EVRACSI Webinar Series ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION OF FINANCE AND BUSINESS INDUSTRY: CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS I SPRING 2021
Welcome to Lund Achieving sustainable transformation of finance and business industry: Challenges and future directions. On behalf of Lund University and the EVRACSI Initiative, it is my pleasure to invite you to the EVRACSI Webinar Series. The EVRACSI Initiative involves senior researchers and national and international partners from authorities, financial market actors, NGOs and business society. This high-profile webinar series brings together some of the most prominent players in the quest of developing policies, regulations and disclosure that can provide value relevant, credible and comparable information on how our companies perform on the different sustainability arenas. Succeeding with this is crucial for accelerating and reorienting capital flows towards more sustainable investments. This is vital for developing an efficient and sustainable finance and business industry. This year the meeting will be virtual at Zoom, but next year we hope things are back to normal and you will be able to join the EVRACSI Conference, which will be held at Lund University. Lund is situated only 50 minutes from Copenhagen Airport. Recently Lund University celebrated its 350th anniversary, and took the occasion as an opportunity to showcase its breadth as well as its history. The University harbors the full contrast between the traditional ceremonies in the medieval buildings in the city center and the monumental research infrastructures forming a new part of the city on the northeastern outskirts. Soon we will be able to take the new tram system to both MAX Lab 4 and ESS (The European Spallation Source), which is a multidisciplinary research facility addressing some of the most important social challenges in our time. I hope to see you during the EVRACSI Webinar Series this spring!
Yours sincerely, Susanne Arvidsson Director of LUSEM Institute of Sustainable Impact Associate professor in finance and accounting at LUSEM Coordinator of the EVRACSI Initiative EVRACSI is a thematic collaboration initiative with fundings from Lund University. The webinar series this spring is hosted by the Coordinator of the EVRACSI Initiative Susanne Arvidsson at Lund University School of Economics and Management.
BACKGROUND
The recently published ‘A European Green Deal’ stresses the EU Commission’s increased ambitions to confront climate change. The Commission has developed a detailed action plan on how to finance sustainable growth. This plan extends across the entire international investment chain. The development of a transparent disclosure context supporting this acceleration towards sustainable growth is a key prerequisite. According to the EU, there is an urgent need to enhance transparency to end-investors and to also find out how financial market actors consider sustainability. Several of the proposed ambitions explicitly highlight the central role played by disclosure in this process. Soon the revised NFRD (Non-financial reporting directive) and EU Taxonomy regulation will be launched and recently EU agreed on new disclosure regulations for sustainability related disclosure in the financial service sectors (EU 2019/2088) and for improvement of sustainability disclosure benchmarks (EU 2019/2089). These regulations constitute a central pillar for improving disclosure by both financial and corporate actors. Disclosure, thus, plays a central role in these efforts. Succeeding in enhancing sustainability disclosure is crucial for accelerating and reorienting capital flows towards investments promoting sustainable growth. The success relies on an active interaction and engagement of policy makers, financial market actors, companies and the academia. It is time to join forces! To reach Agenda 2030 and promote a global sustainable development, companies must become more sustainable. In order to maintain an efficient capital market, it is vital for all actors to be able to assess sustainability performance. Reliable assessment of sustainability performance remains a key challenge to the world’s policy makers, financial market actors, industry and academia. Our webinar series is an attempt to tackle these issues head-on. This high-profile webinar series brings together some of the most prominent players in the quest of developing policies, regulations and disclosure that can provide value relevant, credible and comparable information on how our companies perform on the different sustainability arenas. Succeeding with this is crucial for accelerating and reorienting capital flows towards more sustainable investments. This is vital for developing an efficient and sustainable finance and business industry. Key issues to be discussed in the webinar series (April – May 2021) include: • • • •
What can regulators and policymakers do to empower businesses and financial markets in the transformation to more sustainable development? (Webinar 1) What are the key components and mechanisms for enabling sustainability to be further integrated into financial market strategies? (Webinar 2) What roles do corporate disclosure and transparency play in accelerating this change? (Webinar 3) What themes and perspectives are needed on the research agenda to facilitate the required sustainable transformation in the finance and business industry? (Webinar 4)
THE EVRACSI WEBINARS Visit the EVRACSI homepage for registration and information: lusem.lu.se/calendar/evracsi-webinar-series Register to access the links to the webinars. THE EVRACSI WEBINARS WILL BE MODERATED BY MIKAEL SALO WEBINAR NO 1 What can regulators and policymakers do to empower businesses and financial markets in the transformation to more sustainable development?
