Leonardo Royal Hotel Tower Bridge, London
As the momentum behind ESG continued to grow, so too did 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 needed to respond to these demands in a way that also meets the short and medium term financial needs of their business.
The ESG Integration Forum – Europe 2023 was designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge to ensure you’re ready to meet investors’ expectations and make ESG central to your business strategy.
Timings are in GMT
08:00 AM
Registration, breakfast and morning networking
08:50 AM
Welcome to the ESG Integration Forum – Europe
Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
09:00 AM
Keynote panel: ESG priorities in 2023
Our opening panel will look at how ESG priorities are changing in the context of so much macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Have ESG commitments been put on the back burner whilst companies focus on the financial health of their businesses, or is the momentum behind ESG continuing to grow in spite of (or even because of) current crises?
• Understand the key ESG issues facing European companies this year
• Assess the impact of inflation, energy scarcity and the war in Ukraine on ESG priorities
• Align your ESG and financial strategies in the context of global uncertainty
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
Mika Leskinen, chief investment officer, S-Bank
Emmanuelle Palikuca, managing director, head of sustainability advisory, Alliance Advisors
Carla Stent, independent NED and board chair, Marex Group
09:45 AM
Fire side chat: Navigate Europe’s changing regulatory environment and prepare for the year ahead
Regulators worldwide are increasing pressure on public companies to disclose more ESG information. Still, they scrutinize the reliability and accuracy of what is already being reported. In Europe alone, the CSRD – finally published this year on January 5 – seeks to bring sustainability reporting on par with financial reporting, and the impact of the SFDR on investors continues to trickle down to issuers. Here we will discuss:
• Where are we now? Recap the current ESG regulatory environment and imminent developments
• Best practices for disclosing climate-related financial information in a way that aligns with investor needs
• How to be proactive and prepare for future reporting and disclosure requirements
Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
Mark Babington, executive director of regulatory standards, FRC
10:15 AM
Morning refreshments and networking break
10:45 AM
Ensure the quality, reliability and accessibility of ESG data
When it comes to ESG, we are increasingly moving away from a ‘tell me’ environment to a ‘show me’ environment.
Investors and other stakeholders want accurate, transparent and comparable data on an organization’s carbon footprint, diversity and equity performance, executive compensation and more. As the expectations around what, how and where to disclose evolve, our panellists will examine:
• Different approaches to ESG data collection: how to identify and report on material issues
• Discuss the value of third-party verification and assurance in relation to ESG data
• Understand what data investors are looking for and how it is integrated into investment decisions
• Reporting and communicating ESG information in an accessible and standardised way
• Future developments and trends in ESG data: estimating and reporting avoided emissions
Moderator: Hemma Visavadia, reporter, IR Magazine
Elly Irving, director of stewardship, sustainable investing, Lazard Asset Management
Jasmine Mehta, VP, ESG & climate corporate sales, MSCI
Íñigo Olaizola, Head of planning, analysis and reporting of non-financial information, Iberdrola
11:30 AM
Get the board on board: effective ESG leadership
As with any transformational process, the culture, governance and incentives around ESG must be aligned to be successful. In this panel, we’ll discuss the board’s role in ensuring ESG is embedded across the business’ objectives, how governance teams can support the board in overseeing ESG processes properly and how IR teams can communicate these efforts to investors.
Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
James Beasley, head of board advisory EMEA, Nasdaq
Liana Logiurato, NED Intesa Sanpaolo, Board Advisor
12:15 PM
Roundtables: Exchange ideas with your peers in group discussions
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
Topics:
• Communicating your ESG story to a range of stakeholders
• Leading and developing more effective ESG teams
• Preparing for ESG activism in 2023
• Prioritising your efforts with ESG ratings agencies
13:00 PM
Lunch
14:00 PM
Human capital management in 2023: Standing by your social commitments
The ‘S’ of ESG is expected to play a significant role in 2023, with rising living costs, labour shortages, employee engagement and growing momentum behind DE&I issues shining a light on companies’ social – as well as environmental – impact. We are also seeing increasing pressure from stakeholders on integrating social goals into executive compensation and renumeration plans.
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
Asad Butt, senior manager, investment stewardship, HSBC Global Asset Management
Angela Gordon, company secretary, Tokio Marine Kiln
14:30 PM
Get ahead of the curve on natural capital and biodiversity
Last year’s COP15 saw a historic commitment to protect biodiversity, with over 200 countries signed up.
