Sustainability Oxford 2023

This session, setting the tone for the conference, is a reality check on where investors are really at with regards to net zero targets and making progress on sustainability goals. It will explore the lessons learned on target setting, how plans should change when targets are missed and the future of ESG including the right governance, and right-sizing and underwriting net zero ambitions.

Research at the Smith School at Oxford University is aimed at accelerating the transition to net zero and sustainable development.  Blending multiple disciplines, including decades of complex systems science, this talk will look at what is working, and what is not, to trigger the changes in technology, mass mobilisation and finance to reach net zero emissions.

This session explores the importance of partnerships to ensure the best possible sustainability outcomes. From setting a total portfolio view of sustainability and understanding what levers to pull, to understanding goals and objectives this session explores the data, technology, stakeholder management and processes for success.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the $1.43 trillion Government Pension Fund Global, has an ambition to be the best responsible investor in the world, so what does that look like?

This session looks at research that includes empirically validated probabilistic forecasts of energy technology costs and how a rapid green energy transition will likely result in trillions of net savings.

This session will examine the backdrop of the European energy market over the past three years – including an extremely low price  environment during Covid and extremely high prices in 2022 due to the Russia/ Ukraine conflict. It will look at the performance of assets, including renewable energy infrastructure assets, over that period and the opportunities in emerging energy transition investment areas such as distributed energy generation, the decarbonisation of heat, storage, green hydrogen and refuels.

INCLUDES TABLE DISCUSSION

This session looks at the politicisation of ESG in the USA as a symptom of bad goverance at the state public pension funds. It argues that CIOs need to fight back against these governance issues and look to investments in technology as a way to invest in the inevitable transition in the global economy.

The Top1000funds.com Sustainability in Practice event is a net zero event. This session explains to delegates our commitment to verified emissions measurements, our reduction plan and the offset and support for local projects.

This session looks at the prioritisation of present and future vulnerabilities and the assessment of risks, opportunities and levels of adaption needed by policy makers and investors. It examines the evidence of physical climate risks and the under-pricing of that in the economy, the forecast big tipping points and the relevance to investors of scientific evidence around system-wide changes.

Modern Portfolio Theory is useful in a world where the future is just like the past but that is a weak assumption in the context of climate change. So what is a good framework for decision-useful climate scenarios?

The giant Canadian investor, CPP Investments, has produced a framework and standardised template to measure the capacity of organisations to remove or abate GHG emissions. This session outlines the framework and looks at the implications including the prospect of catalysing future decarbonising efforts by helping companies prioritise the highest impact and economic opportunities, and give them confidence in their progress to net zero.

This session looks at the evolution and uses of the SDG's as an investment framework including how they are being adopted by academics and asset owners and what future research looks like.

Helping accelerate companies' sustainability alignment through engagement will not only hasten the transition towards a more sustainable and equitable future, but also will be a positive value driver for investors.

INCLUDES TABLE DISCUSSION

This session explores which sectors and markets are best positioned for net zero, how ESG performance data can help drive investment decisions and the role of real assets in meeting net zero targets.

Infrastructure investments face many and complex challenges including sustainability. This session looks at specific case studies of ESG in legacy infrastructure as well as the investor priorities with regards to green energy infrastructure.

INCLUDES TABLE DISCUSSION

This session addresses the many and specific challenges of integrating sustainability in alternative asset classes including private equity and hedge funds.

INCLUDES TABLE DISCUSSION

This session looks at the technological breakthroughs that could be long-term structural disruptors to the global economy. Stanford University’s Stephen Kotkin unveils the technologies that have already been developed - including biotech, quantum sensors and AI applications in industrial processes – that he argues are all bigger disruptors than geopolitical risk.

This session outlines the approaches that innovative investors are taking to develop nature-friendly asset management and create an investment framework for biodiversity. It examines the essential need to pool resources to tackle an issue as big as biodiversity.

Unique research that examines the performance attribution of conventional and ESG indices over long time horizons reveals the importance of governance and engagement.

The Global Impact Investing Network has issued its final guidance for pursuing impact in listed equities. This session will examine setting strategy, portfolio design, engagement and data usage.

This session examines the evolution of impact investing across fixed income including scaling impact with integrity and the challenges of data and measurability.

The Velliv Association is the owner of Velliv, one of the most successful commercial pension organisations in Denmark. The organisation has a unique business model combining a commercially based ownership of Velliv with philanthropic activities focused on mental health. This case study showcases the business model of effectively managing multiple objectives and the role pension funds can play in societal welfare.

This session showcases how investors that have leading sustainability practices are demonstrating leadership more broadly, and are attracting talent, investing with purpose and are better able to manage complex multi-stakeholder issues. The session will explore the importance of the right culture and capabilities in achieving success and how investors can shift their mindset to reach those goals.