WEBINAR NO 2 What are the key components and mechanisms for enabling sustainability to be further integrated into financial market strategies?
WHEN: 15 April 2021 at 13.00–14.30
WHEN: 22 April 2021 at 13.00–14.30
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: • Chiara del Prete Chairperson, EFRAG TEG • Urban Funered Chief Executive Officer, Swedish Securities Markets Association • Johanna Fager Wettergren Deputy Executive Director, The Swedish Financial supervisory authority, Member IOSCO task force
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: • Sandra Boss Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Investment Stewardship for BlackRock, Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee • Wim Bartels Member of the Task Force on Climate-related • Financial Disclosures, Partner Corporate Reporting at KPMG, Netherlands • Helena Viñes Fiestas Senior policy adviser on sustainable finance, BNP Paribas, Global Head of Stewardship and Policy, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Rapporteur of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance.
COMMENT: Kirsten Margrethe Hovi Head of Extra-Financial Reporting, Norsk Hydro ASA
COMMENT: Bernard de Longevialle Global head of Sustainable Finance, Standard & Poor’s
WEBINAR NO 3 What roles do corporate disclosure and transparency play in accelerating this change?
WEBINAR NO 4 What themes and perspectives are needed on the research agenda to facilitate the required sustainable transformation in the finance and business industry?
WHEN: 6 May 2021 at 11.00–12.30
WHEN: 19 May 2021 at 13.00–14.30
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: • Elena Arveras Policy Officer Nonfinancial reporting, European Commission • Susanne Stormer Partner and head of Sustainability at PwC Denmark • Merilin Hörats Strategy and Business Development Officer in European Investment Fund
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: • Gabriel Wikström The Swedish Government’s national coordinator for the 2030 Agenda • Begoña Giner Professor of Accounting and Finance at the University of Valencia, Spain, member of EFRAG TEG and Chair of the EAA Stakeholder Reporting Committee • Åsa Moberg Programmes director at Mistra, board member of SWESIF
COMMENT: Liisa Raasakka Group Head of Office, European Investment Bank, Sweden
COMMENT: John Dumay Professor of Accounting & Finance, Macquarie University, Australia
Abbreviations: EFRAG TEG – European Financial Reporting Advisory Group Technical Expert Group IOSCO – International Organization of Securities Commissions EU TEG – EU Technical Expert Group IFRS – International Financial Reporting Standards SWESIF – Sweden’s Sustainable Investment Forum
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 1
Chiara Del Prete Chairperson, EFRAG TEG
Chiara was appointed EFRAG TEG Chairwoman from 1 April 2019. She has been a partner at Mazars from October 2016 to March 2019, advising financial institutions, banking authorities and listed entities on IFRS and broader corporate reporting, banking regulation, valuation and restructuring. During this period she was also member of Mazars Global IFRS Committee. From October 2011 to September 2016 Chiara has been Head of accounting principles at UniCredit Group and in charge of the external reporting disclosure for the consolidated and separated financial statements of the group. During this period she was also member of IFRS 9 technical groups of the European Banking Federation (EBF) and of the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and of the Three-Way Dialogue and Senior Accounting Group of the Institute of International Finance (IIF). In 2010/11 Chiara worked as Project Manager at EFRAG in charge of IAS 39 reform; before this experience in EFRAG as Project Manager, she worked for 11 years in auditing and advisory services in the banking and financial services industry. Chiara has been member of: ESMA Corporate Reporting Standing Committee (from April 2017 to March 2019), EFRAG Financial Instruments Working Group (from November 2011 to March 2019), IFRS and Financial Instruments technical advisory groups of the Italian standard setter (OIC). She graduated in Economics at Universita’ Bocconi (Milano) in 1999 and is a registered auditor in Italy since 2006.
