Agenda

8:30 BST

Breakfast presentation from Environmental Finance Data: Market movements – sustainable bonds and loans

Macro summary of sustainable bond issuance – analysis of bond label, issuer type, sector, and region
Spotlight on sustainability-linked bonds – y-o-y evolution of the market, evaluation of issuance by region, sector, and KPIs (with focus on scope 3 KPIs)
Social bond stagnation in numbers – which regions and issuer types have seen the most significant slowing in social bond issuance?
Spotlight on sovereign sustainable bond issuance
Funding the transition – transition bonds, SLBs and sustainable loans

Speaker:

Guy Richardson, Data Analyst, Environmental Finance Data

8:50 BST

Welcoming remarks

Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

8:55 BST

Keynote address: Trust, Transparency and Transition plans, the case of the European Green Bonds Regulation

Paul Tang, Rapporteur, European Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (Dutch MEP)

9:15 BST

Panel: SLBs – what next?

Coupons come home to roost: have targets been achieved with the early SLB leaders? If not, what have investors done in reaction?
How can SLBs be more ambitious? Should issuers be incentivised to not just hit targets but exceed them?
How do you identify what is material?
What has been the investor reaction to the two-way structure? Are step downs more effective and attractive to ESG investors looking to support transitions?
Will other issuers follow on the two-way structure?
With interest rates rising, is there more of a case for two-way structures for SLBs? Should the step-ups be greater?
Why has issuance has slowed down?
What kinds of investors are investing in SLBs? Are they mainstream or ESG investors?
What are the perks for investors?

Moderator:
Stephane Marciel, Head of Sustainable Bonds, Debt Capital Markets, Société Générale CIB

Panellists:
Alessandro Canta, Head of Finance & Insurance, Enel
Bodo Winkler, Head of Funding & Investor Relations, Berlin Hyp
Saida Eggerstedt, Head of Sustainable Credit, Schroders

10:00 BST

Panel: Taking stock of ESG regulation for 2023

How are investors and issuers preparing for different disclosure requirements?
An update on global Green Bond Standards and the Common Ground Taxonomy
A review of the first disclosures of EU taxonomy thresholds in 2023
The introduction of new taxonomies in 2023: biodiversity, circular economy, waste reduction and pollution prevention – how will issuers and investors go beyond GHG objectives?
Has ESG regulation become overburdensome?
ISSB baseline: will it improve the reliability and comparability of sustainability data internationally or add another layer of complexity?

Moderator:
Marina Petroleka, Global Head of ESG Research, Sustainable Fitch

Panellists:
Emer Murnane, Group Treasurer, Smurfit Kappa Group
Giorgio Botta, Manager, Sustainable Finance, AFME
Imane Kabbaj, Director, Responsible Investment, Man Group
Mark Manning, Technical Specialist, Sustainable Finance and Stewardship, Financial Conduct Authority

10:45 BST

Morning networking break

11:15 BST

Panel: Taking the fear out of the T-word

How will the market finance key technologies required for energy transition?
How can public policy and regulation define parameters that support the energy transition?
Is the green label hindering capital flows into transition finance?
How are resources developing for the market to be able to assess credible transition pathways?
Does a net-zero portfolio look very different to an Article 9 portfolio?
How far behind is the market in considering regional and local nuances in transition finance?
How can SPOs challenge issuers while not closing the door on transition finance?

Moderator:
Anjuli Pandit, Head of Sustainable Bonds, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, HSBC

Panellists:
Daniel Kricheff, Director, Global Credit Research – Sustainability, MetLife Investment Management
Fayyaz Muneer, Deputy Director of Green Finance and Prudential Policy, HM Treasury
Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing, Fidelity International
Marie-Bénédicte Beaudoin, Associate Director, Head of SPO Operations, ISS Corporate Solutions
Mohammad Ayoub, Climate Policy, Ministry of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

12:05 BST

Keynote fireside chat: : Austria’s innovative green short-term funding and future plans for other green instruments

Speaker: Markus Stix, Managing Director, Austrian Treasury

Interviewed by: Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

12:30 BST

Lunch

13:30 BST

ESG in Fixed Income Stream

GSSS Bonds Stream

Panel: Tackling greenwashing

Panel: Sovereign issuance and sustainability engagement

How are rules to tackle greenwashing progressing?
What do investors want to see?
What can issuers do to meet those demands?
CSRD and SFDR sequencing: How are investors bridging the data gap?
What has been the process undertaken for SFDR fund relabelling?

