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Welcome to Country
Welcome to Country - Uncle Allen Madden from Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council
Welcome from RIAA Simon O'Connor
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Conflict, war and the challenges for ESG Alexis Cheang•Estelle Parker•Ross Piper•Paul Clements-Hunt
The invasion of Ukraine has raised bare a number of critical ESG issues that many in the sector were not prepared for. There are critical lessons for RI from this conflict and the many other conflicts around the globe that are forcing responsible investors to think afresh on our role in responding to these great global challenges.
Alexis Cheang
Partner, Acting Global Business Leader, Sustainable Investment at Mercer Australia
Estelle Parker
Executive Manager at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Ross Piper
CEO of Christian Super
Paul Clements-Hunt
Chief Executive Officer at The Blended Capital Group
Creating green products while avoiding the wash Rachel Alembakis•Brendan Baker•Ryan Korinke•Dr Stuart Palmer
How do you ensure you are not greenwashing? What do you need to do to ensure you are marketing products correctly, and substantiating your responsible investment claims? This session will provide insights on how to avoid greenwashing, how to appropriately market products, and ensure you’re delivering investments that align with expectations of your clients.
Rachel Alembakis
Managing Editor at FS Sustainability
Brendan Baker
Vice President, ESG Climate Specialist at MSCI
Ryan Korinke
Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability at PIMCO
Dr Stuart Palmer
Head of Ethics Research at Australian Ethical
Morning tea
From divestment to engagement: a fresh look at this age old debate in the era of active ownership 2.0 Susheela Peres da Costa•Sujaya Desai•Kim Farrant•Trevor Thomas
The abrupt divestments that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine re-ignited a decades-old debate about “exit versus voice.” This session applies the elements of Active Ownership 2.0, to identify the circumstances under which each will be effective, and the role of different types of investors in each.
Susheela Peres da Costa
Chair at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Sujaya Desai
Portfolio Manager, Analyst at Stewart Investors
Kim Farrant
General Manager Responsible Investment at HESTA
Trevor Thomas
Managing Director of Ethinvest
So you've committed, to net zero… what next? Jens Peers•Sybil Dixon•Julia Leske•Liza McDonald
You've taken the first step, now the real work awaits. What is needed to move from words to deeds and rapidly decarbonise your portfolio? This session is an overview of the practical steps investors need to take once they have formalised a commitment to net zero.
Jens Peers
CEO and CIO of Mirova US
Sybil Dixon
Governance and Sustainability Manager at UniSuper Management
Julia Leske
Head of ESG, Australia and New Zealand at ISS Australia Pty Ltd
Liza McDonald
Head of Responsible Investment at Aware Super
Lunch
Racial equity: the next diversity frontier? Brian Cahill•Adam Davids•Iris Davila•Alan Dayeh
What can investors do to promote racial equity in the workplace and through their investment decisions? Which international developments can be leveraged and how applicable are they to the Australian context? Gender diversity has become a mainstream issue for the corporate and finance sectors – with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, will racial and ethnic diversity be next? And how can your organisation equip itself to embrace this challenge?
Brian Cahill
Managing Director – Global Environmental, Social and Governance of Moody's Investors Service Pty Limited
Adam Davids
Co-Founder and CEO of First Nations Equity Partners
Iris Davila
Director of BlackRock
Alan Dayeh
Managing Principal at Point Advisory Pty Ltd
Active Ownership 2.0: Responsible investment and First Nations peoples’ rights • RIAA's First Nations Peoples' Rights Working Group Jamie Lowe•Cath Brokenborough•Alan Dayeh•Claire Heeps
Using real world examples, this session will unpack what is Active Ownership 2.0 as it relates to First Nations peoples' rights, and how business and investors are coming together with First Nations leaders to build systemic change. It will explore how investors can positively influence issues related to First Nations Peoples, including cultural heritage management and Free Prior and Informed Consent, and discuss what comes next.
