2024 Agenda - Transition-IQ Forum 2024

Agenda:
March 28, 2024

Harvard Club of New York
35 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036

All Times EST

7:30am: Networking Breakfast

8:25am: Welcome Remarks

8:30am: Shareholder Engagement Efforts are Moving the Needle to Reach a Decarbonized Economy: Insightful Case Studies

New approaches to climate-related disclosure standards and measuring portfolio impact from shareholder engagement strategies.
How asset owners and corporates are addressing climate change risk and investing in adaptation and resilience.
How do investors act as a responsible steward trying to reduce systemic risk through engagement and development of climate action plans?

Speakers:

Diana Glassman, Director-Engagement, Federated Hermes Limited
Eric Christian Pedersen, Head of Responsible Investments, Nordea Asset Management
Andrea Ranger, Shareholder Advocate, Green Century Funds
Cynthia McHale, Senior Director, Investor Network, Ceres (moderator)

9:10am: Executive Interview: Using Engagement to Transition Hard to Abate Industries to a Lower Carbon Future

9:30am: Fireside Chat: NYSCRF's Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions Program

Andrew Siwo, Head of Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions, New York State Common Retirement Fund
Jimmy Yan, Head of ESG Integration, Office of the New York City Comptroller

9:55am: Presentation: Evolving Climate Data Landscape: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data: Scope 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Relevance to Investor Portfolios

Sarah Bernstein, PhD, FSA, Head of Sustainability, Managing Principal, Consultant, Meketa Investment Group

10:10am: Fireside Chat: Aligning Portfolios With Net Zero Emissions Targets

10:35am: Coffee Break

10:55am: Fireside Chat: A Governance Perspective on Building Mission-Aligned Investment Portfolios

How do you view and report to your stakeholders on the impact outcomes of your portfolio investments?
What do you view as the main challenges for a 100% mission aligned portfolio?
How is your foundation tracking its impact and aligning metrics between its grant programs and investments?
What types of new information are you requiring from your asset managers, direct investments and consultants?
How are endowments balancing the competing interests of their stakeholders and pressure to generate financial returns while also incorporating sustainability and impact investing strategies?

Speakers:

Jennifer Katz, Director, Investments, Doris Duke Foundation
Richard Zimmerman, Partner, We Family Offices: Executive Director, Foundation House
Chex Yu, Climate Analytics and Solutions Lead, Sustainable Finance Group, Goldman Sachs (moderator)

11:20am: Panel: Natural Capital as an Asset Class: Financing the Transition to a Regenerative Economy

How are institutional investors managing biodiversity risk and opportunities in their portfolios?
How is the asset management industry scaling biodiversity and ecosystems investments through data and standards?
Has the concept of ‘nature-positive’ become a critical component of an investors’ climate agenda?
Understanding th financial implications of a degraded ecosystem.

Speakers:

Mirtha Kastrapeli, Global Head of Natural Capital, ISS ESG
Eric Cooperström, Managing Director, Impact Investing & Natural Climate Solutions, Manulife Investment Management
Atish Babu, Senior Vice President, Agriculture Capital
Dee Yang, Partner, Co-Lead Natural Capital, McKinsey & Company (moderator)

12:00pm: Breakout Sessions on Key Sustainability Themes

Track 1: Managing Water Risks in Institutional Portfolios

Track 2: Accelerating Green Growth in the Built Environment

12:40pm: Networking Lunch

1:40pm: Fireside Chat: Financing Clean Energy & Sustainable Infrastructure w/ NY Green Bank's $2 Bil in Financial Commitments

Andrew Kessler, President, New York Green Bank
In conversation with Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Columbia University

2:00pm: Panel: How LPs Approach Information Requests & Engagement w/ GP’s

What are the leading private market strategies that are enabling asset owners to decarbonize portfolios?
How the EDCI is helping LPs gain transparency into the underlying emissions of their portfolio, the trajectory of those emissions, and the nature of decarbonization plans.
Aligning reporting on ESG risks in private markets investments through enhanced engagement strategies.
How does a thematic focus on investing in Climate Solutions fit into an LP's net zero strategy?

Speakers:

Ben Morley, Partner and Associate Director, BCG
Bruce Schlein, Director, Global Head of ESG, OMERS Infrastructure
Sasha Brown, Partner, Ecosystem Integrity Fund
Jessica Pan, Senior Portfolio Manager - Private Equity, APG Asset Management
Radhika Mehrotra, Associate Director, Capital Markets, CDP North America (moderator)

2:40pm: Fireside Chat: Building Climate Resilience in Cities with Innovative Infrastructure Projects

Rohit Aggarwala, Chief Climate Officer and Commissioner of Environmental Protection, City of New York
In conversation with Dr. Carolyn Kissane, Associate Dean and Clinical Professor, Faculty Head of the Energy and Environmental Policy Concentration, NYU-SPS Center for Global Affairs

3:00pm: Coffee Break

Innovator Spotlight

3:20pm: Private Debt Financing For Community-Scale Energy Systems with Measurable Climate Impact

3:35pm: Creating More Sustainable Concrete Solutions

3:50pm: Coffee Networking

4:30pm: Event End