ESG Integration Forum & Awards – Summer

Thursday, July 14, 2022

In-person and virtual: Clifford Chance offices, New York

About the forum & awards

Telling your ESG story

Following on from the success of our previous ESG Integration Forums, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary were back again this summer to discuss the outcomes of the proxy season and help companies respond to the growing demand for improved ESG practices. 

We once again brought together investor relations, finance, sustainability, governance, risk and compliance experts to discuss the underlying factors that have driven the rise of ESG, learn about investor expectations, deepen shareholder engagement, help companies identify and act on material risks, and better manage shareholder proposals in the ‘new normal’.

The format, far removed from a traditional conference, consisted of fast-paced panel discussions, exclusive investor Q&A, face-to-face networking and topical roundtable discussions. Attendees included investors, analysts, IR, governance and sustainability professionals at publicly listed companies from across North America.

The forum was followed by our inaugural ESG Integration Awards presentation and drinks reception. We celebrated the nominees and winners of six categories and award those leading the way in ESG practices within their company. View the full list of winners and nominees here.


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Awards categories

We asked members of the IR, governance, and sustainability communities to submit nominations, free of charge, across six categories covering different aspects of ESG. Our judges, made up of industry professionals and IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary editorial team members, were impressed by the clear commitment shown by companies in bringing their ESG story to fruition and communicating it effectively to their stakeholders.

We’ve now collated all of the votes…and the results are in! Congratulations and good luck to all nominees this year. Find out who’s in the running below.

Winners Announced!

To view the full list of 2022 winners and nominees click here.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 8004 5339.

Best board oversight of ESG

Best board oversight of ESG

Risk oversight is one of the board’s core responsibilities, and oversight of ESG-related risks requires boards to have the right governance practices. Boards need to oversee how ESG risks are being mitigated, consider how their company is telling its ESG story and ultimately seek related opportunities. Our judges will be looking for boards that demonstrate they take their role in overseeing ESG seriously and have put in place effective committee structures and board reporting processes. They will be looking for boards that actively discuss relevant ESG issues among directors as well as with investors and other stakeholders. Among other things, they will also be looking for board that go the extra mile to access the right information, expertise and experience from both directors and outside sources. This category is an opportunity to demonstrate that a board understands how the G of ESG intersects with the E and S and is taking serious and innovative steps to make that work. 

Nominees

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise

  • Horace Mann

  • Marsh McLennan

  • NRG Energy

  • Starbucks Corporation

Best climate action award

Best climate action award

Over the past few years, climate change has rocketed to the top of the agenda. The race to net-zero requires commitment, investment, and innovation from listed companies. This category hopes to determine which companies are making a credible transition towards their climate action goals. We're looking for a clear, concise summary of why your organization deserves to win the best climate action award. Please outline your innovative decarbonization strategy. Let us know if you have a net-zero target in place, how the project has adapted over time to ensure continual improvement during the pandemic, key stakeholders' level of involvement, and how the climate action strategy aligns with the company's overall purpose. Judges are looking for publicly communicated climate action commitments, governance structure, and incentives, along with well-articulated reporting, disclosures, engagement, and communication practices.

Nominees

  • Amalgamated Financial Corp

  • JLL

  • Medtronic

  • Philip Morris International

  • Starbucks Corporation

Best diversity, equity and inclusion award

Best diversity, equity and inclusion award

What sets your company apart? We are looking for examples of a well-defined, innovative and data-driven DE&I strategy in this category. We're looking for an organization that recognizes the strategic value of diversity and inclusion across its business and reflects the community they serve. As part of your entry, you must demonstrate your organization's commitment to a culture of inclusion from clients to the board. Please provide examples of a well-rounded campaign including DE&I targets, review and reporting progress, data, disclosures, investments, investor communications, leadership actions, brand strategy, governance structure outlining incentives, and how it ties in with broader company purpose and values.