Jamie Lowe
CEO of National Native Title Council
Cath Brokenborough
Chair at Dhawura Ngilan Business and Investor Initiative
Alan Dayeh
Managing Principal at Point Advisory Pty Ltd
Claire Heeps
Senior Responsible Investment Adviser at HESTA
Afternoon tea
Net zero: How some of Australia's most iconic brands are moving beyond just commitments Fiona Wild•Kylie Porter•Andrew Parker•Gretta Stephens
What does net zero look like for a company built, in part, by emitting carbon? How does it tackle the challenge? Explore the opportunities and issues that the increased focus on sustainability is bringing to some of Australia's iconic companies, and how companies are engaging with and responding to investors.
Fiona Wild
Vice President, Sustainability and Climate Change at BHP
Kylie Porter
Executive DIrector of UN Global Compact Network Australia
Andrew Parker
Chief Sustainability Officer at QANTAS
Gretta Stephens
Chief Executive Climate Change & Sustainability at BlueScope
Think global, act local: The global momentum impacting Australia's markets Simon O'Connor•James Alexander•Masaru Arai•Patricia Fletcher•Hugo Gallagher•Bryan McGannon
Globally, responsible investment continues to take up ever stronger focus in the world's major finance markets. But how is this playing out differently across those markets, and what are the global developments that will impact us here in Australia. Hear from CEO's of the world's leading sustainable investment organisations, chaired by RIAA CEO and GSIA Chair, Simon O'Connor.
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
James Alexander
Chief Executive at UKSIF: UK Sustainable Investment & Finance Association
Masaru Arai
Chair at Japan Sustainable Investment Forum
Patricia Fletcher
Chief Executive Officer at Responsible Investment Association Canada
Hugo Gallagher
Senior Policy Adviser at Eurosif
Bryan McGannon
Director of Policy and Programs at US SIF
Conference day 1 WRAP UP Ross Piper
Ross Piper
CEO of Christian Super
Registration open
Welcome back from RIAA Estelle Parker
Estelle Parker
Executive Manager at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Investing in Accessibility Graeme Innes AM
The importance of disability for diversity and an accessible built environment for equality, addressing why disability should form part of any human rights approach by investors.
Graeme Innes AM
Lawyer, author, and company director
Defining the new era of responsible investment Fiona Reynolds
Keynote - Fiona Reynolds, Conexus Financial
Fiona Reynolds
CEO of Conexus Financial
Morning tea
Putting nature at the heart of finance • RIAA's Nature Working Group Adam Kanzer•Guy Williams•Radha Kuppalli•Shara Lohrasb
This session will examine why nature has become one of the top issues for investors and the finance sector. Experts and practitioners will examine the business case, risks, opportunities and systemic considerations of nature and natural capital for investors, as well as the latest developments from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the response from Australian stakeholders. This session will bring together leading international and domestic knowledge and expertise about how we can meet the challenge of putting nature at the heart of finance in Australia.
Adam Kanzer
Head of Stewardship – Americas at BNP Paribas Asset Management
Guy Williams
Co-Chair of Nature Working Group & Director, Biodiversity and Natural Capital - Sustainability and Climate Change at Deloitte
Radha Kuppalli
Managing Director of New Forests Asset Management Pty Limited
Shara Lohrasb
Co-Chair of Nature Working Group & Associate Director at Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Keynote, Stephen Jones MP
Stephen Jones MP
Federal Member for Whitlam and Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation
Lunch
Isn’t net zero enough? The investor role in driving a just transition for workers and communities Warrick Jordan•Rebecca Mikula-Wright•Chris Newton•Karrina Nolan
Investors are starting to pay attention to the social consequences of climate change. As the world's economy responds to climate change, what investment approaches can be brought to bear to ensure the transition is a just one that supports an inclusive economy and sustainable development?
