ESG in Fixed Income Americas 2022

28 September 2022, New York

Agenda

08:50 ET/ 13:50 BST

Opening Remarks by the chair

Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

09:00

PANEL: The future of sustainable finance in fixed income

  • How will the sustainable finance markets evolve over the next 5-10 years?
  • How will sustainable finance cope with economic cycles involving prolonged instability or uncertainty?
  • How will emerging ESG regulatory trends shape the global sustainable finance market?
  • To what extent will sustainable finance markets coalesce or further divide over the next 5-10 years?

Moderator:
Aaron Franklin, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, SMBC

Panellists:
Stephen Liberatore, Head of ESG/Impact, Global Fixed Income, Nuveen
Tiffanie Wong, Director, Fixed Income Responsible Investing Portfolio Management, Alliance Bernstein
Tracy Patel, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, Prologis
Ryan M Hershberger, Director, Global Funding and Capital Markets, Ford Motor Company

09:45

PANEL: Are sustainability-linked bonds raising or lowering the bar for ESG issuance?

  • What are the advantages and constraints of SLBs in the Americas markets vs. Transition bonds?
  • What are investors looking for in SLBs?
  • Should the Use of Proceeds model be combined with SLBs?
  • What are main structuring considerations to make SLBs most impactful?
  • When are sustainability linked products right for high emitting sectors?
  • What make SLBs suitable for high yield markets?

Moderator:
Anne van Riel, Head of Sustainable Finance Capital Markets Americas, BNP Paribas

Panellists:
Mayur Mukati, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance, Morningstar Sustainalytics
Fernando Reiter, Corporate Finance Director, Cemex
Andrea Vigo, Senior Funding Director, The Dow Chemical Company
Simone Andrews, Responsible Investment, Governance Manager, APG

10:30

Networking Break

11:00

Fireside Chat

With Mr Stan Magidson, Chair, Canadian Securities Administrators

KEYNOTE Interviewer:

Courtney Alexander, ESG Solutions Group, TD Securities (USA) LLC

11:30

Panel: Bondholder engagement

  • Setting clear paths to escalate engagement and measuring ESG outcomes
  • How do GSS principles enable investors to engage with issuers?
  • How can bond investors and use of proceeds stimulate discussions around the Paris agreement and the SDGs?
  • What is holding bondholders back from being more proactive in this regard?
  • How can issuers facilitate engagement?
  • Does it drive motivation to issue?

Moderator: 
Gianluca Spinetti, Head of ESG Analysts and Head of Product Development, Sustainable Fitch  

Panellists:
Alessia Falsarone, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Investing, Portfolio Strategy and Risk, Pinebridge Investments
Elizabeth Aceituno, Sustainable Finance, WWF Finance
Michelle McCulloch, Senior Director, Head of ESG Ratings, Americas, Sustainable Fitch
Ronald van der Wouden, Managing Director, The Rock Creek Group

12.15

FIRESIDE CHAT

With Soren Halverson, Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Environment & Climate Change Canada

Interviewer:
Jason Taylor, Managing Director, Sustainability Advisory & Finance, National Bank of Canada

12:45

LUNCH

13:40

ESG in Fixed Income Stream

GSS Bonds Stream

Panel: Real Estate and Asset Backed Securities

Panel: Greenwashing - beyond business as usual
  • Structured securities and their place in the market
  • ESG integration vs bond labelling
  • Challenges and opportunities going forward for these markets
  • How is it evaluated?
  • Different approaches

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Michael Lohmeier, Chief Investment Officer, Impact Community Capital
Lisa Bozzelli, Senior Director, Multifamily Capital Markets, Fannie Mae
Ellen Duffy, Executive Vice President, Debt Issuance & Finance, New York City Housing Development Corporation
Eric Alini, Managing Partner, Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate
  • What do investors want to see?
  • What can issuers do to meet those demands?
  • What is not feasible?
  • How do we get to a place where there is strong policy guidance?
  • KPI standardisation

Moderator:
Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Michael Ferguson, Senior Director. Analytical Manager, Sustainable Finance Americas, S&P Global Ratings
Nina Ahlstrand, Head of Sustainable Finance, DNB Markets
Zach Margolis, Sustainable Investment Banking Americas, Credit Agricole CIB

14:25

ESG in Fixed Income Stream

GSS Bonds Stream

Panel: ESG integration: applying transparency and risk analysis 

Panel: Issuing and investing in green social bonds: What is driving the further growth in GSSS bonds? 
  • How are rating agencies evolving with ESG and fixed income?
  • Physical risk: how are ESG elements being captured in credit ratings and risk assessments?
  • How are investors integrating this information?
  • What does it mean for issuers and investors?