Nominees

  • Advance Auto Parts

  • Gilead Sciences

  • Medtronic

  • Paramount Global

  • Starbucks Corporation

Best ESG by a senior management team

Best ESG by a senior management team

It starts at the top! In this category, we are looking for those chief executives and senior executives setting the standard for the industry with their exceptional contributions. These are successful (as demonstrated by their work) and inspiring leaders whose vision and commitment drive your company's ESG agenda forward. We're looking for executives who work together seamlessly to help the company stand out when articulating its ESG strategy; they go above and beyond in engaging investors and key shareholders with its vision. Please provide examples of management's approach to ESG initiatives, investor meetings, pandemic response, and the achieved results. Please also include feedback from investors, especially around proactively managing risks and addressing stakeholder concerns. Please provide us with details of your senior management for verification.

Nominees

  • Josh Ballard, CFO

    Energy Recovery

  • Richard Batten, chief sustainability officer

    JLL

  • Naveen Chopra, CFO

    Paramount Global

  • Ramon Laguarta, CEO and team

    PepsiCo

  • Alan Schnitzer, CEO and team

    The Travelers Companies

Best ESG communications

Best ESG communications

In a year where shareholders have been remote and felt distant, how have you worked creatively to keep them informed and engaged? We are looking for a results-driven digital campaign to effectively communicate your ESG story to investors and key stakeholders in this category. We're also looking for stand-alone or integrated ESG reports that tell the company's sustainability story in a concise, transparent, and innovative way that is easy to understand and engaging in addition to your overall multi-channel strategy. What were the tools and resources used, why were these methods chosen, and how did they effectively demonstrate the company's value? Please illustrate the success of your campaign by providing evidence of materiality, real relevance to business operations and how informative they were, backed by reliable reporting tools and frameworks. Please also indicate the graphics used, the wide range of content types used, what helped drive website traffic, feedback from investors, and so on. Judges would find the following valuable: your objectives, budget, external verification, innovative and inventive execution and evidence-based results. Please feel free to submit your top three video clips, press releases, social media posts, links to podcasts or performance data.

Nominees

  • Chesapeake Energy Corporation

  • e.l.f. Beauty

  • Energy Recovery

  • PepsiCo

  • Philip Morris International

Best ESG engagement program

Best ESG engagement program

Continuous and transparent engagement about ESG risks and opportunities is the cornerstone of any ESG program. How are you working together with your shareholders to improve your ESG performance? We are looking for companies that have effectively shared information and knowledge with capital market participants during the proxy season and beyond. We are also looking for evidence about how companies have used engagement to test ESG policies, identify more efficient ESG targets and build better ESG management systems. Please demonstrate how you planned, executed and measured your engagement activities. How did you identify and prioritize key stakeholders? Did you engage your investors throughout the year? Have you set up an ESG or governance-related roadshow? How are you incorporating your ESG message into your regular engagements with investors?

Nominees

  • Energy Recovery

  • Splunk

  • Starbucks Corporation

  • The Travelers Companies

Mary Green

Vice president, client portfolio manager, Federated Hermes

Eileen Kamerick

Non-executive director, Associated Banc-corp, ACV Auctions, Hochschild Mining, Legg Mason Closed End Funds

Ben Maiden

Editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary

Michael Passoff

CEO, Proxy Impact

Veena Ramani

Research director, FCLTGlobal

Tensie Whelan

Director, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

Agenda: 2022

All times displayed are in Eastern Time (ET)

View the 2022 PDF agenda here

 

  • 08:30 AM
    Registration opens

  • 08:50 AM
    Welcome to the ESG Integration Forum – Summer 2022

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Sarah Jones, partner, global head of corporate, Clifford Chance

  • 09:00 AM
    ESG trend watch: How the SEC proposals, supply chain concerns and inflation are changing ESG priorities

    Start the day by reflecting on the SEC’s recent developments, key trends we saw this proxy season and the impact the current economic and political environment will have on issuers and sustainable investing.