Warrick Jordan
Coordinator at Hunter Jobs Alliance
Rebecca Mikula-Wright
CEO of IGCC and AIGCC
Chris Newton
Executive Director, Responsible Investment of IFM Investors Pty Ltd
Karrina Nolan
Executive Director of Original Power
Invest like a girl: How to seize opportunities in women led investments Kathryn McDonald•Julia Bailey•Kate Howitt•Camilla Love
By not investing with a gender lens, investors are missing out on attractive investment opportunities. Gender equality is not just about supporting women. It is about harnessing the power and knowledge of 50% of the population to build innovative solutions to today's problems. Evidence shows that all-women and mixed-gender teams outperform all-male portfolio management teams, and that companies with at least one female founder outperform all-male founder teams. In this session, hear from a panel of experts on how to integrate a gender lens to capitalise on investment opportunities.
Kathryn McDonald
Co-Founder of Radiant ESG
Julia Bailey
Head of Advocacy Strategy / Senior Research Analyst at Melior Investment Management
Kate Howitt
Portfolio Manager at Fidelity International
Camilla Love
Managing Director, eInvest Australia; Founder of F3 – Future Females in Finance
Afternoon tea
Consolidation of reporting standards – is this the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? Sue Lloyd•Georgina Camp•Carly Hammond•Patrick Viljoen
We are seeing increased harmonisation of frameworks and standards for managing impact and sustainability reporting - some being legislated and others remaining voluntary. What is the current state of play, the merits of the various offerings and the remaining gaps in the market?
Sue Lloyd
Vice-Chair at International Sustainability Standards Board
Georgina Camp
Managing Director and Founder of Huber Social
Carly Hammond
Impact Investment Forum Program Manager at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Patrick Viljoen
Senior Manager ESG at CPA Australia
How to become a Responsible Investment Leader? Edward Lees•Simon O'Connor•Zsuzsa Banhalmi-Zakar
Edward Lees
Co-head Environmental Strategies Group & Co-lead Portfolio Manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Zsuzsa Banhalmi-Zakar
Research Manager at Responsible Investment Association Australasia RIAA
Conference WRAP UP Susheela Peres da Costa
Susheela Peres da Costa
Chair at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Spoilt for choice: what are the products savvy advisers are choosing? Geoff Bollom•Edwina Maloney•Cassandra Williams•Jessie Pettigrew
The increasing number of responsible investment products coming to market for financial advisers to access doesn't appear to be slowing any time soon. We discuss with prominent platform providers the growth that they are seeing on their platforms, and where that fund flow has been. Which type of products are savvy financial advisers seeking out to meet the needs of their ethical clients and what trends do they expect to see in the future?
Geoff Bollom
Product Director - Trading and Managed Accounts of Macquarie Group
Edwina Maloney
Director - Platforms of AMP
Cassandra Williams
Head of Certification and Ratings at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Jessie Pettigrew
Head of ESG and Sustainability at BT
Morning tea
Responsible investment for beginners Simon O'Connor•Cassandra Williams•Zsuzsa Banhalmi-Zakar
For the uninitiated. Learn how responsible investment approaches can help position your organisation to leverage the increased focus on environmental, social and governance issues and thrive in a new era of responsible investment.
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Cassandra Williams
Head of Certification and Ratings at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Zsuzsa Banhalmi-Zakar
Research Manager at Responsible Investment Association Australasia RIAA
What's in the box? Taking a closer look at model portfolio ingredient lists Louise Edkins•Jonathan Ramsay•Nathan Fradley
With the increasing number of ethical SMAs and model portfolios now available in the market, we discuss the practicalities of using these products to provide a responsible investment solution to a client. What do advisers need to consider when assessing or constructing model portfolios to ensure that these products aren't contributing to greenwashing, and that the clients values are taken into account?
Louise Edkins
Financial Planner at Ethical Investment Advisers
Jonathan Ramsay
Director of InvestSense Pty Ltd
Nathan Fradley
Certified Ethical Financial Adviser at Ethos ESG
Lunch
Big tech and human rights Katie Beith•Mathew Browning•Dr Mark Zirnsak•Kate Bromley
Big tech continues to present investors with a plethora of ESG issues to assess, not least of all its impact on human rights. This session will unpack the current state of ESG risks and opportunities in big tech, looking at current developments and how responsible investors have worked to influence it.
