ESG in a Volatile World: Profit, Purpose or Politics?
About the Summit
Now in its seventh year, Ethical Finance Global 2022 is the premier Edinburgh summit driving finance for positive change.
After being held virtually in 2020 and 2021, our flagship summit returns as an in-person event in 2022, taking place in Edinburgh on Tuesday 6 September, hosted by NatWest Group at their Edinburgh Gogarburn HQ.
We will hear from experts on sustainable and responsible finance around the world on the theme of “ESG in a Volatile World – Profit, Purpose or Politics?”
Alongside the summit the SDG Hive, a series of workshops, power roundtables and hackathons, will be held with industry experts and global leaders on the Monday 5th and Wednesday 7th September 2022 at the RBS Business School on the Gogarburn campus (see further below).
- In-person summit
- Senior representatives from across finance
- Open, frank discussion
- Ample networking opportunities
- Evening reception at Edinburgh castle
Agenda
As well as looking at macroeconomic issues impacting global markets, we will have specific sessions on topics including:
- The growing impact of conflict and geopolitics in ESG
- Core global challenges in financing climate adaptation and mitigation
- The role of finance in protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity
- The emergence of the S in ESG as a core priority
- The role of financial leaders in defining organisational purpose
- Financing the SDGs
Click on the agenda cover for further details:
Registration & networking
Welcome & opening keynote
Welcome from the hosts and organisers, and high-profile opening keynotes.
Omar Shaikh
Director & Co-founder, Global Ethical Finance InitiativeOmar is the Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative
Anshula Kant
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank GroupAnshula is responsible for financial and risk management reporting to the President. She has more than 35 years experience in banking
Geopolitical risk and ethical finance
Fireside discussion on how the finance sector respond to ongoing conflicts and lessons learned from the recent war in Ukraine.
Dame Susan Rice
Chair, Financial Services Culture Board and GEFI Global Steering GroupDame Susan Rice is the Chair of the Financial Services Culture Board and Chairs the GEFI Global Steering Group
Saker Nusseibeh CBE
Chief Executive, Federated Hermes LimitedSaker is Chief Executive of Federated Hermes Limited and is also a member of the Federated Hermes, Inc. Executive team.
Anshula Kant
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank GroupAnshula is responsible for financial and risk management reporting to the President. She has more than 35 years experience in banking
Practically integrating different views
Panel discussion with audience questions and participation on social finance: the ‘S’ in ESG.
Usha Rao-Monari
Under Secretary General and Associate Administrator, UNDPUsha has over 30 years of investment experience and has held several senior positions, particularly in the infrastructure area.
Allan Watt
Senior Advisor, Global Ethical Finance InitiativeAllan Watt is a Director at GEFI with wide experience in public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK and oversea
Thom Kenrick
Head of Social Strategy and Impact, NatWest GroupThom is Head of Social Strategy and Impact at NatWest Group. Thom’s team lead the bank’s approach to social issues and the UN SDGs
Alderman Vincent Keaveny
Lord Mayor of the City of LondonVincent advises arrangers, originators & rating agencies on structured finance, securitisation and derivatives transactions in UK & Europe
Break & networking
Climate keynote
A keynote presentation on the transition to net zero, climate challenges and to progress post COP26.
The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
COP26 President, UK GovernmentAlok was appointed full-time President for COP 26 in 2021. He has over 16 years of experience in banking before his career in politics.
Achieving net zero
Panel discussion involving regulator and international perspectives with audience questions and participation on achieving net zero.
David Pitt-Watson
Investor & Visiting Fellow, Cambridge UniversityDavid is a leading thinker & practitioner in responsible investment, and a former Chair of UNEP FI.
Eva Cairns
Head of Sustainability Insights & Climate Strategy, abrdnEva is responsible for leading abrdn’s strategy for sustainability insights, climate change and the firm’s approach to net zero
Lunch & networking
Nature presentation
Presentation on Bank of England’s initial response to nature as a financial risk.
Sarah Breeden
Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy, Bank of EnglandSarah is member of the FPC Committee and leads the Bank of England’s work on climate change, domestically and internationally.
Is nature finance feasible?
A general discussion on how to finance nature protection, and the feasability of nature finance outside of carbon credits.
Kathy Benini
Managing Director and Global Head of Environmental Products, IHS MarkitKathy joined in 2009 and has been responsible for the development and growth of IHS Markit’s environmental businesses.
Sarah Breeden
Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy, Bank of EnglandSarah is member of the FPC Committee and leads the Bank of England’s work on climate change, domestically and internationally.
Defining purpose
Discussion on the concept of how organisations can effectively define and embed purpose.
