IR Magazine

ESG Integration Forum – Autumn

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Clifford Chance offices, London

Embracing the next chapter in European ESG investing

As the momentum behind ESG continues to change, so too has the challenge of keeping up to date with growing regulatory and market demands.

This year, in the context of global market volatility and continued supply chain disruption, companies in Europe need to respond to these demands in a way that also met the short and medium term financial needs of their business.

The ESG Integration Forum – Autumn 2024 is designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge to ensure you were ready to meet investors’ expectations and make ESG central to your business strategy.

Agenda

Click here to view the 2023 agenda.

Timings on the agenda are shown in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

  • 08:00 AM
    Registration, breakfast and morning networking

  • 08:50 AM
    Welcome to the ESG Integration Forum – Autumn

    Jeroen Ouwehand, partner, Clifford Chance

  • 09:00 AM
    What 2024 has in store: ESG trends to prepare for

    Our opening session takes a birds-eye view of the constantly evolving world of ESG, inviting our expert speakers to share their predictions for the year ahead. This session will situate the context for the forum and prepare delegates for a deeper dive into the current ESG landscape throughout the day.

    • Reflect on the key ESG takeaways of 2023 including supply chain challenges, increased shareholder scrutiny, the impact of ESRS adoption and the future of AI integration
    • Hear about the wider regulatory landscape, how it’s set to evolve over the coming year and how it will alter your disclosure requirements
    • Learn where investor sentiment currently stands on ESG and which issues shareholders really want to know more about

    Moderator: Hemma Visavadia, reporter, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    David Alfrey, lawyer, Clifford Chance
    Justin Kew, senior ESG analyst, Balyasny Asset Management
    Jan Sohlmann, senior management ESG investor engagement, Bayer

  • 09:45 AM
    ESG Compliance: Balancing priorities in a dynamic regulatory environment

    The European Commission released its much-anticipated ESRS guidance in July and with the UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards and France’s Say on Climate Law, companies face a complex task when it comes to sustainability reporting and data collection. This panel will offer a high-level approach to understanding the myriad differing and converging regulatory standards that exist for public companies across Europe and how to navigate them. Join this session for an update on the latest changes and take a fresh look at how your IR team is balancing different compliance priorities

    • Learn how to remain focused and consistent on your specific ESG narrative amid multiple varying frameworks
    • Get to grips with what data your company needs to be collecting, synthesizing and sharing with stakeholders
    • Learn how to navigate varying regulations such as ESRS, UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards and France’s Say on Climate Law

    Moderator: Lauren McDonald, conference producer, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    Margot Fransen, general counsel sustainability, global general counsel oral care, Unilever
    Simon O’Brien, investor sustainability, BAT
    Nuno Teiga Vieira, head of investor relations, CTT

  • 10:30 AM
    Morning refreshments and networking break

  • 11:00 AM
    Crafting your ESG comms: How to decide on, distill and deliver your message

    With sustainability reports growing exponentially, the question of what ESG information to share with stakeholders is a pressing one. This panel will discuss how to prioritize the right messaging and how to craft it into a simplified, yet persuasive narrative

    • Learn how to select the most relevant and material ESG information for your stakeholders
    • Discover which tools can help you distill your ESG information into a concise, clear, and consistent message
    • Discuss when and how to deliver your ESG message to different stakeholder groups
    • Learn how to measure and improve the effectiveness and impact of your ESG communications and how to address feedback and challenges

    Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    Angela Catlin, head of investor relations, The Co-Operative Bank
    Kim Dabbs, global vice president, ESG & social innovation, Steelcase

  • 11:35 AM
    Roundtables: Exchange ideas with your peers

    How the roundtables work:

    • Choose any of the following topics –the power is in your hands!
    • Join the relevant roundtable and discuss with your peers
    • At the end of the session, hear a quick roundup from each table on what was discussed

    Topics:

    • How do you manage ESG data within your supply chain?
    • How do you communicate ESG to retail investors?
    • How do you balance Environmental, Social and Governance factors in your reporting?
    • How do you master your materiality assessment?

    Meritxell Soler Farrés, head of retail shareholders relations, CaixaBank
    Manuel Taverne, head of investor relations, Knaus Tabbert
    Devin Weiss, ESG lead of the sustainability group, Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust

  • 12:10 PM
    Lunch

  • 13:05 PM
    Roundtable recap

  • 13:15 PM
    Activism 101: How to spot the warning signs and prepare a robust response

    With shareholders taking action on climate and making news headlines around the world, companies must recognize that ESG activism is not going away. In this session we will discuss how to spot the warning signs of a shareholder activist threat and how to respond effectively.

