Program

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All sessions listed below are in Pacific Time (PT). View the Schedule summary here.

Tuesday, April 13th, 2021

8:00am to 8:30am

Opening Networking & Expo

Networking

8:30am to 8:40am

Setting the Stage

Keynote

A context-setting introduction to the world of ESG and sustainable finance: where we are and where we need to go.

8:40am to 9:00am

How the Pandemic Shaped ESG

Keynote

The past year has changed many things, including the world of ESG. What did companies and investors learn, and how will it shape things going forward?

In partnership with S&P Global.

9:00am to 9:20am

Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition

Keynote

What can investors do to move hard-to-abate companies and sectors to align with global goals? The inside view of how a leading utility is leveraging climate scenario analysis to accelerate decarbonization. In partnership with Ceres.

9:20am to 9:25am

GreenFin 21 Emerging Leaders

Keynote

Cecily Martinez-Caloca introduces GreenFin 21's cohort of Emerging Leaders, the next generation of BIPOC leaders in sustainable business.

9:25am to 9:45am

Behind the Green Bond

Keynote

What does it take for a company to issue a green bond? The chief sustainability officer and the chief financial officer at Johnson Controls offer a behind-the-scenes look at how it successfully issued its $625 million bond last year.

9:44am to 9:45am

Outro

Keynote

Day 1 closing.

9:45am to 10:15am

Networking Break & Expo

Networking

How OneTrust ESG Simplifies Your Corporate ESG Program

Booth Session

Reporting on your ESG data has become imperative, and not just for investors. More than ever, consumers are making buying decisions based on how a company acts, and employees stay longer and are happier at companies that align with their own beliefs. However, demonstrating ESG efforts can be difficult. Collecting the right ESG data and reporting is complex and time-consuming.

This session will look at best practices on gathering, tracking, and reporting ESG data and how the OneTrust ESG solution simplifies and expedites a very complex problem.

The Future of Integrated Corporate Financial & ESG Reporting

Booth Session

We believe that the convergence of ESG metrics for Financial reporting is inevitable in the near future. While the accounting bodies and standard setters are collaborating to bring forth common material topics and metrics, businesses need robust technology to create and manage reporting processes.

The future models of corporate reporting needs will need inputs from both internal and external data sources. Data collection needs and market expectations continue to increase manifold. How do businesses meet the demand for clear, transparent, and real-time reporting in the changing landscape? Seamless data integration and a more profound understanding of crucial materiality topics will be drivers for real-time and simplified ESG reporting."

10:15am to 11:00am

The Secret Life of ESG Data

Breakout

Investor demand for comparable and reliable ESG performance data is rising as more investors are making buy-sell decisions based on these metrics. But where do investors source their data, and is it truly reflective of a company's sustainability story? In partnership with SASB.

SASB Logo

The Role of Assurance in ESG Transparency and Disclosure

Breakout

Increasingly, investors and other stakeholders want more than mere data — they want it verified. The growing role of assurance in climate risk, human capital and other types of disclosure. Sponsored by Deloitte.

Aligning Retirement Funds with ESG Goals

Breakout

Who’s watching the social and environmental impacts of the more than $8 trillion invested in retirement programs?

Getting the Board on Board

Breakout

The growth of ESG has left many corporate boards unprepared. What are the skillsets and governance structures boards need to successfully navigate the new terrain? In partnership with Competent Boards.

11:15am to 12:00pm

Gender-Smart Investing

Breakout

The opportunity to align climate finance and gender finance cuts across asset classes, from backing women entrepreneurs to understanding where gender balance in climate finance decreases risk and improves financial outcomes. A look inside the emerging models and strategies.

Is Water an Asset Class?

Breakout

The global need for fresh water is set to grow exponentially. Meanwhile, many urban water systems are in dire need of repair. Add in desalination, agriculture and wastewater management and water stands to become one of the world’s biggest capital-growth opportunities.

Can Corporate Reporting Reach Singularity?

Breakout

The cacophony of multiple standards and frameworks continues to bedevil investors and companies alike. A number of efforts are underway to consolidate and harmonize these disparate initiatives. The insiders’ view.

Shareholder Engagement: ESG Antagonists or Allies?

Breakout

Mega-investment firms - not just ESG boutiques - are now asking portfolio companies for meetings on ESG factors well ahead of proxy voting season. Are they antagonists or allies?

12:00pm to 12:30pm

The Future of Agricultural Carbon Markets

Booth Session

Indigo Senior Director of Market Development Thomson Nguy will moderate a discussion with these experts: Iowa farmer Ben Riensche will speak to why his multi-generational farm made has transitioned to regenerative farming, the changes he has seen on his farm, what gives him hope for the future of farming, and what it means to have the support of leading companies. Barclays’ Jed Lynch, Head of Americas, Sustainable & Impact Banking, shares his perspective on how companies can benefit and differentiate their ESG goals, objectives, and brand within the marketplace, ENGIE Impact’s Alexia Kelly, Director, Sustainable Solutions, speaks to the importance of having high-quality credits within sustainability strategies.