Simon Thompson
Chief Executive, Chartered Banker InstituteSimon was appointed in 2007 after working for ACCA and IFAC. Under his leadership, CBI is the largest professional body of bankers in the UK
Networking & travel to evening reception
Speakers
Anshula Kant
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank GroupAnshula is responsible for financial and risk management reporting to the President. She has more than 35 years experience in banking
The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
COP26 President, UK GovernmentAlok was appointed full-time President for COP 26 in 2021. He has over 16 years of experience in banking before his career in politics.
Saker Nusseibeh CBE
Chief Executive, Federated Hermes LimitedSaker is Chief Executive of Federated Hermes Limited and is also a member of the Federated Hermes, Inc. Executive team.
Usha Rao-Monari
Under Secretary General and Associate Administrator, UNDPUsha has over 30 years of investment experience and has held several senior positions, particularly in the infrastructure area.
Sarah Breeden
Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy, Bank of EnglandSarah is member of the FPC Committee and leads the Bank of England’s work on climate change, domestically and internationally.
Kathy Benini
Managing Director and Global Head of Environmental Products, IHS MarkitKathy joined in 2009 and has been responsible for the development and growth of IHS Markit’s environmental businesses.
Thom Kenrick
Head of Social Strategy and Impact, NatWest GroupThom is Head of Social Strategy and Impact at NatWest Group. Thom’s team lead the bank’s approach to social issues and the UN SDGs
Simon Thompson
Chief Executive, Chartered Banker InstituteSimon was appointed in 2007 after working for ACCA and IFAC. Under his leadership, CBI is the largest professional body of bankers in the UK
David Pitt-Watson
Investor & Visiting Fellow, Cambridge UniversityDavid is a leading thinker & practitioner in responsible investment, and a former Chair of UNEP FI.
Allan Watt
Senior Advisor, Global Ethical Finance InitiativeAllan Watt is a Director at GEFI with wide experience in public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK and oversea
Eva Cairns
Head of Sustainability Insights & Climate Strategy, abrdnEva is responsible for leading abrdn’s strategy for sustainability insights, climate change and the firm’s approach to net zero
Dame Susan Rice
Chair, Financial Services Culture Board and GEFI Global Steering GroupDame Susan Rice is the Chair of the Financial Services Culture Board and Chairs the GEFI Global Steering Group
Omar Shaikh
Director & Co-founder, Global Ethical Finance InitiativeOmar is the Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative
Chris Hayward
Chairman of the Policy Committee - City of London CorporationChris is a leading local government politician and commercial property investment specialist.
Alderman Vincent Keaveny
Lord Mayor of the City of LondonVincent advises arrangers, originators & rating agencies on structured finance, securitisation and derivatives transactions in UK & Europe
Julia Hoggett
CEO, London Stock ExchangeJulia Hoggett has been CEO of London Stock Exchange since 2020, having previously worked at the Financial Conduct Authority
Judith Cruickshank
Regional MD Business Banking, Scotland and North England, NatWest GroupJudith has worked with NatWest for 14 years in a variety of roles, focused on customer solutions for both Retail and Commercial customers.
SDG Hive
The SDG Hive is a series of workshops, power roundtables and hackathons being held with industry experts and global leaders.
The deep-dive working sessions, co-curated with our partners, are by invitation only, on Monday 5th and Wednesday 7th September at the RBS Business School, Gogurburn Campus, Edinburgh and will include a residential format. Partners include UKIFC, Global Canopy, Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Finance, and the University of Edinburgh amongst others.
Latest details on the themes for each session are noted below. Please contact chris@globalethicalfinance.org if you would like to participate in any of the sessions, or if your organisation would like to host a session.
Global Leaders
Islamic Finance
Finance for Nature
Power round table with senior FS leaders sharing global views on the finance sectors engagement with the SDGs. Discussions on key contemporary ESG related challenges faced by markets with views from ASEAN, Africa, Europe and the US. Leaders will also share insights on challenges related to leadership and culture.
UKIFC led gathering to discuss the progress of the Global Islamic Finance & UN SDGs Taskforce. Discussions will include insights on trends in the green and sustainability sukuk arena, global consumer appetite towards SDG linked financial products and the latest developments in Malaysia, GCC and South Asia in Islamic banking.
Scottish Government led workshop following on from our Nature sessions hosted at Loch Lomond during COP26. Discussions will focus on finance for nature and biodiversity, TNFD and developing investible propositions at scale.
Sponsors & partners
Interested in Sponsorship Opportunities?
There are an exciting range of sponsorship opportunities available to work with GEFI throughout the year, including at Ethical Finance Global 2022, Ethical Finance ASEAN and a range of other events and strategic campaigns. We are happy to work with you to tailor sponsorship packages to suit your marketing objectives and budget.
For Sponsorship, Media and Supporter opportunities please contact chris@globalethicalfinance.org.