However, many believe this doesn’t go far enough and continue to pressure public companies to develop their commitments to biodiversity and integrate nature into decision-making.
Market-led initiatives like the TNFD and nature-based targets help guide companies in the right direction, but things are still developing. In this panel, we will discuss:
• An update the new pressures around biodiversity facing public companies in 2023 and how they relate to climate
• Understand the role and goals of the TNFD, its relationship with the TCFD, and what it means for your business
• Integrate nature into your decision making and reporting on material issues
Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
Edit Kiss, chief investment officer, Revalue Nature
Sarah Woodfield, active ownership manager, Schroders
15:00 PM
Investor Q&A: Bridging the gap between public companies and investors
Our panel of investors will answer any questions you have about how investors are integrating ESG into their investment decisions in 2023.
How are market conditions impacting their approach, and how can IROs leverage their company’s ESG performance to better connect with existing and potential shareholders?
• Understand investor ESG priorities in 2023 and how they are changing
• Discuss the red and green flags investors have when it comes to ESG messaging and reporting
• Learn how investors engage with ratings agencies and how your score is integrated into their investment approach
• What’s next? Hear investor forecasts on ESG trends beyond 2023
Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
Lennart Herman, environmental research director, Osmosis Investment Management
Gervais Williams, head of equities, Premier Miton Group
15:45 PM
Champagne Roundtables: Exchange ideas with sector 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
• Enjoy a glass of champagne or non-alcoholic beverage
Topics:
• How to get started with your ESG journey
• Managing an accelerating transition towards a net zero economy
• Taking a proactive approach to data security and privacy
• Navigating and communicating supply chain pressures
Irina Logutenkova, head of investor relations, Getech
Abraham Mertens, assistant general counsel, Arista Networks
Benoit Ribaud, ESG investor relations manager, TotalEnergies
Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
16:30 PM
End of conference and networking drinks
Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
To inquire about speaking opportunities, please contact [email protected]
Emmanuelle Palikuca
Managing director and head of sustainability advisory
Alliance Advisors
Iñigo Olaizola
Head of planning, analysis and reporting on non-financial information
Iberdrola
Head of Planning, Analysis and Reporting on Non-Financial Information de Iberdrola”. More than 4 years involved on the reporting of the non-financial information of Iberdrola group. With a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management and MBA, he has been working in Iberdrola for the last 15th years with different roles, working on the Chairman office, Procurement department and within the Investor Relations team
Asad Butt
Senior manager, investment stewardship
HSBC Global Asset Management
Angela Gordon
Company secretary
Tokio Marine Kiln
Angela Gordon is a Chartered Company Secretary with 20 years corporate experience within a Legal and Company Secretariat background. Angela’s Corporate Governance experience has been gained in different sectors including, Marketing, Publishing, Infrastructure Services, and currently Financial Services within Insurance.
As one of the world’s largest insurance groups, TMK empowers employees across the world to protect customers against complex and ever-changing risks.
Lennart Herman
Environmental research manager
Osmosis Investment Management
James Beasley
Head of board advisory EMEA
Nasdaq
Irina Logutenkova
Head of investor relations
Getech
Irina Logutenkova, CIR, is a highly skilled investor relations professional with 13 years of experience in the capital markets. She has extensive experience in ESG communications and investor outreach strategy. Irina is currently the Head of Investor Relations at Getech, a company that locates energy and minerals for the energy transition, and has previously held key positions at strategic communications advisory and large cap oil&gas company.
Jasmine Mehta
VP, ESG & climate corporate sales
MSCI
Jasmine Mehta leads MSCI’s ESG & Climate business development with corporates and advisors in Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2021. With a focus on market penetration, Jasmine has developed go to market strategies for MSCI’s latest and fastest growing client segment.
Jasmine has been with MSCI for almost a decade now, and in her erstwhile role, Jasmine lead MSCI’s ESG Issuer Relations & Communications efforts in EMEAI. She engaged corporates to educate them on their MSCI ESG assessments and raised standards for sustainability disclosures. Jasmine is MSCI’s global ambassador in the corporate community through various speaking engagements and board-level educative programs.
Her former responsibilities were as ESG Marketing Lead for APAC and global execution of ESG marketing strategies, at MSCI.
Jasmine holds a Master’s degree in international Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master’s degree in Capital Markets, Regulation and Compliance from the ICMA Centre, University of Reading UK.