Urban Funered
Chief Executive Officer, Swedish Securities Markets Association
Urban has more than 25 years of experience from the financial services sector and has during his career held senior positions in the Legal Community, Financial Services Sector and in Public Policy in Stockholm, New York, London and Vienna. He has also held senior positions in the Swedish Government Offices and Diplomatic Corps in Brussels. Urban Funered has an academic background in law as well as business administration, with Master’s Degrees and Post-Graduate Degrees in Civil, Banking and Financial law from the University of Lund and Queen Mary & Westfield College of London University, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Economics from the School of Economics and Management at Lund University. Urban Funered has been Chief Executive Officer of the Swedish Securities Markets Association, an association founded in 1908 and representing 23 banks, investment banks and brokers active in Swedish securities markets, since February 2019. Urban Funered has previously held positions as Director of Public Policy at Fidelity International in London and Vienna (2014 – 2019), Diplomatic Minister and Financial Services Attaché at the Swedish Permanent Representation to the European Union (2010 – 2014), State Secretary, Senior Adviser and Special Adviser at the Swedish Ministry of Finance (2007 – 2010), Group Compliance Officer at Carnegie Investment Bank (2005 – 2007), Legal Counsel in the Corporate Finance Department at Carnegie Investment Bank (1999 - 2005), Legal Counsel with the Law Firms Vinge in Stockholm and Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom in New York (1993-1999), Researcher and Lecturer in Law at Lund University (1990 - 1993) and Judge Clerk in the Swedish Civil and Administrative Courts (1988 - 1990). Urban Funered is married, has three teenage sons and lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 1 (CONT.)
Johanna Fager Wettergren
Deputy Executive Director, The Swedish Financial supervisory authority, Member IOSCO task force
Johanna took on the role of Deputy Executive Director at the Markets section at Finansinspektionen in 2019. In this capacity, she has taken an active role in the Task Force on Sustainable Finance within the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), chaired by Finansinspektionen. The Task Force addresses the urgent demand to improve sustainability reporting in a way that meets market needs. Johanna was previously Head of Department at the National Debt Office, responsible for Financial Stability and Consumer Protection. She joined the Swedish Central Bank in 2006 and held, during a period of about 10 years, several different managerial positions within the field of Financial Stability and Asset Management. Johanna started her career in Nordea Bank Market Department as an analyst.
