The scheme criteria for mandatory TCFD reporting are expanding, imminently. From 1st October, schemes with over £1 billion of assets are also having to publish disclosures. So, what advise do the larger schemes have to effectively meet TCFD reporting requirements? Join our special guest in sharing their experience with TCFD reporting and their advice for schemes tackling reporting for the first time.
This session will address:
- The do's and don'ts of TCFD reporting
- An insightful case study into USS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED's personal experience
- How you can smoothly incorporate reporting into your scheme's future
- Advice for smaller schemes transitioning into the regime of annual reporting
Climate change has schemes actively participating in the journey towards a greener future, and TCFD reporting is at the forefront of discussion. For the pensions industry, the discussion surrounding ESG will forever be evolving, there will always be room for improvement, and there will always be questions. So, without further ado, Professional Pensions have gathered an engaging panel to debate your most difficult ESG-related questions. Dare to stand out from behind your screen and ask away.
With the addition of your questions, we will discuss:
- How can we filter ESG down for smaller schemes, and will this impact decision making/does anything change?
- What are the limits/how far can you go with ESG?
- How can we assess both quantitative and qualitative data when reporting on ESG?
The transition to a low-carbon economy represents a historic investment opportunity. It will require massive investment — US$32T by 2030, US$125T by 2050 (International Energy Agency, 31 May 2021) under a rapid-transition scenario — and represents the most profound economic transformation since the rise of Emerging Markets and Digitization.
At BlackRock, we believe private markets could play a vital role in this transition, by not only generating alpha for investors but also addressing some of the most pressing challenges our world faces today and over a longer-term horizon. Join Katherine Sherwin, Global Head of Real Assets Sustainable Investing, as she takes deep dive into the "how" of transformational finance. Katherine will discuss how clients can unlock private market investment opportunities, flexible implementation, risk management and reporting.
We believe the links between nature and climate change are of critical importance to all of us. A changing climate threatens natural ecosystems, and nature loss amplifies climate change by reducing the ability of these ecosystems to store carbon, creating a vicious circle. We believe all market participants need to act on both decarbonisation and biodiversity. As a large global investor, LGIM recognises the important role we have in engaging and setting clear expectations of investee companies on these topics. While the market spotlight continues to shine on carbon emissions, in this session we highlight the importance of nature and biodiversity to achieving net zero.
In this session LGIM will address:
- How LGIM’s work on nature and biodiversity is a critical component of the work they do surrounding climate
- What is meant by the terms nature and biodiversity
- Why nature and biodiversity are so important from an investor perspective
- How this translates into LGIM’s specific expectations of investee companies
By definition, long-term investors in fixed income need to have a strong focus on sustainability in order to ensure the companies in which they invest are able to pay both coupons and the principal on maturity. Indeed, those firms with a high environmental impact, socially predatory business model or poor governance run the risk of being regulated, litigated against, or publicly shamed – providing significant additional risk for long-term bondholders.
In this session, TwentyFour Asset Management will address:
- The key environmental, social and governance considerations for fixed income investors
- How fixed income investors are integrating sustainability into their process
- How changing the sustainability goals of a portfolio could impact investors’ return and volatility experience
- Positive and negative screening
- The ongoing stewardship of assets
The regulation of corporates' CO2 emissions is becoming more widespread, and the carbon prices within those regulated markets are rising. At the same time, regulatory pressure on asset owners and asset managers to understand climate change risks in their portfolios is increasing. As a result, the need for investors to fully understand the carbon price risk embedded in their portfolios is becoming ever more pressing. The challenge investors face however, is that traditional ESG datasets assume all emissions are created equal, leading to inaccurate conclusions that cannot be actioned. In reality, the financial costs attached to a company's emissions vary wildly, and only through a granular understanding of this variation can carbon price risk be fully quantified, and ultimately managed or mitigated.
In this session, SparkChange will address:
- How carbon price risk in portfolios is evolving
- Why traditional datasets are inadequate in quantifying exposure
- The benefits of taking a more granular approach
The TNFD framework has been welcomed by many, even with its lack of clarity on what is required, and no confirmation on the final details till late 2023. TNFD is an important first step in addressing the biodiversity crisis, as nature risks should be considered a financially material issue. Whilst not immediately mandatory like TCFD disclosures, companies will have to start reporting in the next few years. None the less, many are questioning how it is possible to report at such a granular level and are debating whether so many guidelines are beneficial, or confusing.
This interview will address:
- What are the defining differences between TCFD and TNFD?
- What is the immediate regulatory impact for trustees?
- How do we measure biodiversity impact in our portfolios?
ESG has rapidly grown traction over the years throughout businesses. Recently, there have been some questions amongst the industry regarding its credibility. The first half of the year has come with many knockbacks within the sustainability investing community: greenwashing scandals, poor return performance, definition problems and calls for regulation to become stricter. None the less, ESG is the key to a brighter future. So how can we tackle this crisis of identity?
This session will address:
- What is the intended purpose of ESG?
- Do these intentions align with our current goals?
- Is ESG valid for improving investments?
- How can we as an industry improve on ESG's crisis of identity?
Following The Pensions Regulator's launch of its equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy in June last year, improving on DEI has been identified as one of the main areas the industry must develop in. Less than thirty years ago, visible diversity in the industry was minimal and the concept of discussing such issues outside of pensions did not exist. According to a survey by Lane Clark & Peacock, one in five DB schemes see diversity issues as a "governance burden" and are unlikely to act until they are formally required to do so. Additionally, a surprising number of schemes have admitted they struggle to prioritise DEI compared to other issues. Fortunately, the DEI conversation is now focused less on why schemes should be looking at DEI and onto how we can practically address these issues. Despite the conversation heading in the right direction, the pensions industry remains way behind others. So, how can we get back on track?
This session will address:
- What are the current hurdles for schemes combatting DEI issues?
- How can schemes practically implement strategies to improve on their DEI issues?
- How can schemes execute continuous improvement in future?
- Has the "I" in DEI taken a backseat and what can we do to solve this?
Please note: programme is subject to change