Water: Risk, Opportunity and Sustainability 2017

Welcome address

David Harris, Head of ESG, FTSE Russell and Group Head, Sustainable Business, London Stock Exchange Group

Water investment and sustainable development

• Management of water for sustainable growth and development
• Importance of market involvement in water investing
• Investment in water security and future investment requirements for water
• Drivers for making investment in water more palatable
• Main initiatives behind  the OECD Roundtable on Financing Water  

Xavier Leflaive, Water Team leader, Environment Directorate, OECD

Panel session: Water security, water stress measurement and business continuity in the future

• Introduction to drought/water stress tool
• Water as a systemic risk
• G20 priorities
• Financial sector support and greater understanding of the risks and opportunities
• Project/drought stress testing tool

Moderator:
Anders Nordheim, Head of Ecosystems Management and Sustainable Land Use, UNEP Finance Initiative

Panellists:
Courtney Lowrance, Global Head, Environmental and Social Risk Management, Citi
Danielle Carreira, Project Manager Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA), Global Canopy Programme
Miroslav Petkov, Director, Financial Institutions, S&P Global Ratings
Stephen Moss, Director Capital Markets Solution, RMS
Yannick Motz, Lead, Emerging Markets Dialogue on Finance, (GIZ GmbH)

Presentation: Investing in water

• Water strategy
• Investment drivers
• Water investing – how and why

Speakers:
Noel O'Halloran, Chief Investment Officer, KBI Institutional Water Fund

Panel session: Water risks: The metrics that matter for global investors

• Water-related risks to investor portfolios by asset class
• Location risk
• Industry
• Best-case examples of the management of exposure to water risk

Panellists:
Antoine Sorange, Head of SRI Analysis, Amundi
Morgan Gillespy, Head of Water, Corporate Water Stewardship, CDP
Piet Klop, Senior Advisor, Responsible Investment, PGGM
Cyrus Lotfipour, Vice President,  ESG Research (US), MSCI 

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panel session: Water utilities & infrastructure – Assessing funding requirements and financing approaches (including PPP) to meet future demand from business and local communities

• Looking at the funding gap of water utilities and infrastructure
• Future demand vis-à-vis population growth and economic activity
• Approaches to funding and investing in water-related development

Panellists:
Ian Allison, Global Head, Climate Resilience Initiative, Mott MacDonald
Lillian Georgopoulou, Fixed Income Product Specialist, London Stock Exchange
Paul O'Callaghan, CEO, BlueTech Research
Dr. Ralf Bufler, Managing Director, GKW Consult
Will Maize, Senior Analyst, Bluefield Research

Panel session: Water risks in the portfolio – An institutional investor perspective covering:

• The importance of water risk to institutional investors
• Water management reporting
• ESG factors
• Water security factors
• Transparency issues in terms of commitments, policies and strategies

Panellists:
Faith Ward, Chief Responsible Investment and Risk Officer, Environmental Agency Pension Fund
Monika Freyman, Director, Investor Initiative, Water Program, Ceres
Philippe Rohner, Senior Investment Manager, Pictet
Richard Mattison, Chief Executive Officer, Trucost
Sarika Goel, Responsible Investment Manager Research, Mercer Investments
Kristel Verhoef, Active Ownership Specialist, Actiam

Moderated by:
Gemma James, Manager, Environmental issues, UNPRI

Presentation: Shades of climate risk for Investors

• Understanding the latest science on water risk
• Identifying the biggest water-related risks
• Probabilities of extreme weather events including flooding and drought

Speakers:
Christa Clapp, Head of Climate Finance, CICERO

Risk to reward: Opportunities to create value from water-related investments

• How large companies can create opportunity from water risk in their supply chain, and value for their business and for their investors.
• Types of water infrastructure that contribute to water security, and provide a return for investors
• How financial institutions can integrate water considerations into their investment decisions to seize opportunities and minimize riskAre corporates proactive or reactive to water risks?

Speakers:
Ambika Jindal, Vice President Sustainable Finance, Wholesale Banking, ING
Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, The Kingdom of The Netherlands & Sherpa for the UN HLP on Water
Kathleen Dominique, Policy Analyst, OECD

Moderator:
Margaret Kuhlow, Global Finance Practice Leader, WWF

Panel session: Identifying and managing water risks beyond the fence line

• Identifying supply-chain risks
• Valuing of water
• Reputational risks
• Local stakeholder engagement strategies

Panellists:
Dr Alex Money, Programme Director, University of Oxford
Dr Nick Hepworth, Director, Water Witness International
Dr James Allan, Associate Director, Verisk Maplecroft
Jan K. Verweyen, Water Stewardship Advisor, GIZ (German Development Cooperation)

Moderated by:
Scott McCready, Chief Strategy Officer, AWS

Concluding remarks