Kirsten Margrethe Hovi Head of Extra-Financial Reporting, Norsk Hydro ASA
Kirsten is vice president and head of Extra-Financial Reporting in Norsk Hydro ASA. She has worked for many years for Hydro within different areas including HSE, CSR, human resources, quality management, strategy, process engineering and communication. Since 2004 she is responsible for Hydro’s extrafinancial reporting. She has also actively participated in developing general and industry specific reporting standards, representing both the mining and the oil and gas industry. Between 2014 and 2020, Hovi was a member of the Global Sustainability Standards Board, GRI’s standard setting governance body. Hovi was also a member of the working group developing the Oslo Børs’ guidance on the reporting of corporate responsibility in 2016 and when updating it in 2018. Kirsten has a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), she has studied French at Alliance Française in Paris and holds an economics degree from the Norwegian School of Management.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 2
Sandra Boss
Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Investment Stewardship for BlackRock, Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee
Sandra is Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Investment Stewardship for BlackRock, Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee. She is responsible for leading BlackRock Investment Stewardship in all its activities as it engages with companies to promote effective governance and create value for clients. Sandra is a former senior partner at McKinsey & Co. focused on financial institutions, capital markets, and risk management in Europe and the United States. She served at the Bank of England as an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee and the senior independent member and risk committee chair of the Board that oversees the system used to make high-value payments and implement monetary policy. Sandy also has served as non-executive director at two public companies: Elementis Global and Enstar Group. At McKinsey, Sandra was a strategic advisor to executives and boards of global companies in banking, insurance, asset management, financial technology and a wide range of other industries. She joined McKinsey in 1994 and was elected Partner in 2000 and Senior Partner in 2004. Sandra has held several other advisory and non-executive roles. She was a member of the Cross Border Resolution Working Group of the Institute of International Finance’s Special Committee on Effective Regulation. She was also a Trustee for the McKinsey Master Retirement Trust and Chairman of the Edith Wharton Restoration charity. Sandra received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994 and a BA from Stanford University in 1989, majoring in American Studies and Economics. Prior to joining McKinsey, she worked for Merrill Lynch and Company and Trammell Crow Company.
Wim Bartels
Member of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Partner, Corporate Reporting at KPMG, Netherlands
Wim is member of Task Force of Climate-Related Financial Disclosure and Partner, as well as, Head of KPMG’s Global Head of Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Service. Wim Bartels started his career at KPMG Audit, where he was involved in financial audit for almost 5 years in various sectors. After a short period at an independent consultancy he started with KPMG Forensic & Integrity Services. He was involved in (financial) forensic investigations, litigation support and integrity consulting. Although he mainly provided services to large companies, he also built experience in smaller-sized organizations and government. Wim was appointed partner of KPMG the Netherlands in 2001. As partner of KPMG Sustainability, the Netherlands, he is responsible for all sustainability assurance engagements of KPMG Sustainability. In this role he delivers assurance services to approximately 40 multinational companies, amongst these are Philips, DSM, Heineken, ING, KLM, Carlsberg, SABIC, Maersk, Statoil and BASF. Wim also has taken on the role of Head of KPMG’s Global Head of Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Services. In that capacity, he drives KPMG’s services, business development as well as thought leadership for sustainability disclosures.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 2 (CONT.)
Helena Viñes Fiestas
Senior policy adviser on sustainable finance, BNP Paribas, and Global Head of Stewardship and Policy, BNP Paribas Asset Management; and rapporteur of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance.
Helena leads on BNPP AM’S policy and stewardship activities – engagement with companies and policymakers, proxy voting. As Deputy Global Head of Sustainability, she plays a critical role in the design, development and implementation of BNPP AM’s Global Sustainability Strategy. She was appointed to the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance whose role is to assist the European Commission in the development of EU taxonomy and the implementation of the EC Action Plan. She is a member of the AMF Comite de Climat et Finance Durable. Helena represents BNPP AM on the EFAMA committee on Stewardship and ESG, is a board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and sits on a number of committees including the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Green Finance Advisory Group, PRI Policy Reference Group and the Technical Advisory Group of the LSE-led Transition Pathway Initiative. She has 17 years’ experience of working in responsible business and sustainable investment. Helena joined BNPP AM in 2011 and led the Sustainability Research team until 2019.