Networking Break & Expo

Networking

12:30pm to 1:15pm

Investment Value Chain Live - Environmental

Breakout

Watch the investment decisions are made in this real-time role-play by practitioners from investor, intermediary and company perspectives.

ESG and the Opportunity for Municipalities

Breakout

How cities, public authorities and the finance community are aligning fixed-income financing with sustainability, the importance of disclosure and transparency around the use of proceeds raised through bond finance and the role that disclosure plays. In partnership with CDP.

The Bots Are Coming!

Breakout

Increasingly, automation and AI are taking over for humans in assessing corporate ESG reporting. What are the implications for both companies and investors? How does this change how both parties produce and consume ESG data?

The Journey to Investor-Grade ESG Reporting

Breakout

1:30pm to 2:00pm

Roundtable: Your 401k: What's in the “Average” Shareholder's Interest?

Networking

The opportunities for 401k investors to improve long term investment outcomes through ESG+ performance.

Roundtable: ESG Strategy for Boards

Networking

Mainstream investors are increasingly considering ESG issues that had largely been the purview of only ESG-focused investors. Decision-useful data on material ESG issues is increasingly available, and an area of interest and action for investor decision-making, proxy voting and engagement. This interactive session will discuss how board members can be better informed on ESG issues, implications for executive comp and the role of corporate sustainability leads.

Roundtable: ESG for the Financial Sector

Networking

Join GreenFin's roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

Roundtable: Human Capital in the Post-COVID Age

Networking

The latest developments in the evolution of human capital management, including ESG, corporate disclosures and standards development.

Roundtable: Practical Steps to Integrate ESG Within Business

Networking

Roundtable: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit for Investors

Networking

2:00pm to 2:30pm

Networking Break & Expo

Networking

Wednesday, April 14th, 2021

8:00am to 8:30am

Opening Networking & Expo

Networking

8:30am to 8:35pm

Welcome

Keynote

A preview of Day 2.

8:35am to 8:55am

Companies, Capitalism and the Vatican

Keynote

The Pope is backing a new movement to redefine capitalism as a force for good. How the Vatican is working with business to address everything from income inequality to immigration and social justice. In partnership with WBCSD.

WBCSD Logo

8:55am to 9:15am

Activating Corporate Finance for the SDGs

Keynote

How companies are closing the SDG financing gap, the role of CFOs in mainstreaming sustainable investments, and how institutional investors are supporting the SDGs agenda.

9:15am to 9:25am

The $249 Trillion Opportunity

Keynote

To put the world on the path to solving climate change, the current level of funding for climate-friendly activities must be tripled to at least $1.5 trillion annually. Fortunately, the multi-trillion-dollar capital sources needed for climate already reside in the current global financial system many times over.

9:25am to 9:45am

A Conversation with BlackRock

Keynote

The world’s largest asset manager continues to make waves — and be a target. Inside the company’s ESG strategy.

9:44am to 9:45am

Day 2 Closing

Keynote

Joel wraps up day 2 of GreenFin 21 keynotes.

9:45am to 10:15am

Placing a Price Tag on Biodiversity – Possible and Ethical?

Booth Session

Endangered Wildlife OÜ Expo Booth

Biodiversity and the environment are an integral part of human survival. Up to now it has not been possible to calculate the financial value of biodiversity, and do we have the right to monetize Biodiversity, a priceless natural resource, as is now needed by businesses and impact investors?

Through our unique disruptive financial software, our dynamic CEO and team have developed a methodology that allows for a credible financial value to be put on biodiversity. We invite you to join our discussion at the Endangered Wildlife OÜ booth.

Networking Break & Expo

Networking

Connect Your Data to Your Purpose

Booth Session

With the increasing pressure for investor-grade ESG reporting, organizations need to prepare for greater scrutiny of their disclosures. However, companies are experiencing data fatigue with an overload of reporting frameworks, custom questionnaires from investors, units of measurement, conversion factors, etc. There is a need to “simplify” this data overload to the point that all stakeholders, including investors, can understand and align with the organization’s sustainability journey. We need to quantify ESG impacts and embed these into performance, strategy, and brand. Can we move beyond conventional non-financial reporting toward data-driven storytelling and investor-grade disclosures? This session will focus on streamlining ESG reporting and enabling communication and engagement with stakeholders.

10:15am to 11:00am

Turning Pledges into Progress

Breakout

How can investors integrate climate into core business? This interactive panel explores strategies investors can deploy to tackle climate risk in 2021, not 2050, with a focus on sector-specific decarbonization pathways using the oil and gas sector as case study.

