All sessions will follow Chatham House rules.
8:30
Registration and welcome coffee
9:00
Keynote address: Quantitative techniques for using sustainability data to generate alpha
Arik Ben Dor, Ph.D., Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Equity Research, Barclays
9:20
Panel: Navigating the changing policy environment for sustainability data
- Evolving investor and corporate approaches to sustainability data in the current climate
- Reviewing developments in climate disclosure legislation at state level, and the future for data standards and regulation: will state and city regulations take over in the event of more deregulation at federal level?
- How active is voluntary reporting, and what is its value to investors?
- How are multinationals who are scoped into EU standards handling changes in the European reporting landscape, and the newly proposed "Omnibus" package?
- Update on ISSB and SASB, and the associated data challenges: how to ensure data quality, accuracy and investor materiality
- How is the global sustainability data landscape likely to evolve, in terms of policies and investment practices, and what should be the key priorities for data users and preparers? How do data providers need to respond?
Colleen Davis, State Treasurer, State of Delaware
Lauren Compere, Managing Director & Head of Stewardship and Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management
Neil Stewart, Director of Corporate Outreach, ISSB/IFRS Foundation
Steven M. Rothstein, Managing Director, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, Ceres
10:00
Investor Panel: Does sustainability data still matter for investors? How is it being used to inform investment decisions and drive returns?
- How does corporate sustainability reporting help investment decisions? What are investor expectations from their investee companies?
- How are investors and asset managers successfully generating alpha from sustainability data?
- Which data points from reports have most materiality to portfolios, and which data sets pose the most challenges to investors?
- What processes are investors putting in place to ensure sustainability data is fit for purpose, and of acceptable quality, scope and accuracy?
- How are asset owners working with asset managers to support their sustainability data strategies?
- What do investors need from data providers, and how are these needs evolving?
- Do investors really need more data? Discussing current data priorities
Daniel Kricheff, Senior Director, Sustainability Strategies Group, MetLife Investment Management
Emma Sabiiti, Head of Sustainable Investment Strategy, MassMutual
Lala Torres, ESG Research Analyst, Trillium Asset Management
Matthew Illian, Director of Responsible Investing, United Church Funds
Sara Rosner, Director, Responsible Investing Research, AllianceBernstein
10:50
Coffee break
11:20
Corporate Panel: Effective strategies for collecting, managing and reporting sustainability data
- Sharing practices and processes for ensuring accurate, verifiable, traceable and consistent data
- For companies scoped into CSRD, what has been the impact of changes in European reporting requirements?
- Performing a DMA (double materiality assessment) – data challenges and best practices
- How can reporting be used beyond the compliance function, as a strategic and operational tool?
- Discussing the challenges of bringing sustainability reporting up to par with financial reporting: what constitutes true financial materialilty?
- Embedding the sustainability data strategy across all parts of the organisation
- Selecting and working with data and software providers to enhance internal processes
- How are corporates using AI for managing sustainability data? What are the risks and benefits?
Azhar Qureshi, VP – Sustainability Reporting, Smurfit Westrock
Flora Ruan, ESG Data and Reporting Manager, The Coca-Cola Company
Jennifer Bogs, ESG & Sustainability Director, ProMach
Roxanne Sharif, Senior Manager, Sustainability Compliance, Mohawk Group
12:10
Panel: Unpacking the opportunities and limitations of using AI for sustainability data
- How is AI currently being harnessed for sustainability data, by data preparers and data users?
- How can AI successfully support investment decisions?
- How useful is AI for easing the reporting burden?
- How are data providers leveraging AI in their offerings?
- Does the human oversight and fact-checking required to mitigate the risks negate the value of AI?
- How is AI being used to scrape data and construct thematic investment products, including ESG?
- Discussing the wider future of AI in sustainability data
12:40
Lunch
13:40
Data modelling tools for measuring physical climate risk, including wildfire risk
- Insurer perspectives: examining current approaches to physical risk modelling in North America and Europe, and how these are evolving
- How is scenario analysis being used for measuring physical climate risk?
- With the recent spotlight on wildfire risk, what tools are emerging to measure the impact of wildfires on climate change, and how can insurers adapt traditional models to avoid insurability?
- Investor perspectives: what data are investors using to understand their direct and indirect exposure to physical climate change and the risks to their portfolios?
Katie Towey, Physical Risk Researcher - Climate Risk Center, MSCI
Olivia Sloan, Catastrophe Model Product Manager, Fathom
14:20
Panel: Sustainability data trends in private markets
- Discussing the business drivers for sustainability disclosure in private markets
- To what extent are LPs requesting sustainability metrics from their fund managers, and what sort of data are they asking for?
- At what point does sustainability and climate data come into play during the due diligence process of private investments?
- How are data trends likely to evolve in the private markets, and how could this be influenced by the regulatory environment, in the U.S. and globally?
Dan Jacobs, Principal, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Jeannie Cho, Director, Credit – Sustainable Investing, KKR
Michael Kashani, Head of Sustainable Credit & Platforms, Apollo Global Management, Inc
15:00
Assurance and verification of sustainability data: emerging best practices and challenges
- How widely is data assurance currently being carried out in the U.S., and at what level - limited assurance or reasonable assurance? Voluntary or mandatory?
- How effectively is it boosting investor confidence and increasing data credibility?
- Selecting and working with an assurance provider – critical issues to consider
- Should sustainability assurance be integrated into financial accounting? Do financial auditors have the bandwidth/expertise?
- Where is the sustainability assurance market heading, in terms of standards and regulations, voluntary practices and data tools and technologies?
John C. Shideler, Managing Director, OmnexFuturepast
15:40
Coffee break
16:10
Presentation: Reviewing the global state of play for sustainability assurance and the data implications
David Madon, Director, Sustainability, Policy & Regulatory Affairs, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)
16:25
Panel: Biodiversity and natural capital, and the blue economy: what data and measurement tools are available, and how are they being used?
- Understanding how models for measuring biodiversity and natural capital investments are evolving: -
- What data is available, how is it being collected?
- Update on TNFD implementation and experiences shared from TNFD adopters:
- What data challenges have been faced?
- What new data initiatives are under development?
- Discussing future potential developments and emerging innovations in biodiversity and natural capital data
- The blue economy: KPI tools for shareholder engagement and data issues relating to developing a blue taxonomy
Carole Laible, CEO, Domini Impact Investments
Meir Alkon, Vice President, Sustainable Finance Group, Goldman Sachs
Rolando Morillo, Portfolio Manager, Thematic Investing – Senior Vice President, Rockefeller Asset Management
17:05
Closing remarks
17:15
Networking drinks reception