Global legal and business outlook 2023: future + ESG

Time: 8.30-9.30am

Join us to hear insights from our keynote speaker, Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction interviewed by Global Head of ESG at Simmons, Sonali Siriwardena.

Time: 9.35-10.05am

A session looking at the role of governance across ESG and for fast growth financial firms.

Speakers: Penny Miller, Emma Sutcliffe, Tair Hussain and Fiona Bolton

Time: 10.10-10.40am

Join us as we discuss clean energy and infrastructure investment deals, recent trends and the increased focus on sustainability

Speaker: Serra Tar and Anthony Catachanas, CEO, Victory Hill Capital

Time: 10.45-11.15am

Join our discussion on the year ahead for sustainability linked loans, bonds and derivatives. We will take stock of where we are, the challenges to overcome and the opportunities for business in 2023.

Speakers: Elliot Beard, Piers Summerfield, Oliver West, Lee Irvine and France Vassaux

Time: 11.20-11.50am

Financial services firms have faced a torrent of ESG regulation in the last couple of years, and we’re not done yet…! Join this session to hear from our EU and UK experts on what needs to be on your radar in 2023, with a focus on key EU and UK legal developments for the financial services sector, the practical challenges these raise, and what you need to do this year.

Speakers: Nick Colston, Derek Lawlor and Caroline Boon, Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Barclays

Time: 11.55am-12.30pm

These breakout sessions follow on from ‘The next wave of ESG regulation in 2023’ session and will take a deeper dive on sector-specific concerns:

• Asset managers – we will focus on forthcoming EU developments (including SFDR and Taxonomy, and the ESMA naming guidelines) and UK developments (including TCFD and the proposals for sustainability labels and disclosures), as relevant for asset managers and fund managers

• FI – we will focus on “horizon scanning” developments which relate to banks and other financial institutions, including TNFD and bio-diversity (moving beyond climate), quasi-regulatory initiatives (including the ECB, IOSCO and Basel Committee initiatives), as well as EU law (including the Taxonomy and CSRD).

Speakers: Nick Colston, Derek Lawlor, Tristram Lawton, Lucian Firth and Louise Tudor-Edwards

Time: 12.35-1.05pm

Organisations need to focus on how to manage their supply chain to avoid the emerging compliance, governance and sustainability issues resulting from actions down their supply chain. In this session, we will cover supply chain regulations, operational resilience regulations, anti-bribery and AML obligations, human slavery regulations, due diligence requirements and contractual obligations giving control over supply chain management.

Speaker: Sophie Sheldon, Sascha Kuhn and Camilla de Silva

Time: 8.30-9.30am

Join us to hear insights from our keynote speaker, J.Jason Mitchell, Head of Responsible Investment Research, Man Group plc and Chair of UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF). He will be interviewed by Global Head of ESG at Simmons, Sonali Siriwardena.

We will also hear from Walid Al Saqqaf, CEO & Co Founder at Rebalance Earth (one of the former winners of our GreenTech Fund initiative).

Time: 9.35-10.05am

This interactive session will discuss how financial institutions can (and should) go about implementing a framework for the responsible use of AI and also with a view to ensuring compliance with forthcoming AI regulation.

Speakers: Minesh Tanna, Angus Brown, Sophie Sheldon, Christopher Gotz and Alexandra V. Mousavizadeh, CEO and co-founder, Evident AI

Time: 10.10-10.40am

A session looking at the ways in which emerging technologies such as big data analytics, tokenisation and AI are helping firms meet their ESG goals.

Speakers: George Morris, Angus McLean and Ugo Malvagna

Time: 10.45-11.25am

Litigation and regulatory enforcement for ESG omissions is only increasing, with an associated and immediate risk of reputational damage. This session looks at the trends that are emerging in this area and how to counter them by translating good intentions into tangible action and driving positive behaviours. Learn about practical examples, tools, and techniques to empower colleagues, customers and your supply chain with accessible, navigable, and user-centric communication.

Speakers: Robert Allen, Erika Pagano, Vanessa Sharman and Udo Pickartz

Time: 11.30am-12.10pm

Carbon is set to become an increasingly important asset class in 2023 and beyond, as governments around the world scramble to adopt policies to ensure various carbon reduction commitments can be met. In this session – not to be missed - we will look at compliance, voluntary and Paris Agreement carbon credits, how markets in them have evolved, how they are regulated in several jurisdictions, and highlight the key issues to be considered in the development of carbon-related products and services.

Speakers: Rosali Pretorius, Alex Blomfield, Sonia Lim and Ben James

Time: 12.15–1.05pm

There are both reputational risks and rewards when it comes to being proactive on your ESG agenda. The reward comes from the power of agency through collaboration. By controlling your narrative through clear and intentional ESG action, you can be an innovator, thought-leader and change-maker in your field.

COPs have historically been an annual culmination to collaborate on climate and give the chance for everyone to showcase the impact they have made and are working toward. COP28 in particular is a moment our clients should work towards by building a rigorous ESG practice and sharing this as part of their ESG agenda.

In this session, Middle East Regional Head, Muneer Khan, will lead a panel of industry experts to discuss various initiatives taking place in the Asset Management and Investment Funds sector in the build up to COP28, which will be held in Dubai later this year. The discussion will include a look at "The Path to COP28", a 12-month campaign launched by the UK’s Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) in collaboration with the DIFC Authority, with multiple workstreams to drive commitment and action ahead of COP28.

Speakers:

• Muneer Khan
• Omar Shaikh, Global Ethical Finance Initiative
• Salman Siddiqui, Jupiter Asset Management
• Sonali Siriwardena, Global Head of ESG, Simmons & Simmons LLP