Bernard de Longevialle
Global head of Sustainable Finance, Standard & Poor’s
Bernard is Global Head of Sustainable Finance for S&P Global Ratings. He is in charge of leading the execution of S&G Global Ratings Sustainable Finance Strategy with regard both to Sustainable Finance Products such as Green Evaluation or ESG Evaluation, as well as Credit Ratings. Sustainable Finance Expert Teams work in close collaboration with Rating analysts across regions. Bernard joined the company in 1998 and has been responsible for a number of Managerial roles in both developed and developing markets. The most recent ones being: Head of Financial Services & Sovereign IPF Ratings for the EMEA region until September 2019; Head of Financial Services Ratings for EEMEA between 2010 and 2013, for North America from 2013 until July 2016 and for EMEA from August 2016 until January 2018, when this role was combined with the Sovereign and Public Finance responsibility, Between 2005 until 2010 Bernard was responsible for various transversal responsibilities, including being one of the leading contributor to new rating criteria for banks, heading the team in charge of Basel regulation analysis as well as of the development of S&P Global Ratings’ approach to banks risk adjusted capital adequacy. He was based in Milan from 2000 until 2003 where he established a team of bank analysts responsible for Italian banks ratings. Prior joining the company, He worked five years at the Commission Bancaire (French Banking Regulator). He also spent two years at UCB, a mortgage specialist (Group Paribas), including a year and a half in Italy in 1992 and 1993. He has a master degree from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (IEP), and also completed a three-year legal studies program at the University of Nanterre (Licence en droit). From October 1997 until June 2000 he was Maître de Conference (lecturer) in economics at IEP.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 3
Elena Arveras Policy Officer Nonfinancial reporting, European Commission
Since 2018 Elena has been policy officer for sustainability reporting in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA). Since the publication of the Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance she has worked in different policymaking initiatives such as the revision of the guidelines on non-financial reporting with regard to climate information, and the ongoing revision of the Non-financial Reporting Directive. She started her career in the banking and consumer goods industry in Germany, working in management controlling and treasury. She studied Law and Business Administration at Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid), including abroad studies during two years, one in Germany and another in Austria.
Susanne Stormer Partner and Head of Sustainability at PwC, Denmark
Susanne is partner and head of Sustainability at PwC Denmark. She is a recognized global leader in corporate reporting, with more than 20 years of practical experience of being in charge of reporting strategy, design and data. Susanne is a member of the EFRAG Project Task Force EFRAG’s Project Task Force on Non-financial reporting standards, member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and was a founding member of the International Integrated Reporting Council, to whom she is currently an Ambassador. Until 2020, Susanne was Vice President and Chief Sustainability advisor at Novo Nordisk where she led the evolution of the company’s trendsetting integrated report. Susanne is also an adjunct professor of Corporate Sustainability at Copenhagen Business School and a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley Haas, California.
Merilin Hörats
Strategy and Business Development Officer, European Investment Fund
Merilin joined the European Investment Fund (EIF) in 2015 and is part of the Strategy and Business Development department. Merilin leads the team’s work on topics such as green finance eligibilities, Paris Alignment and the implementation of the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap. She is also the Sherpa of EIF’s representative to the Platform on Sustainable Finance. Prior to joining EIF, she worked in Brussels representing a network of national promotional institutions focusing on financing SMEs. She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from Maastricht University.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 3 (CONT.)
Liisa Raasakka
Group Head of Office, European Investment Bank, Sweden
Prior to becoming EIB Group Head of Office for Sweden, Liisa worked at EIB’s Lending Department serving as Senior Loan Officer covering financing to Sweden and EFTA since 2013. Previously, she worked in EIB’s Lending Department with lending to the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria from 2000 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2013. From 2005 to 2008, she worked as Board Adviser of the EIB Director at the EBRD Board of Directors in London, United Kingdom. Liisa studied Business administration, Helsinki, Finland, obtaining a Master Degree in Economics. After studies, she worked as an Investment Manager at the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) part of the NIB Group in Helsinki, Finland from 1997 to 2000. Since 2020, Liisa is hosting EIB’s Swedish podcast series - Jag vill veta mera - whereby she interviews Swedish experts who works at the EIB, but also specialists in Sweden on climate related initiatives.
WEBINAR 4
Gabriel Wikström
The Swedish Government’s national coordinator for the 2030 Agenda
Gabriel is the Swedish Government’s national coordinator for 2030 Agenda. Between 2014 and 2017, Gabriel was Minister for Health Care, Public Health and Sport in the Swedish Government. Wikström started his career in the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League in Västmanland County in 2006. He was a member of the national executive board of the youth league from 2007 to 2011 and national chairman from 2011 until being appointed cabinet minister in 2014. Gabriel has studied political science and economics at Uppsala University.
