Mattea Pauc

Re-Educating Earthlings

Environmental educator, expedition guide & photographer

Join Mattea in her keynote speech discussing where we, the human race, are at in a global climate crisis encroaching further and further into all of our lives. Listen along as she discusses the latest updates from scientists around the world, what she has seen for herself working on expedition in the Antarctic and across the Pacific, and what she believes to be the answers. Bring your note books and a slice of hope.

Andrew Block

Mayer Brown

Partner

Lindsey Block

Primark

Head of Social Impact

“S” – “Social” – is the most amorphous bit of “ESG”, and the hardest to pin down. In this session, we’ll look at the legal duties of trustees when it comes to the social aspect of their investing, and we’ll also hear about what it actually means on the ground.

Scott Foster

CACEIS

Head of Digital & Governance Solutions

This session will look at governance around net zero alignment using evidence-based data, alongside highlighting the latest state of play with TCFD reporting. A case study will outline how effective pension schemes can be on their sustainability messaging and reporting

James Monk

Fidelity

Workplace Investment Director

As physical risks become increasingly acute and less long term, what tools are available to mitigate transition risks and capture the true value of sustainability risk within our investment strategies? How can we harness the value of stewardship and ensure our ESG frameworks stay relevant in a rapidly evolving market, where technological development and adoption is a significant part of the solution?

Dr Ellen Quigley

University of Cambridge

Special Adviser (Responsible Investment) to the Chief Financial Officer, Principal Research Associate

Emerging academic evidence suggests that institutional investors' climate-related activities are overwhelmingly concentrated in public equity relative to other asset classes. However, research findings also suggest that exclusions in public equity are unlikely to affect company behaviour nor to have a perceptible impact on real-economy emissions.

Dr Ellen Quigley, an academic at the University of Cambridge, will outline the evidence for investor impact claims across asset classes, including through stewardship activities and social discourse. She will outline a framework for the characteristics of a product that would combine the highest-impact levers – from sector focus and exclusion methodologies to asset class and investor engagement efficacy – to maximise the probability of institutional investor impact on real-world emissions. She will share details of a bond index project currently under development that has a variety of stewardship characteristics designed to maximise investor impact on company-level behaviour change, cost of capital for fossil fuel expansion and, ultimately, real-economy decarbonisation.

Jack Bowles

Schroders Solutions

Sustainable Solutions Strategist

Climate change is not just a distant threat for the future; it's a present force with profound implications for the economic and investment landscape. Its effects are wide-ranging, often underestimated, and cannot be ignored. As such, it's an issue that investors must confront head-on, both in the immediate and long-term context.
In this engaging session, we'll dissect the reasons why climate change is a pressing concern for investors today. We'll explore the tangible short-term impacts it's having on economies and investment markets, and why it's a crucial consideration in current investment decision-making. We'll also delve into the long-term issues that are often missed in climate scenario modelling. We'll provide a comprehensive view of the future challenges and opportunities that climate change presents, equipping you with a holistic understanding of this complex issue.

Designed especially for trustees, this session will offer key insights and equip you with the knowledge to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. Understand why climate change is not just a future problem, but a present reality that demands immediate and long-term strategic attention.

Lauren Peacock

Scottish Widows

Responsible Investment Manager

An overview of our approach to social factors which includes human rights, human capital management and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Reflections on the challenges for pension schemes to act on social factors given issues on data, causality, and materiality and how Scottish Widows has overcome challenges to develop an established approach to social factors through research and stewardship.

Henry Corrigan

Mayer Brown

Associate

Liam Kellett

Mayer Brown

Associate

This session will explore the key ESG compliance requirements for pension schemes, focusing on the legal framework and TPR’s General Code. It will cover investment governance, stewardship, and climate change obligations, offering practical insights into meeting these standards. The session also examines how the Pensions Regulator monitors and enforces schemes’ compliance with ESG duties. Designed to equip trustees and scheme managers with a clear understanding of regulatory expectations, this concise overview provides essential guidance for aligning investment strategies with ESG principles while ensuring robust governance and compliance.

David Brown FPMI

Pensions for Purpose

Senior Director & Training Lead

This session will explore the inter-connectivity between the component parts of ESG and why this will become increasingly important when we address systems thinking. The session will move beyond minimum legal compliance and offer practical guidance on being an effective ESG investor including where resourcing and budgeting can often be challenging. Additionally, the session will consider ESG from the perspective of double materiality, which will continue to grow in importance as externalities are priced into investment valuations.