Sustainability Data EMEA 2024

Chair's opening remarks

Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Keynote fireside chat: ISSB

Richard Barker, Board Member, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

Keynote address: EFRAG

Patrick de Cambourg, Chair, EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board

Keynote fireside chat: FCA

Sacha Sadan, Director of Sustainable Finance, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Keynote address: ESMA

Eduardo Moral-Prieto, Senior Officer, Corporate Reporting and Finance Unit, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

PANEL: Exploring the impact of regulation on the ESG data landscape

• Exploring the regulatory climate for data providers – within the UK, Europe and other jurisdictions – and the implications of more transparency and alignment of rating methodologies
• Should regulators and standard-setters be prescribing what the market wants from data providers?
• How is the data provider landscape evolving? Examining the emergence of new niche players, newly evolving data sets, and how all providers are positioning themselves to meet increasingly complex data needs
• How are asset owners and asset managers applying their data provider selection criteria, and to what extent are they moving towards more in-house data research and analysis methodologies? To what extent is divergence amongst data providers a problem? How useful are ESG ratings for investment decisions?
• What is the future for ratings providers? As data becomes more transparent and available through initiatives such as ESAP, will ESG ratings become obsolete?

Moderator:
Jolien Noels, Economist, OECD

Panellists:
Anne Simpson, Global Head of Sustainability, Franklin Templeton
Julia Haake, Managing Director, Head of ESG Rating Agency, EthiFinance
Ly-Sia Quach, Head of Sales, WeeFin
Petra Kuti, ESG Data and Reporting Lead, Anthos Fund & Asset Management

PANEL: Investor insights on what constitutes decision-useful data – what sustainability data do investors want, and why?

• How does corporate sustainability reporting help investment decisions? What are investor expectations from their investee companies?
• Which data points from reports have most materiality to portfolios, and how are investors able to manage the plethora of data provided to integrate it into investment decisions?
• Linking ESG data points to performance - can the double bottom line be achieved, or does one come at the price of the other?
• What processes are investors putting in place to ensure ESG data is fit for purpose, of acceptable quality, scope and accuracy?
• How are asset owners working with their asset managers on sustainability data? How are they aligning data strategies when working with multiple asset managers
• Investor insights on the reporting burden and the changing regulatory landscape for sustainability data

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

Panellists:
Katharina Lindmeier, Head of Sustainability Strategy, NEST Pensions
Lennart Hermans, Head of Environmental Research, Osmosis Investment Management
Song Jie, Senior Researcher, Responsible Investment, Man Group

PANEL: Biodiversity, natural capital and water: what data is available and how is it being used?

• Discussing the progress towards developing a framework for biodiversity and nature metrics:
• As the TNFD rolls out, what best practices are emerging in nature-related disclosures, and how is the TNFD helping investors to measure nature-related risks and opportunities?
• Where do biodiversity and nature fit into ISSB/ESRS? Does ISSB foresee similar integration with the TNFD as with TCFD?
• Interoperability between different emerging standards
• Biodiversity and water reporting under SFDR
• What are the most material TNFD metrics that investors are looking out for, and how are they integrating this into investment decisions?
• While nature-related data still lacks granularity, should the market make do with what is available, or focus on assets with more quantifiable metrics?
• Sharing experiences from early TNFD adopters – what lessons can be learned so far?
• Marine biodiversity, water and other blue finance – what data is being used? When might this improve in availability and consistency?
• Exploring future potential developments and emerging innovations in biodiversity and natural capital data

Moderator:
Carlos Martin Tornero, Lead Associate, Sustainable Finance Policy, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Panellists:
Conor McMahon, Global Net Zero and Nature Lead, Nestlé
Laura Moss-Bromage, Planet Lead, Church Commissioners for England
Robert-Alexandre Poujade, Biodiversity Lead, BNP Paribas Asset Management

PANEL: Net-zero data challenges and tools for transition planning

• Update on the latest developments in regulations and standards for transition plans, in Europe and the UK, and how these align
• Transition planning within the CSRD and CSDDD
• The Transition Planning Taskforce (TPT) disclosure framework
• Guidance from the ISSB
• How are investors using TPI (Transition Pathway Initiative) data to assess transition risk?
• Sharing experiences in the decarbonisation of portfolios – data challenges, guidance and best practices
• How are corporates leveraging data tools such as carbon tracking to meet their net-zero commitments?
• What data sources being used for transition assessments? How is it possible to ensure that only high-quality offsets are included?
• Achieving a just transition: the challenges of capturing climate data when investing in emerging markets
• How can climate scenario analysis tools support transition strategies?

Moderator:
Candice Coppere, Head of Climate and Nature Solutions, Product, ISS STOXX

Panellists:
Alex Clark, Research Director, Asset Impact (GRESB)
David Russell, Chair, Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI)
Paddy Arber, Group Head of Government Engagement, Aviva & Member of Delivery Group, Transition Plan Taskforce

PANEL: Will AI be a gamechanger for ESG data?

• How is AI currently being used for ESG data, by corporates, asset owners and asset managers?
• How can AI be incorporated into decision-making in a meaningful way?
• What are the risks of "hallucination"? Does the fact- checking required to mitigate these risks negate the usefulness of AI?
• How is AI data being scraped to construct thematic investment products, including ESG?
• How does the future look for the use of AI? When could its use become more widespread, and what could be the impact of regulations, such the EU's "AI Act"?

Moderator:
Diana Rose, Head of ESG Research, Insig AI

Panellists:
Borja Cadenato, Head of Product for AI and Data Solutions, Clarity AI
Budha Bhattacharya, Head of Systematic Research, Lombard Odier Investment Managers
Stuart Forbes, Managing Director, Head of ARK Europe, ARK Invest Europe

FIRESIDE CHAT: Data challenges relating to supply chains and scope 3 emissions

• Regulatory update: what ramifications will the CSDDD have across supply chains? What guidance is available for data preparers and users, and how are they preparing?
• How can scope 3 reporting data be used to support investment decisions?
• Challenges faced by corporates in engaging with suppliers and collecting, managing and disclosing scope 3 data
• How is human rights and biodiversity data being integrated with climate data across supply chains?
• Estimation models vs. reported data for scope 3 emissions: how can the accuracy and reliability of data improve?
• Could litigation risks hamper widespread data disclosure across supply chains?
• Examining the data quality challenges specific to supply chains in emerging markets

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance 

Panellists:
Lars Qvigstad Sørensen, Senior Portfolio Manager, Storebrand Asset Management
Matthieu Maurin, CEO, Iceberg Data Lab

FIRESIDE CHAT: The next frontier - Scope 4, or avoided emissions

• To what extent is Scope 4 data currently being measured and used, by corporates and investors?
• How can the risks of greenwashing be mitigated?
• What standardisation and sector-specific guidance might emerge for avoided emissions reporting and disclosure?

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance 

Benoit Ribaud, ESG Investor Relations Manager, TotalEnergies
Manuel Coeslier, Lead Expert, Climate & Environment, Mirova

Closing remarks and end of conference