GreenBiz 2021

We were pleased to be a contributing sponsor at GreenBiz 21, the premier annual event for sustainable business leaders, where we joined over 1,200 professionals to discuss the latest trends, tools, and insights shaping the sustainability space.

Getting to Net Zero: Acting on a Well-Honed Transition Plan 

On the path to net-zero, many have pledged, some have planned, but few have certainty. This kind of large-scale business transformation requires a faultless plan, with a ready flow of capital to support it. With the market acting as the ultimate arbiter, how can you make sure your pledge will turn into actions and eventual successes? We were joined by panelists across industries to hear what steps they are taking in crafting transition plans, the trade-offs they have had to make, and the successes and challenges they’ve faced so far. 

• Jeremy Baines, President, Neste US
• Chantale Despres, Head of Sustainability, CN Rail
  
• David Knipe, Partner, Energy Practice, and Head of the Climate and Sustainability Platform, Oliver Wyman
• Sheila Remes, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, The Boeing Company

Interview: John Colas on the Findings of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Report , Partner and Vice Chairman of Financial Services Americas, sat down with Joel Makower, GreenBiz Founder and Chairman, to discuss his work on the climate-related market risk subcommittee of the CFTC:

• The key finding: the need to acknowledge climate risk as a financial risk to ensure the resilience and stability of the US financial system

• There is a need for global alignment and coordination; for policy makers to learn from practices outside the US, and embrace constructive and helpful approaches that can protect the stability and resilience of the US financial system as well as promote and finance the transition to a low-carbon economy.

• John describes the opportunity for institutions to embrace and build capabilities to do scenario analysis, and to integrate climate risk into current risk management and governance practices.

• The big lesson: Institutions – both financial and corporate – need to think long and hard about the implications of climate on their business, on their customers, and on the opportunities and risks that it presents to them.

• We are seeing that the thinking embedded in the sustainability world for years is now integrating more and more into the finance and risk functions. 

Roundtable: “Sustainability as a Service” for Customers

How do you create value for, and from, your customers in your sustainability agenda?

Many organizations see their sustainability efforts through the lens of obligation: something they must do to meet evolving stakeholder expectations. This is often reflected in how programs are measured and managed. But looking through the lens of opportunity opens up new possibilities, both commercially and in terms of climate impact. This session explored ways to engage customers as part of your sustainability efforts, from how you position and communicate what you do through to helping customers pursue their sustainability goals and ambitions.

Hosted by Simon Glynn, Chief Strategy Officer at Lippincott and Co-lead of Oliver Wyman's Climate and Sustainability Platform, and Mike Watson, Chief Customer Officer at Waste Management. 

Ask Edwin: Unlocking What TCFD Can Mean for Your Organization

During this Q&A session, Financial Services Partner Edwin Anderson helped attendees troubleshoot challenges and illuminate the opportunities and strategies that TCFD enables.

To see the full conversation and see perspectives from Oliver Wyman as well as other speakers and attendees, check out #OWClimate and #GreenBiz21 on Twitter.