For all the hue and cry about ESG company ratings, there isn’t much known about how they’re compiled and used — and what they even mean. If ESG ratings are primarily designed to help investors assess risk, how are they different from conventional company ratings? Join GreenBiz Chairman and Co-founder Joel Makower and a panel of investors and analysts for a look under the hood of the ESG rating machine.

With the meteoric rise in net-zero commitments and “green” capital raises by corporations and financial institutions, investors and consumers are wondering if these statements are credible. Do “green” labels actually accelerate the flow of capital to companies and projects seeking to improve our climate future? This session will examine why specific “green” financial products and labels are ineffective and why counting carbon levels the playing field for investors and consumers alike.

The recent flood of capital into ESG, climate and sustainability investment funds is worth celebrating. But with that flood has come increased concern about the opportunities for greenwashing across the climate finance sector. The regulatory environment for ESG investing is changing quickly across jurisdictions. What are firms doing to avoid greenwash and instead get their firms and funds on track to deliver and demonstrate sustainable outcomes in the real economy?

The session is a live look at how conversations in practice happen, explaining how the different links in the investment value chain work. The art of investment is “pulling forward” the future prospects of portfolio companies when rights holders make decisions. We explore how decisions are made along the investment value chain, from suppliers of investment capital through the value chain to the company and its customers, and back.

The cross-functional role played by investor relations (IR) officers is enabling them to understand what’s going on with corporate ESG strategy and to use their platforms to communicate externally with the investment community. Increasingly, IR will be tasked with strategic narrative design: framing how a company’s impact on society is in fact a form of material intangible value for investors to consider as part of research and valuation processes. Learn more from IR excellence –– teams that are highlighting the alignment between business success and a broader purpose. In this session, sustainability professionals can learn how to best partner with IR and how to articulate their work as driving societal and shareholder value.

The skills required by a successful ESG leader at a financial institution are an emerging mix of climate and DEI knowledge, investment savvy and consultation capabilities. And depending on whether the hiring company is an investor, fund, public company or private company, the expectations can be even more specific. Combine the increasing need for ESG leadership with The Great Resignation trend, and you have the perfect ingredients for a serious talent war. This session will provide hands-on insight into what it takes to find, hire and retain qualified candidates in 2022.