    • Preparing for new regulations: what the SEC’s proposed climate rules mean for public companies
    • Explore the long-term legacy of Covid-19 on ESG: how has the landscape of ESG shifted in the US
    • How inflation, sanctions and changing supply lines will impact investor expectations

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Cynthia Curtis, SVP and corporate sustainability officer, JLL
    John Miller, director, ESG and sustainability policy, Cowen
    Sandra J. Peters, senior head and SEC investor advisory committee member, CFA Institute

  • 09:45 AM
    Environment update: Addressing increased expectations on climate

    This year’s proxy season saw a record number of environmental proposals filed by investors. This, combined with the SEC’s proposed rule on climate risk disclosures, has brought unprecedented attention to the ‘E’ of ESG.

    • Hear about key developments in shareholder climate proposals coming out of the latest proxy season
    • Discuss how the SEC’s proposals around climate risk disclosure will impact company reporting
    • Learn about how companies are responding to shareholder and regulatory expectations on climate

    Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
    Amanda Cimaglia, vice president, ESG and corporate affairs, The AZEK Company
    Chris Fenwick, ESG programme director, OneTrust
    Bruce Kahn, executive director, climate solutions specialist, MSCI

  • 10:30 AM
    Morning networking break

  • 10:45 AM
    Leveraging ESG to build brand loyalty

    Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Ryan Barr, managing partner, global financial services practice leader, FINN Partners 
    Dr. Rob Sobhani, CEO, Sparo Corporation and chairman, The Caspian Group

  • 11:15 AM
    Building and communicating an impactful ESG narrative

    Join this session to learn how to engage more stakeholders with your ESG story, and ensure that shareholders understand the material issues facing your business. 

    • Trends in communicating and reporting ESG information to shareholders
    • The impact of the ISSB: the first steps towards a globally recognised ESG reporting standard?
    • The social responsibility of companies in 2022: how have stakeholder expectations of public companies changed?

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Renee Campbell, senior vice president, investor relations & treasurer, Valmont Industries
    U-Jin Lee, vice president of business development, AlphaSense
    Tanya Rakpraja, managing director, corporate responsibility and government relations, Annaly Capital Management
    Sudi Setlur, vice president, ESG and non-profit advisory, Corbin Advisors

     

  • 12:15 PM
    Governance update: Privacy, pay and politics

    This session examines the governance issues which are top of mind for stakeholders. Learn how issuers can navigate the governance challenges of today, and disclose around their governance risk management

    • Governance trends this proxy season: responding to evolving shareholder needs
    • Hear about key issues regarding executive pay planning during periods of economic uncertainty and developments for companies linking compensation to ESG performance
    • Learn how companies can navigate responsible political engagement

    Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
    Anthony Garcia, director of responsible investing, Nuveen
    Paul Koppel, partner, Clifford Chance
    Gabrielle Wolf, director, Innisfree M&A Incorporated

  • 13:00 PM
    Lunch

  • 14:00 PM
    Social update: How human capital factors are changing sustainable investing

    Monumental shifts in the labor market and working practice have had a huge impact on IR teams. The combination of ‘The Great Resignation’, rising cost of living and an increased focus on diversity is causing investors and companies to re-evaluate the impacts human capital issues are having on businesses.

    • How has the pandemic changed the conversation around human capital management?
    • Advice on setting and implementing effective board diversity targets
    • Going beyond targets: what are the next steps for companies looking to turn social goals into action?

    Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Kristi Davidson, VP, associate general counsel and corporate responsibility, Movado Group
    Tejal Patel, corporate governance director, SOC Investment Group

  • 14:30 PM
    Fire-side chat: Benchmarking your ESG performance

    Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine & Corporate Secretary
    Morgan Bodell, associate director, S&P Global Market Intelligence

  • 15:00 PM
    ESG and the board: Preparing for effective oversight of ESG issues

    Set your board up for success by providing support, data and structures to address overarching ESG issues.

    • How to effectively support your board in driving ESG change internally
    • Discuss the governance structures that are needed to provide sufficient ESG risk management
    • Learn about what investors want in terms of board composition

    Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
    Richard Gluckselig, VP, associate general counsel, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
    Steve Nickelsburg, partner, Clifford Chance
    Tensie Whelan, director, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

  • 15:45 PM
    Champagne roundtables: Exchange ideas with your peers in highly interactive roundtable 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
    • When the bell rings, move on to your next table and repeat!
    • Enjoy a glass of champagne or non-alcoholic beverage
    • At the end of the session, hear a roundup of lessons learned so you can apply these when you return to the office

    Roundtable topics include:

    • Proxy season 2022: Learning from the latest AGM season
    • Where does ESG sit at your company?
    • What do investors want? Learn about buy-side ESG expectations
    • Reporting trends: How to stay ahead of the curve on ESG disclosures
    • How to manage an ESG crisis?