Carla Stent
Chair
Marex Group
Elly Irving
Director of stewardship, sustainable investment
Lazard Asset Management
Hemma Visavadia
Reporter
IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Hemma Visavadia joined IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary as a reporter in December 2022. She previously worked as a reported at COVER Magazine, writing for the protection and health insurance sectors. She also worked as an editorial assistant at Mulberry Media, writing for a number of B2B magazines including Insurance Wire, Retail Sector and Accountancy Today. Prior to that, Hemma studied journalism and English at De Montfort University.
Mark Babington
Executive director, regulatory standards
Financial Reporting Council
Edit Kiss
Chief Investment Officer
Revalue Nature
Gervais Williams
Head of equities
Premier Miton Group
Gervais Williams is Head of Equities at Premier Miton Investors and manages a number of funds and trusts that aggregate to over £1.5bn, he joined the group in 2011. His fund management career extends over 30 years including 17 years at Gartmore Group Ltd, where he was Head of UK Small Companies investing in UK smaller companies and Irish equities. Gervais is a member of the AIM Advisory Council, and a board member of the Quoted Companies Alliance. He was a member of the Patient Capital Review panel with the Chancellor of the Exchequer two years ago where the recommendations were put into legislation in the subsequent budget. Gervais Williams has published three books, ‘Slow Finance’ in the autumn of 2011 (Bloomsbury), ‘The Future is Small’ published in November 2014 (Harriman House) and ‘The Retreat of Globalisation’ published in December 2016 (Harriman House).
Abraham Mertens
Assistant general counsel
Arista Networks
Mika Leskinen
Chief Investment Officer
S-Bank
Sarah Woodfield
Active ownership manager
Schroders
Liana Logiurato
Non executive director, ISP
Board advisor
Benoit Ribaud
ESG investor relations manager
TotalEnergies
Laurence Taylor
Senior conference producer
IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Steve Wade
Head of event content
IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Our attendees are leading governance, IR and sustainability practitioners with an established track record and strategic governance or IR role within their company.
Below is a sample of some of our current attendees:
Job title | Company | Job title | Company | |
Assistant general counsel | Mercer | Head of ESG transformation | Upfield | |
Associate general counsel | AvePoint | Head of IR | Barry Callebaut | |
CEO, founder | Competent Boards | Head of IR | Plus500 | |
CFO | Enteq Technologies | Head of IR | Rubis | |
Chief ESG officer | Non-Standard Finance | Head of legal, company secretary | Ten Lifestyle Group | |
Climate change specialist | Robeco | IR | Seplat energy | |
Company secretarial assistant | Henry Boot | IR manager | Atenor | |
Corporate analyst | Kooth | IR, ESG manager | Rolls-Royce | |
Director business compliance | Serco Group | Managing director, legal group | Accenture | |
Director, IR | Babcock International | NED, company secretary | Sirius Petroleum | |
ESG engagement manager | Kingfisher | Senior IR, ESG manager | BAT | |
ESG governance | HSBC Holdings | Stakeholder dialogue specialist | CEZ Group | |
Group head, sustainability | Entain | Sustainability finance manager | Burberry | |
Group M&A legal counsel | ArcelorMittal | Sustainability officer | Arion Bank | |
Head of capital markets | AEDAS Homes | VP, general counsel EU and Asia | ICL Group |
Why partner with us?
The ESG Integration Forum – Europe 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.
Forum Partners
Alliance Advisors is an independent advisory firm focused on Shareholder Engagement & Solicitation, Compensation Advisory, Governance & Sustainability Advisory, M&A – Activism, Institutional Ownership Intelligence and Retail Outreach strategies.
We work around the world for public and private companies operating at board and C-suite level. We go beyond the norm to develop and execute bold client-first strategies resulting in winning outcomes.
We have a longstanding client base of over 850 active public companies from a range of industries and market capitalization size. Our clients engage with us on multiple services on a year-round basis. We are headquartered in the US, working together as one team, around the world, in multiple locations.
For more information, please visit our website.
ABOUT MSCI
MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process.
ABOUT MSCI ESG RESEARCH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
MSCI ESG Research products and services are provided by MSCI ESG Research LLC, and are designed to provide in-depth research, ratings and analysis of environmental, social and governance-related business practices to companies worldwide. ESG ratings, data and analysis from MSCI ESG Research LLC. are also used in the construction of the MSCI ESG Indexes. MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc.
