2023 Agenda
Day 1
31st January 2023
Registration, coffee & networking
Chair’s welcome and opening remarks
Opening presentation
ESG outlook 2023: the impact of rising geopolitical tensions on global ESG strategies
Panel discussion
Big picture: integrating ESG into every level of organisational strategy
- What resources do you need to have in place to develop and build ESG capacity?
- How do you arrive at the right measures for an ever-evolving market?
- Techniques for seamlessly merging financial and sustainability reporting
- Developing a practical and uniform approach to ESG and DEI
Moderator: Victoria Gillespie, Director – ESG Services, JTC
Adam Black, Partner, Head of ESG and Sustainability, Coller Capital
Dörte Höppner, Chief Sustainability Officer, Riverside
Elin Ljung, Managing Director, Head of Communication and Sustainability, Nordic Capital Advisors
Jennifer Signori, Managing Director, Private Equity ESG and Impact Investing, Neuberger Berman
Robert Sroka, ESG Director, Abris Capital
Coffee & speed networking
Case study
Getting started with ESG: what does and doesn’t work?
Jim Weight, Managing Partner, Weight Partners
Panel discussion
Regulation, disclosure, and reporting: how can ESG be measured and reported in a way that keeps all parties happy?
- ESG disclosure landscape: finding the right approach for your organisation
- Preventing green, SDG or impact washing via comprehensive reporting
- What is the existing regulation? And what are the real-world liabilities?
- Overcoming the challenges of matching and reporting against investors’ priorities
Moderator: TBC, KEY ESG
Emin Aleskerov, Head of Sustainability, Stirling Square Capital
Stefanie Kneer, Head of ESG and Sustainability, Atypical Partner
Coralie De Maesschalck, Head of CSR & ESG, Kartesia
Matthew Powell, Vice President, Head of ESG & Reporting - BeyondNetZero, General Atlantic
Olivia Prentice, Head of Impact, Bridges Fund Management
The Big Debate
This house believes that standardised frameworks for ESG do not work for private markets
Maria Carradice, Managing Director, Specialist – ESG, Mayfair Equity Partners
Eimear Palmer, Partner & Global Head of ESG, Pantheon
Lunch & networking
WORKSHOP STREAM A
Impact strategies versus ESG
- Are they different enough to warrant separate strategies?
- Sustainability and impact: what is the difference? How are they defined?
- How can you measure impact? Does it align with SDGs?
- How are investors allocating to impact?
Discussion leaders:
Teresa Farmaki, Founder, Astarte Capital Partners
Beth Houghton, Partner & Head of Impact Fund, Palatine
Corinne Philipps, Executive Director and Head of UK Private Equity, Tikehau Capital
WORKSHOP STREAM B
Outsourcing versus in-house ESG capabilities
- What functions of ESG lend themselves to being outsourced vs. kept in-house?
- What should GPs and portfolio companies be aware of when deciding to outsource?
- What are the key considerations for choosing a partner?
- How can ESG consultants work together with private equity companies to ensure consistency?
Discussion leaders:
Jo Daley, Director, Head of Impact, Clearwater
Anne Sheedy, ESG Advisor, Bowmark Capital
WORKSHOP STREAM A
Biodiversity: from niche topic to principal sustainable finance challenge
- What does biodiversity mean for investors and asset managers?
- How can investment in the preservation of biodiversity be unlocked?
- What are the financial opportunities arising from natural capital?
- Will nature-based investing be the next hot asset class?
Discussion leaders: Noëlla de Bermingham, Chief Sustainability Officer, Andera Partners
TBC, Addleshaw Goddard
WORKSHOP STREAM B
Tackling the unconscious bias: the importance of diversity in driving innovation
- How are investors rating companies to ensure they are diverse and inclusive of people and ideas?
- Do your DEI initiatives really work? How do you measure success?
- What are the links between corporate diversity and market performance?
- What can be done to drive DEI forwards?