Nature on the Balance Sheet

Breakout

Roughly half of global GDP is dependent on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. And investors are coming to recognize the potential risk this poses to companies. We'll explore how this new awareness is impacting ESG reporting and corporate strategy. In partnership with CDP.

You Decide: Modeling the Hard Choices In A 2 Degree Limit On Global Warming

Breakout

A live interactive workshop using the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator, yielding insights into how we’ll meet our climate goals.

Responding to Climate Change: A Risk Manager’s View

Breakout

Risk managers in financial firms are developing frameworks to identify, measure, monitor and report on impact of climate change on their P&L, balance sheets, financing, underwriting and investment activities. In this conversation we will look at what they need from firms in the real economy and the challenges that firms have in meetings these requirements

11:15am to 12:00pm

Governance for E&S

Breakout

In 2021 and beyond we expect to see new shifts, which will continue to alter the way how stakeholder capitalism is governed and how investors engage with boards using proxy votes to communicate their views and drive change, while sustainable investment trends continue to accelerate and the political context and regulatory frameworks around ESG continue to evolve.

The Transition to Zero

Breakout

How are investors filtering the latest science and policy, and shifting their portfolios to transition to zero, without greenwashing?

TCFD Implementation for Financial Professionals

Breakout

Disclosing climate risk according to the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures is a team sport, with participation from sustainability, investor relations, internal auditing and finance. How leadership companies are finding their way. In partnership with A4S.

A4S Logo

The Investor View on DEI

Breakout

Picking up where the earlier plenary session left off, an exploration of how companies and investors are engaging on diversity, equity and inclusion, and the challenges and opportunities for both parties.

12:00pm to 12:30pm

Networking Break & Expo

Networking

Is ESG a Luxury? Findings from Edelman's Investor Trust Report

Booth Session

Edelman Expo Booth

Earning investors’ trust and taking a multi-stakeholder approach is table stakes for companies today. Prioritizing ESG is no longer a luxury, as the world grapples with unprecedented challenges from the pandemic, economic crisis, and social unrest. During this expo session, we'll look at the recent findings from Edelman’s Trust Barometer Special Report: Institutional Investors, a survey of 600 institutional investors in six countries representing firms that collectively manage over $20 trillion in assets, and discuss the implications of the report findings for issuers.

12:30pm to 1:15pm

Simplifying Corporate Community Investments and Deposits

Breakout

Corporations from Starbucks to Mastercard have moved millions into curated community investments and minority deposit institutions to further their ESG and diversity goals. But the perception remains that doing so is difficult and risky. Leaders from Mastercard, Morgan Stanley and CNote will share real-world examples on executing successful community investment and deposit efforts, including enterprise-level best practices to mitigate risk and impact report.

Building Bonds Better

Breakout

Sustainability-linked bonds are growing exponentially, but are still a sliver of the market. What will it take for them to be the rule, not the exception?

Investment Value Chain Live - Social

Breakout

Watch the investment decisions being made in this live role-play by practitioners from investor, intermediary and company perspectives; in this session focusing on a social factor material to doing business in 2021. A mashup of a frank in-depth interview and a case study seminar, will include audience participation with protagonists.

What Investors Want: The Corporate View

Breakout

Amid the rise of the ESG movement, sustainability professionals are interacting with investors more often than ever — and coordinating with their counterparts in investor relations to shape those conversations. This discussion will surface best practices for managing interactions with investors, including how to collaborate with investor relations and other key internal and external stakeholders; disclosures that go beyond your CSR report and website; and the rising interest in social impact metrics.

1:30pm to 2:00pm

Roundtable: Integrating ESG across the business for a sustainable world

Networking

Organizations are seeing an increasing number of investors, customers, employees and communities demanding more impactive ESG principles and measures as a critical business priority. As this focus continues to rise, should companies look past incremental changes to develop innovative, sustainable and transformational solutions? Join us as we examine what companies are doing today to integrate ESG into their products and services for what’s ahead

Roundtable: Sustainable Investing for Sustainability Professionals

Networking

The most important things to know when seeking to invest your personal finances with impact.

Roundtable: Private Equity Meets ESG

Networking

Research shows that companies that embrace ESG issues have a distinct advantage in value creation. Is this great news or greenwashing?

Roundtable: Are You Ready for TNFD?

Networking

The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures is coming. What will it look like and require?

Roundtable: Do Sustainability Reports Still Matter to Investors?

Networking

It’s a perennial question, even more so in the age of standardized ESG reporting. How companies are rethinking sustainability reporting.

Roundtable 8: The Investment Professionals Toolkit

Networking

Updates to the CFA Institute’s policy positions, the changes to the CFA Charter syllabus on ESG and climate, the global CFA ESG certificate, and new work on materiality.

2:00pm to 2:30pm

Networking Break & Expo

Networking