By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD), and the Institute of Finance and Financial Regulation (IFFR) are jointly organizing an online seminar on May 22. Following the highly visible 2021, 2022 and 2023 conferences, the 2024 international online conference will address a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics of interest to banks, corporates, institutional investors, regulators, policymakers and supervisors.

IFFR is a leading international research centre that bridges the gap between the finance industry and academia. Experts, academics and professionals from prominent universities and institutions conduct state-of-the-art research on current and emerging topics of interest to the finance industry, regulators and policymakers.

Distinguished academics and professionals from leading organisations and universities will deliver in-depth presentations and share their experience on the current trends and developments in the fast-evolving ESG field.

Conference highlights include:

Current trends  and developments

Key ESG trends for 2024 and what to expect next

The future of sustainable investing: the power of AI

The landscape of sustainable investments in Europe

ESG practices for corporates                             

Importance of corporate climate lobbying

Measuring corporate climate lobbying

What does it take for a corporation to be successful in the ESG space?

Does engagement pay off?

Do ESG investments outperform?

Is there a role of materiality?

The “chicken and egg” problem

The need to have a properly specified benchmark model

Is ESG something niche?

Diversity in ESG ratings

Incorporating ESG in risk management

Sustainability aspects in loan origination

Real estate and ESG: the challenges

Energy: is it a sin sector?

Identifying and mitigating greenwashing

Do we need more regulation?

Regulatory agenda for ESG risks

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Institutional investors: doing well by doing good?

Banking: challenges

Corporates: case studies

Regulation: does it help?

Registration is free.                    

Speakers  listed for the conference include:

• Director of IFFR, Conference Co-organiser | University of Piraeus and Queen Mary University of London, Professor George Skiadopoulos
• Regional Head – Director, Greece and Cyprus, EBRD, Andreea Moraru
• Chief Sustainability Officer, Philip Morris International, Jennifer Motles
• University of Zurich, Professor Zacharias Sautner,
• Head of Active Ownership, Schroders, Kimberley Lewis
• Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer, Mytilineos S.A. Vivian Bouzali
• ESG Investment Officer, Alpha Asset Management M.F.M.C. Antonis Antoniadis
• Director Financial Services, Grant Thornton Greece, Ananias Deligiannidis
•  Head of ESG, Prodea Investments, Dr. Nikolaos Gkonis,
• Executive Director, European Social Investment Forum (EUROSIF) Aleksandra Palinska,
• Senior Editor at fDi Intelligence, Financial Times, Daniele Myles
• Founding Director and Head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute, Dr. Linda-Eling Lee
• University of California Berkeley, Professor Panos Patatoukas
• Chief Sustainability Officer, Clarity AI, Lorenzo Saa
• Founder and President, Climate Governance Initiative Greece, Marina Niforos
• Partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader – EY, Kiara Konti
• Head of Green Financial Systems – European Union, Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, EBRD, Ian Smith
•  Head of ESG Risks Unit, European Banking Authority, Dorota Wojnar
• Partner EY, Orestis Chontoulidis
•  Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, Dr. Theodore Skylakakis