Katie Beith
Head of ESG at Forsyth Barr
Mathew Browning
Chief Executive Officer at U Ethical Investors
Dr Mark Zirnsak
Senior Social Justice Advocate at Uniting Church in Australia
This session will cover the latest insights into the policy landscape that is shaping responsible investment, from disclosure requirements to climate risk management, domestic and international. It will give you what you need to know to remain on top of regulatory developments, and take a look at what's coming down the pipeline.
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Kristy Graham
Executive Officer at Australian Sustainable Finance Institute
Erica Hall
ESG analyst at Morningstar
Daniel Wiseman
Head of Asia-Pacific Policy at Principles for Responsible Investment
Afternoon tea
The SDGs: from alignment to targeting, is responsible investment delivering for sustainable development? Fabienne Michaux•Elena Tedesco CFA•Kristian Fok
The SDGs are anticipated to generate at least US$12 trillion worth of market opportunities by 2030, making the case for investors to focus on SDG-aligned companies. But only 7 of Australia's top 50 super funds explicitly target social outcomes of the SDGs. What does it mean to be SDG-aligned? And how can outcomes be measured?
Fabienne Michaux
Director of United Nations Development Programme
Elena Tedesco CFA
Portfolio Manager, Executive Director of Vontobel Asset Management
Kristian Fok
Chief Investment Officer at United Super Pty Ltd as Trustee for Cbus
Impact ABCs: Breaking down impact investing with RIAA Certified funds Cassandra Williams•Hari Balkrishna•Kerry Series•Tim Crockford
As the responsible investment market continues to mature and move on from simply avoiding harmful activities, to seeking out investments which provide meaningful impact on society and the environment, we are seeing exciting new impact products come to the market.
But what is impact investing and how is it defined? In this session, we look at how RIAA has defined impact investing and how we verify the claims made by these impact products via our Certification Program. We will also hear from three of our certified funds on what they are looking for in impact investments to deliver on their impact promise.
Cassandra Williams
Head of Certification and Ratings at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Hari Balkrishna
Portfolio Manager / Vice President at T. Rowe Price
Kerry Series
Partner at Inspire Australian Equities
Tim Crockford
Head of Equity Impact Solutions at Regnan
Can cryptocurrencies be a responsible investment? Susheela Peres da Costa•Justin Arzadon•Yu Ishihara•Joseph Liu•Anya Nova
Investor interest in Cryptocurrencies, the first purely digital assets to be included by asset managers, is skyrocketing. But their behaviour as an asset is yet to be fully understood. There’s no doubt that a fundamentally digital future is on the horizon for global finance. But can cryptocurrency be a responsible investment? Are cryptocurrencies a viable route to sustainability for financial technology? What is their potential to reshape the investment industry? What opportunities do they offer? And what are the risks to sustainability and to the system stability of the financial system?
Susheela Peres da Costa
Chair at Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Justin Arzadon
Head of Digital Assets at BetaShares
Yu Ishihara
Vice President, APAC ESG & Climate Research at MSCI
Joseph Liu
Director, Monash Blockchain Technology Centre of Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University
Anya Nova
Blockchain development and staking operations at Powerledger
Lunch
Hydrogen, climate and the global energy transition, future promise and current reality Alison George•Mendo Kundevski•Paul McCartney
With Australia well positioned to potentially become a significant global supplier of green hydrogen, how can this become a reality and what role can investors play?
Alison George
Head of Research at Regnan
Mendo Kundevski
Director, Energy Transition of S&P Global
Paul McCartney
Chief Clean Futures Officer at Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Australia's Modern Slavery legislation: Is it making a difference? And what's next? • RIAA's Human Rights Working Group Jeff Bond•Måns Carlsson•Sebastian Conley•Lauren Zanetti
Modern slavery is one of the top ESG issues for investors in Australia. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 will be reviewed in 2022. Has the Act made a difference to eradicate worker exploitation in supply chains? How do we, as investors, know? What have we learned from the first three years of the legislation's implementation? And what role can investors play to strengthen our collective efforts to end modern slavery?