Moderator:
Madeleine King, Head of Research & Active Engagement, LGIM

Panellists:
Maria Lozovik, Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager, Marsham Investment Management
Rumi Mahmood, Head of ESG & Climate Fund Research, MSCI
Stéphanie Mielnik, Director of Research, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute
Adrian Barnes, Head of Green Analytics, Green Investment Group

How can sovereign engagement be navigated? What progress has been made?
Sovereigns and SLBs – are they a good idea or could they be liable to greenwashing?
Are any European sovereigns considering issuances?
What can we learn about innovative sovereign structures from the green inflation-linked issuance from France?
Why aren't some sovereigns conducting impact reporting?

Moderator:
Paul O'Connor, Executive Director, Head of EMEA ESG Debt Capital Markets, J.P. Morgan

Panellists:
Emma Whiteacre, Director, Sovereigns and Insurance, Verisk Maplecroft
Katarzyna Szwarc, High Representative of the Minister of Finance for Capital Market Development Strategy, Polish Ministry of Finance
Pablo Villacampa Nuevo, Head of Service at the Funding and Debt Management Office, Spanish Treasury
Thomas Dillon, Head of ESG, Sovereign, Aviva Investors

14:15 BST

ESG in Fixed Income Stream

GSSS Bonds Stream

Panel: ESG transparency and using data to drive change

Panel: Social bonds – could they die on our watch?

How will the development of regulatory and market standards affect ESG data transparency?
Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) and other metric challenges: how are they being navigated?
ESG ratings: how are investors interpreting them?
Should they be a requirement for ESG financing?
How is more granular data feeding through to impact reporting? Is it becoming more mainstream in line with disclosure regulation?

Moderator:
Michael Hurley, Deputy Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Alexander Parkinson, Co-Head of Responsible Investment Data Integration, Newton Investment Management
Felipe Gordillo, ESG & GSS Bonds Senior Analyst, Mirova
Stephanie Maier, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment, GAM Investments

Why has the sustainable bond market appeared to have grown increasingly anti-'social'?
Are issuers cautious of social KPIs and definitions?
Why is the social taxonomy not progressing?
How to attract new issuers and investors to this space

Moderator:
Cédric Merle, Head of Centre of Expertise & Innovation, Green & Sustainable Hub, Natixis

Panellists:
Anna Stawowy, Treasurer, DKB
Isobel Edwards, Executive Director/Vice President – Green, Social and Impact Bonds, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Jarek Olszowka, Head of Sustainable Finance IBD, Nomura
Felix Grote, Head of Long-Term Funding, Council of Europe Development Bank

15:00 BST

Afternoon break

15:30 BST

Fireside chat: What the first Gulf sovereign sustainability bond means for the region’s low carbon future

Interviewer
Annabelle Palmer, Content Strategist, Environmental Finance

Speaker:
Tom Koczwara, Advisor, Debt Management Office, Finance Department, Government of Sharjah

15:50 BST

Panel: Scope 3 targets

How can they be calculated and incorporated into sustainable bond structures?
What guidance is available?
How can issuers and lead managers work together to better understand the challenge?
Ambition or realism: what are investors looking for?

Moderator:
Agnes Gourc, Head of Sustainable Capital Markets, BNP Paribas

Panellists:
Christa Clapp, Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, CICERO Shades of Green, now a part of S&P Global
Johannes Böhm, Senior ESG Analyst, Union Investment Institutional
Hanne Fedje, Circular Economy/Climate Manager, Norsk Hydro

16:35 BST

Panel: Innovative structures

Blue finance, nature-based solutions, biodiversity and carbon credit offtake agreements - how will these be integrated into fixed income structures?
How is a desire for impact driving innovation?
Anti-discriminatory lending, social and green securitisation, and other areas of innovation to watch

Moderator:
Thomas Cox, Staff Writer, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Begum Gursoy, Technical Head, Sustainable Finance Solutions & Debt Capital Markets, Sustainalytics
Daniel Drummer, CFO, auxmoney
Michael Bennett, Head of Market Solutions and Structured Finance, World Bank
Theo Kotula, Responsible Investment Analyst, AXA IM

17:20 BST

Closing remarks

17:30 BST

Close of conference and networking drinks reception

ESG in Fixed Income EMEA 2023

Agenda