Discussion leader:
Cilian Jansen Verplanke, Partner, Karmijn Kapitaal
Sarah Shackleton, COO, Seraphim Space Manager
Coffee & networking
Panel discussion
Data, data, and more data: developing ESG metrics for private equity
- Creating a critical mass of meaningful, performance-based ESG data via standardised data collection
- What data are LPs asking for? And what are they doing with it?
- Exploring ILPA and UNPRI initiatives to improve data collection and reporting
- Cybersecurity and how to ensure data protection
Martin Bang-Löwgren, Head of Sustainability, Polaris
Richard Burrett, Chief Sustainability Officer, Earth Capital
Yohan Hill, Principal & Director of ESG and Responsible Investing, Investment Strategy and Risk Management, Adams Street Partners
Nina Kraus, Principal, Hamilton Lane
Champagne roundtable discussions
A: Impact investing
B: Decarbonisation
C: ESG Portfolio measurement
Henry Philipson, Director of Marketing and Communications, Beringea
D: Biodiversity
Cocktail reception
Day 2
1st February 2023
Registration, coffee & networking
Chair’s welcome and opening remarks
Panel discussion
SFDR in focus
- How has SFDR re-shaped the ESG fund landscape?
- Best practice for integrating SFDR at the portfolio and fund level
- How can GPs implement articles 8 and 9? What are the key inconsistencies managers are facing?
- To what extent are the distinctions between articles 6, 8, and 9 fully understood?
Panel discussion
Responsible investment and LP requirements: from fundraising to reporting
- How do LPs view ESG? Does it vary globally?
- What is the impact on fundraising? How are investors choosing their managers?
- What sort of data are LPs looking for on ESG? And what are they doing with it?
- Are investors interested if your fund isn’t article 8 or 9?
Moderator: Jan Gruter, Partner, Addleshaw Goddard
Nathalie Chollet, Head of Northern Europe Equity Investments, Lower Mid-Market, European Investment Fund
Silva Dezelan, ESG Director, Stafford Capital Partners
Case study
From regulation to implementation: the practicalities of SFDR PAIs
Coffee & networking
Panel session
Best practice for decarbonising your firm and your portfolio
- Key opportunities and challenges in the path to net zero
- Beyond reporting: implementing real world actions to reduce carbon emissions
- Dealing with conflicting challenges: weighing up the E vs. S of decarbonisation programmes
Moderator: Peter Dunbar, Private Equity Senior Specialist, Principles for Responsible Investment
Jo Daley, Director, Head of Impact, Clearwater
Axel Elqvist, Sustainability Lead, Verdane
Fabio Ranghino, Head of Sustainability and Strategy, Ambienta
Eva Vogt, Head of ESG and Impact, EMK Capital
Serge Younes, Head of Sustainability, Investindustri
Case study
Carbon reduction
Lunch & networking
Case study
ESG’s role in valuation
Panel session
ESG from a risk aversion strategy to a driver of value creation
- How can ESG data be used to drive performance and create value?
- How are large firms driving ESG through their organisations?
- ESG at valuation: what premiums can managers achieve by enhancing a portfolio companies ESG credentials?
- What happens to ESG as it moves into the mainstream?
Graeme Ardus, Head of ESG, Triton
Zoe Bulger, Impact Manager, Summa Equity
Martin Calderbank, Managing Partner, Agilitas
Lucie Mills, Partner, NorthEdge
Case study
ESG as a value creator
Benjamin Puche, Director of Value Creation & Sustainability, Paragon Partners
Panel discussion
Demonstrating ESG value on exit
- Implementation of ESG at portfolio level to enhance the exit
- Communicating ESG credentials to potential buyers
- What buyers expect from a company’s ESG policies
Michelle Capiod, Co-Founding Partner, Blume Equity
Phil Davis, Director of ESG, Helios Investment Partners
Kristen Weldon, Managing Director, Global Head of BlackRock Alternative Investors Sustainable Investing, BlackRock
Emily Woollaston, Director, Head of Investor Relations, Beechbrook Capital