    Barjouth Aguilar, head of global sustainability program and foundation officer, Flex
    Sara Gubins, senior vice president, head of investor relations & treasury, Nielsen
    Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
    Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
    Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary

  • 16:30 PM
    Closing remarks

    Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary

  • 16:40 PM
    Drinks reception and awards presentations

  • 18:00 PM
    End of conference

Speakers include:

We are adding new speakers daily, so be sure to check back frequently for updates. To inquire about speaking at the 2022 forum, please contact [email protected] or call +44 7889 883 457


What our attendees say

"Good panels and panelists, subject matter experts went deeper when required. Good mix of big picture and granularity."

Corbin Advisors

"It was extremely informative and detailed in terms of the growing importance of ESG."

Sparo

"Relevant topics, excellent panellists and thoughtful interview questions."

Nasdaq

"Interesting topics, good speaker content.
"

Omnicell

"I liked the breadth of topics and how the topics have evolved at this forum as ESG has evolved.
"

Q4

"Well-run, accommodated the virtual speaker, room was well set up and encouraged participation."

DFIN

"Insightful speakers that sparked robust conversation."

Elizabeth Van Every, Vanda

"I enjoyed the dedicated and separate sessions on the E, S and G. This is clearly the way forward as it allows for more in- depth updates."

Gemma Bakx, Zuylestein

Who attends our events

Our attendees are leading IR and GRC practitioners with an established track record and strategic role within their company.

Below is a sample of some of this year’s attendees:

 

Job title Company Job title Company
Assistant general counsel Edgewell Head, IR Amdocs
Associate general counsel Hewlett Packard Enterprise Head, IR Moneylion
Attorney Fredrikson & Byron IR advisor Starbucks Corporation
AVP, IR TD Managing director Joele Frank
CFO Blue Foundry Bank Managing director, corporate responsibility & government relations Annaly Capital
CFO Jerash Holdings Managing director, national sales Logan Capital Management
Chief strategy officer CorpAxe Managing partner DrivePath Advisors
Corporate governance director SOC Investment Group Partner Fox Rothschild
Corporate sustainability officer, Americas JLL Partner Seyfarth Shaw
Director, employee brand communications & ESG Datasite Partner Thompson Hine
Director, ESG Brookfield Properties Senior head CFA institute & investor advisory committee member SEC
Director, ESG solutions Wells Fargo Senior VP, corporate governance HSBC
Director, IR Annaly Capital Management Senior VP, IR & treasurer Valmont Industries
Director, IR & corporate development Dutch Bros Sustainability senior director PepsiCo
Director, IR activations Cision SVP, IR & ESG LavoieHealthScience
Director, responsible investing Nuveen US corporate access Barclays
Director, social impact Compass Diversified VP & corporate secretary Metropolitan Commercial Bank
ESG & impact advisor PowerPlant Partners VP, associate general counsel Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
ESG programme administrator Omnicell VP, brand & business development Datamaran
ESG reporting & sustainability director Marsh McLennan VP, chief sustainability officer & group general counsel The Travelers Companies
ESG specialist Paramount VP, ESG Maximus
Executive director, climate change specialist MSCI VP, ESG & corporate affairs The Azek Company
General counsel Capital One VP, ESG & non-profit advisory Corbin Advisors
General counsel XPEL VP, ESG & sustainability director Flagstar Bank
Government & regulatory affairs advisor Chesapeake Energy Corporation VP, IR Energy Recovery

 

Request full attendee list

Become a partner

Why partner with us?

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

The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when they are exploring how they can improve their IR and GRC 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 hybrid 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 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 GRC communities.

We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience at the ESG Integration Forum – Summer. Get in touch with Ian Richman or call on +1 212 430 6865.

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