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Jeremy Davis, Executive Director, Americas ESG & Climate Client Coverage, MSCI
Michael Kashani, Head of ESG Credit, Apollo Global Management
Jarek Olszowka, Head of Sustainable Finance, Nomura International
Jeff Cohen, Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability, Oak Hill Advisors
Monica Landaeta, Lead Funding Officer, IDB Invest
  • Is the range of social factors within ESG expanding and how will this effect sustainability strategies for issuers and investors?
  • How will this affect reporting, regulation, rating and risk?
  • How investors are addressing social and sustainable investments in their portfolio and what can be improved?
  • Challenges and opportunities and where the private sector can make a significant contribution

Moderator:
Ana Carolina Oliveira, Head of Sustainable Finance Americas, Managing Director, ING

Panellists:
Donna Laviolette, Senior Manager, Global Sustainability, Xylem
Emily Weng, Vice President, Global Fixed Income ESG Investment, Blackrock
Lindsay Brent, Director, Debt Capital Markets & Sustainable Finance, Morningstar Sustainalytics
Scott Cantor, Senior Financial Officer on the Sustainable Finance & Investor Relations team, World Bank

 

 

15:10

ESG in Fixed Income Stream

GSS Bonds Stream

Panel: Investor Perspectives on ESG across the Americas

The Rise of Sustainable Finance in the US Municipal Market
  • How are investors tackling ESG due diligence for labelled and conventional bonds?
  • What are investor perspectives on ESG labelled products in Latin America and the U.S? How do they differ?
  • What trends and innovative transactions are influencing the market?
  • What strategies or advice would you give to issuers in managing the enhanced focus and reputational risks associated with greenwashing?
  • What commonalities exist on ESG integration between fixed income and equity investors?

Moderator:
Fanny Doucet, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, Scotiabank

Panellists:
William Romary, Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets Debt, Lazard Asset Management
Susan Hutman, Senior Vice President and Director, Investment Grade Corporate Credit Research, Alliance Bernstein
Armelle de Vienne, Co-Head of ESG Research, PGIM Fixed Income
  • What are the factors driving increasing volumes of sustainable bond issuance from US municipalities?
  • How are investors and other market participants assessing ESG and sustainability risks and opportunities for governmental issuers?
  • What are some of the recent innovations in the municipal sustainable debt market?
  • How will the development of regulatory and market standards affect ESG & sustainability?

Moderator:
Matt Kuchtyak, VP, Sustainable Finance, Moody's ESG Solutions


Panellists:
Jack Brofman, Deputy CFO, City of Chicago
Jennifer Chang, Vice President, ESG. Moody's Investors Service
Ruth Ducret, Senior Analyst, Municipal Research, Breckingridge Capital Advisors
Ivan Boykin, Director of Finance, DC Water
Jeremy Newtson, Managing Director, Public Finance, Stifel

15:55

Networking Break

16:15

Panel: Corporates’ transition on the journey to net zero

  • How do issuers demonstrate their transition strategy?
  • Considering company assets at risk and mitigation strategies over the long term
    • New technologies? New business models?
    • Time horizons and demonstrating materiality of the strategy and its levers
  • Are the bond markets a way for corporates to action and finance their transition strategies?
  • How does M&A and divestiture impact transition plans? Are they beginning to play a material role in transition strategies?
  • Driving supply chain engagement to accelerate transition strategies
  • Investor' evaluation on the credibility of issuers' transition strategies and progress

Moderator:
Robert White, Managing Director, Head of Green & Sustainable Hub, Americas, Natixis CIB

Panellists:
Grover Burthey, Executive Vice President, Head of ESG Portfolio Management, PIMCO
Viola Lutz, Head of Climate Solutions, ISS ESG
Jeanne-Mey Sun, Vice President, Sustainability, NRG

17.00

How can the fixed income market help deliver President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act?

  • Can green bonds play a role in helping to build the green infrastructure required by the act?
  • Will there be a role for PACE bonds, muni bonds, or ABS?
  • What other kinds of instruments or innovation or blended finance may be needed?
  • A focus on global taxonomies and eu regulation relevance abroad
  • How can we ensure innovation continues?
  • What does the inclusion of hydrogen, nuclear in sovereign frameworks mean for regulation?

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Anjuli Pandit, Head of Sustainable Bonds, EMEA and Americas, HSBC
Susan C Morth CEO, EIC PACE
Stephen Liberatore, Head of ESG/Impact. Global Fixed Income, Nuveen

17:30

Chair’s Closing Remarks

17:35-18:30

Drinks reception

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