    • Learn how to identify and assess the warning signs of shareholder activism
    • Discover which factors could be making your company vulnerable to ESG activism
    • Discuss how to prepare a vigorous response to ESG activism and how to keep your board and stakeholders appropriately informed

    Moderator: Lauren McDonald, conference producer, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    Jana Jevcakova, managing director, head of ESG international, Morrow Sodali
    Roger Leese, partner, Clifford Chance

  • 14:00 PM
    Ratings agencies and reporting frameworks: Understanding the Venn diagram of disclosure requirements

    In this session, we will return to the regulatory changes of 2023 and consider how your company should approach reporting and disclosures within this ever-evolving landscape.

    • Learn how to align your ESG metrics and indicators with the most relevant and influential ESG reporting frameworks and rating agencies
    • Discover how to engage with these reporting standards to improve your ESG ratings and rankings
    • Discuss how to communicate your ESG value proposition to your stakeholders through effective reporting and disclosure
    • Hear how to benchmark your ESG performance within these frameworks against peers

    Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    Enrico Filippi, ESG and planning director, Technogym
    Punam Mehta, assistant general counsel, Mercer
    Eva Pekárková, stakeholder dialogue expert, ČEZ Group

  • 14:45 PM
    AI and ESG: Game-changing opportunity or risk?

    With constant developments in the capabilities of artificial intelligence, businesses globally are considering how and when to adopt AI-powered strategies into their IR programs. In this session, we will look at how to make this transition effective while safe-guarding against the ethical and legal risks inherent to this new technological frontier.

    • Learn how AI can enhance your ESG strategy and performance, and how to adopt AI-powered solutions for your IR program, such as data analysis, reporting, engagement, and communication.
    • Discover which AI applications and tools are most suitable and beneficial for your ESG goals and challenges, and how to evaluate and select them based on their features, functions and costs.
    • Discuss when and how to use AI ethically and responsibly for your ESG activities, and how to safeguard against the potential risks and pitfalls of AI, such as bias, privacy, security, transparency, and accountability

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of content, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence
    Alex Tselentis, partner, Finex

  • 15:30 PM
    Group discussion: Overcoming today’s ESG challenges

    Please join us for this highly interactive session where we will have an open conversation about the ESG challenges that people are facing and collaboratively work through solutions before we head into networking drinks.

    We will be using Slido for this session so please do submit your biggest challenges to the word cloud and discover tips and advice from your peers.  

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of content, IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence

  • 16:15 PM
    End of conference and networking drinks

Speakers: 2023

To inquire about speaking opportunities at the November forum, please contact [email protected]


More from IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence

How to manage investor relations in a bear market

‘It is still the largest cash transaction ever,’ says Karl M...

Shareholder activism: Utilities most vulnerable as regional bank risks wane

When Silicon Valley Bank failed in March, it triggered the ‘...

View more >

Partners

Become a partner

Why partner with us?

The ESG Integration Forum – Autumn brings together some of the most influential people in the IR and governance communities.

The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when they are exploring how they can improve their ESG practice. Through our unrivalled knowledge of the subject matters and commitment to in-depth agenda research, our events are guaranteed to attract a qualified audience.

The unique buzz we create at our in-person events – a far cry from a traditional conference – makes them multi-faceted and highly interactive with great engagement in particular from heads of IR and governance teams. This allows our partners to have meaningful conversations with corporates who are deciding which parts of their ESG program to invest in, which service providers to engage and which consultants to retain. By partnering with us on an event, you can generate leads, showcase your thought leadership and position yourselves as the partner of choice to the IR and governance communities.

We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience. Get in touch with Ross Ingram or call on +44 78265 38072.

Register your interest

Contact us

Privacy policy

IR Media Group Ltd, the owner of IR Magazine, Governance Intelligence and IR Community, respect the privacy of every person who visits, registers with or subscribes to our websites and online publications, and is committed to ensuring a safe online experience. This privacy statement applies to all IR Media Group’s websites as listed under the heading ‘Sites’ and outlines the information IR Media Group may collect and how we may use that information. It also explains what we do with information about you when you register to attend one of our events.
To view our privacy policy in full, please click here.