Jeff Bond
Senior Director, Sustainability Consulting (APAC) of Elevate Limited
Måns Carlsson
Head of ESG Research at Ausbil Investment Management
Sebastian Conley
Sustainable Procurement Manager at Transurban
Lauren Zanetti
Senior Advisor at Pillar Two
Afternoon tea
What's the beef? Unlock the nature related opportunities & risks in our food system Tim King•Elliot Teperman•Tim Vasudeva•Megan Flynn
Our food system is particularly vulnerable to nature-related risks, but also presents significant opportunities for the focused investor. Unpack both sides of the spectrum in this case study on Australia's agricultural and food system. Learn how to assess and manage nature’s material impacts across this important sector of our region’s economy.
Tim King
Chief Investment Officer at Melior Investment Management
Elliot Teperman
Outreach Analyst at FAIRR
Tim Vasudeva
Financial Institutions and Corporate Advocacy at World Animal Protection Australia
Megan Flynn
Partner at Pollination
Exploring the built environment • RIAA's Financial Adviser Forum Jorge Chapa•Shane Hurst•Dave Rae•Queenie Tran•Magali Wardle•Stephen Hayes
This session will explore how property and building standards are changing to adapt to climate change and social needs. How is the building industry retrofitting and constructing new buildings with a lower carbon footprint? We will also examine the social needs in the property sector to achieve better outcomes for tenants and integration within the community.
Jorge Chapa
Head of Market Transformation at Green Building Council of Australia
Shane Hurst
Managing Director, Portfolio Manager of ClearBridge Investments
Dave Rae
Certified Financial Planner at Federation Financial Services
Queenie Tran
Director of Conscious Investment Management
Magali Wardle
Head of Market Development at NABERS
Stephen Hayes
Head of Property Securities at First Sentier Investors (Australia) IM Ltd
Driving the future of electric vehicles with investors leading the charge: a facilitated design lab brought to you by the RMIT Business and Human Rights Centre Matt Greene•Shelley Marshall•Peter Meany•Dan Powell
How can responsible investment strategies shape the future of electric vehicles? This session will be a participatory design lab – a chance to solve a real-life problem with innovative ideas and strategies.
Director of RMIT University Business and Human Rights Centre
Peter Meany
Head of Global Listed Infrastructure at First Sentier Investors (Australia) IM Ltd
Dan Powell
Head of Distribution at Nanuk
A look ahead: What’s next for embedding responsible investment into your advice practice? Gillian Gordon•Trevor Thomas•Farren Williams
This session will examine the new tools for disclosing the impact of our client's portfolio, what's next for engaging clients in stewardship and the most up-to-date methods for building impact options for clients.
Gillian Gordon
Head of Alternative Investments & Responsible Investing at JBWere
Trevor Thomas
Managing Director of Ethinvest
Farren Williams
Adviser & Partner at Koda Capital
Guest arrival
Doltone House Darling Island, North Wharf 48 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Welcome from RIAA and a word from our sponsor Simon O'Connor•Michael Salvatico
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Michael Salvatico
Head of Asia, Pacific, Middle East & Africa ESG Solutions at S&P Global
In Conversation with the AFR’s Jennifer Hewett Jennifer Hewett•Simon O'Connor
Hear the Australian Financial Review's National Affairs Columnist Jennifer Hewett in conversation with RIAA CEO Simon O'Connor. They'll be discussing where sustainable finance sits in the macro-economy, and the growth of ESG globally and how it intersects with politics and global events. They'll explore the role of legislators and regulators in tackling greenwash and ensuring Australia is positioned to lead in achieving a safer climate and more equitable and prosperous future. And much more.
Jennifer Hewett
National Affairs Columnist at The Australian Financial Review
Simon O'Connor
CEO of Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Dinner concludes
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