategies
- Examining strategies to integrate efforts across various functions rather than operating in silos
- Mitigating disjointed operations to reduce inefficiencies and missed opportunities in sustainability strategies
- Exploring approaches to reduce silo mentality
- Pushing a holistic understanding of all ESG components
- Ensuring that sustainable finance fulfils its commitments
- Collaborating with other functions to integrate sustainability factors into frameworks
16:35 - 17:10
UPSKILLING
Understanding the importance of upskilling employees to have sustainability knowledge across the business
- Exploring strategies to upskill a wider range of employees to foster sustainability knowledge across the business
- Ensuring that organizations integrate sustainability skills across all disciplines
- Upskilling in sustainability roles to embed practises across all business functions
- Shifting the perception of sustainability from a task to a default in the business
- Recognizing the positive impacts of embedding sustainability within the organisation
17:10 - 17:20
Chairs Closing Remarks
17:20 - 17:30
End of day one and drinks reception
Wednesday
26 February 2025
08:00 - 08:50
Registration and breakfast
08:50 - 09:00
Chair’s opening remarks
09:00 - 09:45
TRANSITION FINANCE – PANEL DISCUSSION
Reviewing the current transition risk landscape and potential implications for the future
- Developing clear definitions and commitments in transition finance
- Identifying the criteria that categorizes a company as being in transition
- Exploring the complexities of green finance and its relationship with transition finance
- Reviewing the challenges of financing transitioning industries
- Navigating the development of credible pathways and structures when financing a company in transition
- Analyzing strategies to shift investment focus from purely green projects to broader transition initiatives
- Emphasizing the need to commit to transition finance to enhance confidence within the industry
- Interpreting the LMA’ transition loan principles and their implications
- Having discussions with clients to understand company stance with sustainability strategy.
- Engaging clients on sustainability and creating customized transition plan.
09:45 - 10:20
CLIMATE TRANSITION PLAN - FIRESIDE CHAT
Integrating climate transition into the strategy of funds
- From Sustainability to Resilience and Regeneration
- Vertical vs transversal climate transition investment focus
- The need and the value of climate transition enhanced value creation strategies
- Intentionality, measurability and alignment of interest
10:20 - 10:50
Morning refreshment break and networking
10:50 - 11:25
REPORTING
Tackling the ongoing challenges of sustainability reporting
- Preparing for the upcoming CSRD reports
- Navigating the increased reporting among corporates and banks
- Addressing the challenges of sourcing reliable and consistent data to stay compliant with European requirements
- Reviewing requirements of CSRD and how the regulation is different
- Recognizing the challenges of reporting scope 3 emissions and the estimations required
- Integrating CSRD due diligence requirements into existing frameworks
- Understanding C-Suite sustainability responsibilities
11:25 - 12:00
SDR & SFDR
Addressing compliance with overlapping standards from SDR and SFDR
- Interpreting and implementing the new SDR as a new and complex regulation
- Defining a robust standard for SDR
- Comparing the European SFDR regulation
- Getting labels for funds
- Learning FCA requirements to achieve a label
- Reducing companies greenwashing through SDR and increased labels
- Creating more confidence for retail investors
- Aligning SDR requirements with existing due diligence processes
12:00 - 12:35
GREENWASHING
Navigating the challenges of mitigating greenwashing risks amid growing pressure from investors
- Understanding the risks of greenwashing amid increased pressure from investors
- Enhancing transparency to reduce regulatory scrutiny
- Preventing greenwashing through a robust framework
- Aligning with ECB requirements to ensure controls are in place
- Reviewing the implications of anti-greenwashing disclosure
12:35 - 13:35
Lunch break and Networking
13:35 - 14:20
ESG STRATEGY – PANEL DISCUSSION
Discussing the ongoing challenges with ESG strategy and the impacts of global implications
- Identifying the meaning of ESG beyond reporting and highlighting its importance for economic strength
- Analyzing the disconnect between European regulatory approaches and the competitive advantage it grants to non-European countries
- Leveraging data providers to help companies with legislative compliance
- Engaging stakeholders effectively when formulating a strategy
- Executing ESG initiatives with rising geopolitical tensions and economic pressures
- Addressing the inconsistencies in evolving practises across the world
- Tackling companies setting long term targets with insufficient accountability and a lack of penalties for non-compliance
- Addressing social and governance impacts and leveraging CSRD to highlight these
- Assessing how government, corporate and public partnerships are working together
- Devising mechanisms and structures to support transition
14:20 - 14:55
ESG INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Exploring Investor Priorities in the 2025 Sustainable Debt Market
- Addressing the views of ESG fixed income investors in Europe, US and Canada
- Understanding the drivers impacting investment decisions
- Opportunities and challenges of investing in ESG labelled debt
14:55 - 15:30
SUSTAINABLE LENDING
Navigating ways the loan book can be made more sustainable
- Making the lending book more sustainable when financing high impact sectors
- Encouraging unsustainable sectors to take more green action to avoid negative environmental footprint
- Engaging clients to transition to sustainability amidst pressures from stakeholders
- Managing legacy clients in the lending book
- Evaluating strategies to greenify the lending book with a legacy of oil majors
- Incentivizing to improve ESG performance
15:30 - 16:00
Afternoon refreshment break and networking
16:00 - 16:35
CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
Assessing the challenges of integrating sustainability into businesses practises
- Recognizing the reluctance of businesses to share data for ESG assessments
- Helping clients understand the benefits of sustainability
- Increasing engagement with smaller businesses and highlighting the role in assessing environmental impacts
- Advocating for sustainable practises despite geopolitical challenges
- Acknowledging that ESG is not just a trend but a long-term necessity
16:35 - 16:45
Chair’s closing remarks
16:45