To learn more, please visit msci.com
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today’s global capital markets. As the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to approximately 3,900 total listings with a market value of approximately $13 trillion.
To learn more, visit: business.nasdaq.com.
Supporting Partners
For 12 years now, the Association of Bulgarian Investor Relations Directors /ABIRD/ has been actively working to unite the interests and improve the qualification of local Investor Relations Directors – members of the organization, to improve the investment climate in Bulgaria and introduce high standards for presentation of the Bulgarian public companies to investors in the country and abroad.
We unite more than 110 Investor Relations Directors of public companies and other issuers of securities, and in 2016 we opened the doors of ABIRD for all colleagues who disclose information in accordance with the Bulgarian and European legislation, and communicate with institutions such as the Financial Supervision Commission, BSE – Sofia and the Central Depository.
ABIRD is an active participant in the Bulgarian capital market, a basic corrective in terms of amendments to the regulation and implementation of the European legislation. Our activities are focused on enhancing the professional qualification of Investor Relations Directors and all of the other officials engaged with investor communication and communication with the institutions on the capital market with the purpose to improve the best disclosure and transparency practices in the activities of public companies and other issuers of securities. We actively cooperate with all institutions and participants in the Bulgarian capital market.
The Association of Bulgarian Investor Relations Directors is a collective member the National Corporate Governance Commission, the Capital Market Development Council in Bulgaria, the Corporate Social Responsibility Council to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association. Together with our national partners we strive to make Bulgaria a more attractive place for investments.
Contacts: +359 2 9882413 and [email protected]
Web: www.abird.info
Since 1991, AERI has been bringing together the most relevant IR professionals and other stakeholders in Spain, focusing on the development of best practices, but also on providing the best possible options for networking. AERI Members are well known for their top performance in the capital markets, always developing the highest standards in the Investor Relations world.
For more information, please visit www.aeri.es
The Italian Investor Relations Association’s mission is to promote the professional profile of the Investor Relations Officer (IRO) and the quality of financial communication between companies and the Financial Community.
For more information, please visit www.associazioneir.it
About DIRF
The Danish Investor Relations Society (DIRF) was established by investor relations officers, financial and communications executives in a few Danish companies in 1988. The objective was and still is to promote communication between listed companies and their investors thereby increasing investor interest in Danish shares and company bonds.
DIRF represents some 270 members from approximately 100 companies. Members are primarily listed companies, and the member base represents about 95 per cent of the Danish market cap. However, also not-listed companies, organisations, service providers and consultants working with financial communications are represented, cf. DIRF members list.
DIRF activities
The DIRF network seeks to meet its objectives by arranging members’ meetings and conferences dealing with current IR-topics, sessions with academics researching in IR-related areas, trends and new ways of performing the IR-profession, new media developments, new evaluation methods, and once a year the Copenhagen Stock Exchange hosts a network meeting etc. Members’ meetings normally take place 5-6 times a year.
For more information, please visit www.dirf.dk.
Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. (G&A) is an ESG and sustainability consulting firm, founded in 2006 and based in New York, helping clients become leaders in corporate sustainability and corporate responsibility. We understand and advise on the important ways that institutional investors – asset owners and their asset managers – evaluate opportunities to invest in public and private companies. We also help savvy and enlightened corporate executives position their enterprises for success in the “new norms” of the capital markets.
For more information, please visit ga-institute.com.
IR Club is a well-established investor relations community that allows IR professionals to network with peers from all over the world.
IR Club was formed in 2011, to address the need for an online investor relations community. Since then, it has become an overwhelming success and has around 1,400 members!
The main objectives of IR Club include the promotion of networking, communication, exchange and transfer of knowledge among investor relations professionals – we are particularly interested in the use of social media in investor relations.
IR Club is open to anyone interested in investor relations such as scientists, students and those wishing to make a career change. For the opportunity to mingle with practising IROs at all levels, as well consultants and service providers. Colleagues from the areas of private equity, open-end and closed-end funds, unlisted companies and of course all those who deal with the communication with lenders (creditor relations / fixed income) are welcome, too – we are all one ecosystem.
It takes no time to register as a member and it’s free of charge!
IR Club
Patrick Kiss
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +49 177 232 0001
For partnership inquiries
+1 212 430 6865
For agenda inquiries
+44 20 8004 4818
For all other inquiries
+44 208 090 2156
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