Opening Remarks by the chair

Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

PANEL: The future of sustainable finance in fixed income

• How will the sustainable finance markets evolve over the next 5-10 years?
• How will sustainable finance cope with economic cycles involving prolonged instability or uncertainty?
• How will emerging ESG regulatory trends shape the global sustainable finance market?
• To what extent will sustainable finance markets coalesce or further divide over the next 5-10 years?

Moderator:
Aaron Franklin, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, SMBC

Panellists:
Stephen Liberatore, Head of ESG/Impact, Global Fixed Income, Nuveen
Tiffanie Wong, Director, Fixed Income Responsible Investing Portfolio Management, Alliance Bernstein
Tracy Patel, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, Prologis
Ryan M Hershberger, Director, Global Funding and Capital Markets, Ford Motor Company

PANEL: Are sustainability-linked bonds raising or lowering the bar for ESG issuance?

• What are the advantages and constraints of SLBs in the Americas markets vs. Transition bonds?
• What are investors looking for in SLBs?
• Should the Use of Proceeds model be combined with SLBs?
• What are main structuring considerations to make SLBs most impactful?
• When are sustainability linked products right for high emitting sectors?
• What make SLBs suitable for high yield markets?

Moderator:
Anne van Riel, Head of Sustainable Finance Capital Markets Americas, BNP Paribas

Panellists:
Mayur Mukati, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance, Morningstar Sustainalytics
Fernando Reiter, Corporate Finance Director, Cemex
Andrea Vigo, Senior Funding Director, Dow Chemicals
Joshua Linder, Senior Credit Analyst, Fixed Income, APG

Fireside Chat

With Mr Stan Magidson, Chair, Canadian Securities Administrators

KEYNOTE Interviewer:

Amy West, Managing Director, Global Head, Sustainable Finance & Corporate Transition Group, TD Securities

Panel: Bondholder engagement

• Setting clear paths to escalate engagement and measuring ESG outcomes
• How do GSS principles enable investors to engage with issuers?
• How can bond investors and use of proceeds stimulate discussions around the Paris agreement and the SDGs?
• What is holding bondholders back from being more proactive in this regard?
• How can issuers facilitate engagement?
• Does it drive motivation to issue?

Moderator: 

Panellists:
Gianluca Spinetti, Head of ESG Analysts and Head of Product Development, Sustainable Fitch
Alessia Falsarone, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Investing, Portfolio Strategy and Risk, Pinebridge Investments
Kenneth Lay, Senior Managing Director, The Rock Creek Group, Chair, IFFIM

Fireside Chat: National Bank of Canada

Panel: Corporates’ transition on the journey to net zero

• How do issuers demonstrate their transition strategy?
• Considering company assets at risk and mitigation strategies over the long term
• New technologies? New business models?
• Time horizons and demonstrating materiality of the strategy and its levers
• Are the bond markets a way for corporates to action and finance their transition strategies?
• How does M&A and divestiture impact transition plans? Are they beginning to play a material role in transition strategies?
• Driving supply chain engagement to accelerate transition strategies
• Investor' evaluation on the credibility of issuers' transition strategies and progress

Moderator:
Robert White, Managing Director, Head of Green & Sustainable Hub, Americas, Natixis CIB

Panellists:
Jeanne-Mey Sun, Vice President, Sustainability, NRG
Viola Lutz, Head of Climate Solutions, ISS ESG

How can the fixed income market help deliver President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act?

• Can green bonds play a role in helping to build the green infrastructure required by the act?
• Will there be a role for PACE bonds, muni bonds, or ABS?
• What other kinds of instruments or innovation or blended finance may be needed?

Chair’s Closing Remarks

Drinks reception