Agenda

Agenda

8:15

Registration & coffee

9:00

OPENING KEYNOTE: Climate change and worldwide implications for businesses and investors

Holt Thrasher, CEO, Permian Global

9:30

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The Outlook for Sustainable Forest Finance and Investment

David Brand, Chief Executive Officer, New Forests

10:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: Strategies and innovative financing mechanisms for forestry investing

  • Forestry within the investment portfolio – capital preservation or inflation hedge?
  • The forestry investment landscape explained: who is buying what and why (financial instruments and types of deals)
  • Why investors are keen on real assets
  • Emerging investment products (green bonds, agroforestry etc)
  • How to de-risk investment in climate finance

Panellists:
GianPaolo Potsios, Partner, Timberland Investment Resources Europe
Joost Oorthuizen
, Executive Director at IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative
Roger Naylor
, Forestry - Chief Operating Officer, FIM Services Ltd
Stephen Rumsey
, Chairman, Permian Global
Moderator: Jane Feehan, Senior Forestry Specialist, European Investment Bank

10:45

Morning coffee break

11:15

PANEL DISCUSSION: Managing risks and returns within global forestry

  • The critical factors in generating optimal investment returns
  • How conservation finance - integrating forestry, biomass and eco-systems services - is delivering new industry revenue streams
  • Mitigating economic, currency, physical and other risks inherent to this sector
  • Where to invest - regional investment considerations and opportunities

Panellists:
Andrew Mitchell, Founder Director, Global Canopy Programme
Darius Sarshar, Consultant, SLM Partners
Jeffrey Hatcher, Managing Director, Indufor North America
Moderator: Hugh Humfrey, Partner, Timberland Investment Resources Europe

12:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: Sustainability criteria, standards and certification for forestry and biomass

  • The sustainability and transparency issues facing the forest products and biomass supply chain
  • Strategies for defining, measuring and achieving sustainability
  • The role of standards and certification processes

Panellists:
Andrew Heald, Technical Director, Confederation of Forest Industries
Joost Kanen
, Director, Gryphon Carbon Consulting
Marcel Silvius
, Programme Head Climate-Smart Land Use, Wetlands International
Thorsten Arndt, Head of Communications, PEFC
Moderator: Julia Young, Manager, Global Forest and Trade Network - UK, WWF

12:45

PRESENTATION: Promoting investments in productive forests for achieving green growth and climate goals

Gerhard Dieterle, Forests Adviser and Program Manager for FIP and DGM, Sustainable Development Network (World Bank)

13:05

Lunch break

14:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: Anti-deforestation developments post COP21 and market implications

  • The industry initiatives to combat deforestation that are changing the forestry investment landscape (Soft Commodities Compact, UNEP FI, Natural Capital Declaration)
  • The Paris Climate Agreement and sustainability goals: a pipe dream or a realistic solution?
  • The future of carbon-offsetting and the role of REDD+. Are carbon credits an investable asset and will the aviation industry be a game changer?
  • Walking the tight-rope: the stakeholder dynamics across the private sector, NGOs, governments and multilaterals

Panellists:
Anders Nordheim, Programme Co-ordinator for Biodiversity, Ecosystems Services and Water, UNEP FI
Christian del Valle
, Founder and Managing Partner, Althelia Ecosphere
Mark Eadie, Head of Environmental and Social Risk Management, Standard Chartered
Naomi Swickard
, Director, Land-based Frameworks, Verified Carbon Standard
Moderator: Jane Wilkinson, Director, Climate Policy Initiative

14:45

CASE STUDY: Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project

Stephen Rumsey, Chairman, Permian Global

15:15

Coffee break

15:50

CASE STUDY: Delivering landscape financing in San Martin, Peru

Alexandra Pinzon, Project Lead Unlocking Forest Finance, Global Canopy Programme

16:20

CLOSING PANEL: The future for forestry and its role as a sustainable solution

  • Are the commitments to sustainability by governments, investors and companies going far enough?
  • What is needed to drive sustainable forestry forward?
  • What are the predictions regarding the forestry investment sector in the next five years?

Panellists:
Adrian Rimmer, President, Climate Markets and Investment Association
David Brand, Chief Executive Officer, New Forests
Meryam Omi
, Head of Sustainability, Legal & General Investment Management
Pat Snowdon
, Head of Economics and Climate Change, Forestry Commission
Moderator: Chris Knight, Assistant Director Sustainability & Climate Change, PricewaterhouseCoopers

17:05

Concluding Remarks

Adrian Rimmer, President, Climate Markets and Investment Association

17:15

End of conference and drinks reception