Begoña Giner
Professor of Accounting and Finance at the University of Valencia, Spain, member of EFRAG TEG and Chair of the EAA Stakeholder Reporting Committee
Begoña is full Professor of Accounting and Finance at the University of Valencia. She has been a member of the Technical Expert Group of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG TEG) and of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Council, and President of the European Accounting Association (EAA). She is the Chair of the EAA Stakeholder Reporting Committee, and is a member of the PTF on Preparatory Work for the Elaboration of possible EU Non-financial Reporting Standards established by EFRAG. She has published numerous articles in leading accounting and business journals, and has participated as faculty member in two major accounting regulation research projects financed by the European Commission.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
WEBINAR 4 (CONT.)
Åsa Moberg
Programmes director at Mistra, board member of SWESIF
Åsa is programmes director at Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research. The purpose of Mistra’s research is to solve important environmental problems and be valuable to users. The results should contribute to efforts to bring about sustainable development. The research programmes funded are inter-disciplinary and engage various stakeholders from the start. Åsa has a background as associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, being a biologist in an interdisciplinary team focusing on strategic environmental research. In the current position at Mistra, her background is also useful as she is responsible for the sustainability dialogues with external asset managers. As member of the board of Swesif (Sweden’s Sustainable Investment Forum), she highlights the connection to academic research as a crucial part of the development towards investments for sustainable development.
John Dumay
Professor of Accounting & Finance, Macquarie University, Australia
John is a Professor of Accounting and Finance. Formerly a consultant, he joined academia after completing his PhD in 2008. His thesis won the European Fund for Management Development and Emerald Journals Outstanding Doctoral Research Award for Knowledge Management. John researches intellectual capital, knowledge management, accounting, corporate reporting and disclosure, research methodologies, and academic writing. In 2020 John reached more than 10,000 Google Scholar citations from over 120 peerreviewed articles, book chapters, and books. The Australian newspaper also recognises John as Australia’s leading Accounting scholar. He is an Associate Editor of the highly regarded Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Meditari Accountancy Research, and Deputy Editor Accounting & Finance.
The EVRACSI coordinator:
Susanne Arvidsson Director of LUSEM Institute of Sustainable Impact, Associate professor in finance and accounting, Lund University School of Economics and Management
Susanne is the director of LUSEM Institute of Sustainable Impact and Associate professor in finance and accounting at LUSEM, Lund University School of Economics and Management. Susanne has extensive research experience in the field of sustainability and sustainable finance and heads several successful interdisciplinary research projects. She has also long experience from executive education in the area of finance directed to e.g. management teams and board of directors as well as Swedish judges. She has led several capacity building programs related to Agenda 2030, directed to participants from low- and midincome countries. She acts as expert in sustainability- and finance-related areas both within the academia and outside. Furthermore, Susanne is chairman of Dagens Industri’s Swedish Corporate Sustainability Ranking and is initiator of the conference SUBREA and its network with close to 200 members from companies, governments, authorities, NGOs and senior researchers at both national and international level. Since 2019 she is the founder and coordinator of the EVRACSI Initiative (Enhancing the Value Relevance and Credibility of Sustainability Information). Moderator:
Mikael Salo Sustainability expert
Mikael has long experience in moderating panels on sustainability topics. He is editor in chief at Aktuell Hållbarhet, Swedens largest and leading media with focus on sustainability. He is also concept lead for ”Hållbart näringsliv” (Sustainable Business), which is a collaboration with Sweden’s largest business news organization Dagens industri with the purpose to guide the business society in the transformation towards the Paris Agreement and SDG goals.
LUND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT P.O. BOX 7080 SE-220 07 LUND SWEDEN www.lusem.lu.se