Conference Day Two - Wednesday, 13 March

go to day one  go to masterclass

Register

08:15
Registration and welcome coffee
08:50
Opening remarks from the Chair

Dirk Visser
Principal Consultant, Centre for Sustainability and Business, Melbourne Business School
The University of Melbourne

MITIGATING GREENWASHING RISK FROM ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS
9:00
Greenwashing case studies – cautionary tales of where advertising, marketing, website, and other claims went horribly wrong
  • Understanding what NOT to do – examining the latest regulatory actions and court cases
  • Lessons from regulatory investigations, infringement notices, and penalty actions
  • Understanding the risk factors for skyrocketing penalties
  • Assessing and minimising your organisation’s risk and updating your compliance and governance practices to avoid being the next headline

Claire Smith
Partner and National Practice Group Leader - Environment & Sustainable Development
Clayton Utz

Emily Tranter
Partner
Clayton Utz

 

09:30
PANEL DISCUSSION: Mitigating the very real & increasingly urgent risks of greenwashing in your environmental claims, statements and reporting
  • Analysing the ACCC’s guidance and recent regulatory enforcement on environmental and sustainability claims
  • Understanding what you can say, what you might be able to say, and what you should never say
  • Analysing what constitutes an accurate and truthful claim
  • Identifying the standard for sufficiently accurate evidence
  • Explaining conditions with clarity & being transparent

Moderator:

Maria Balatbat
Senior Lecturer | Founding Member
University of New South Wales Business School | Institute of Climate Risk and Resilience

Panellists:

Olivia Leal-Walker
Sustainability Manager – Environment
SunRice Group

Jim Snow
Executive Director  | Adjunct Professor
Oakley Greenwood | University of Queensland

Tim Rodsted
Head of Sustainability
BlueScope

10:20
Morning Tea & Networking
SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING PAIN POINTS
10:50
How do you predict the future? Solving the forward-looking disclosures problem
  • Identifying problematic areas requiring future looking disclosures that are difficult to ascertain
  • Minimising risks with binding disclosures that can’t be amended later on
  • Strategic approaches to forward-looking disclosures on financial prospects, scenario analysis & transition plans
  • Determining what to do when you can’t sign off on a legally binding, forward-looking disclosure

Jim Snow
Executive Director  | Adjunct Professor
Oakley Greenwood | University of Queensland

11:20
Measuring and reporting progress towards net zero while avoiding greenwashing risks
  • Communicating net zero targets and actions without being accused of greenwashing
  • Examining what constitutes a ‘reasonable’ pathway to net zero from a legal perspective
  • Bringing departments together to create a unified, realistic, and measurable net zero plan

Jillian Button
Partner
Allens

 

EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS & THE BOARD
11:50
PANEL DISCUSSION: Efficiently communicating complex, data-centric sustainability information
  • Communicating the right information, data, and strategic analysis in an efficient manner
  • Tailoring communications to engage key stakeholders
  • Identifying what Boards and the c-suite need to ask of managers to interrogate data quality, pinpoint uncertainties and assumptions, and flag areas carrying a high level of liability and scrutiny
  • Improving communications from managers to the Board and c-suite to convey the significance of sustainability initiatives and the practicalities of reporting

Moderator:

Olivia Pitt
Head of ESG
Ellerston Capital

Panellists:

Siobhan Leach
Group Sustainability Officer
Ramsay Health Care

Ellie Field
Sustainability Communications Director
Future Focus

Tara Oakley
Head of Commercial – Oceania
South Pole

12:40
Networking Lunch
MAKING SUSTAINABILITY, FINANCE & INVESTMENT WORK TOGETHER
13:40
Meeting investor standards and expectations
  • Understanding investors’ perspective on the ISSB’s sustainability disclosure standards
  • Examining when and why investors require sustainability initiatives beyond what’s required
  • Exploring how investors analyse organisations, their sustainability profile, and how it fits their strategy and portfolio
  • Demonstrating to investors that an organisation has an incentivised sustainability strategy that’s measured and accurately reported

Alison Chan
Investment Director, Sustainable Finance
Metrics Credit Partners

14:10
Getting investor relations and sustainability teams to work together to achieve business and sustainability goals
  • Examining how investor relations and sustainability functions are increasingly intertwined
  • Ensuring sustainability experts understand the investment angle and vice versa
  • Getting buy-in and cooperation from investor relations and sustainability teams
  • Navigating conflicts when investor relations and sustainability teams don’t see eye to eye

Troy Dahms
Senior Investor Relations Manager
Vicinity Centres

14:40
Afternoon Tea
15:10
Investing for net zero, demonstrating sustainability & the climate risk disclosure regime

As Australia’s ‘green bank,’ the CEFC has been at the forefront of investing towards net zero for over 10 years. As climate disclosure moves front and centre, the CEFC is committed to driving enhanced transparency with respect to ESG-related matters. This session will provide an investor’s perspective on the shift to reporting on financed emissions, progress against net zero targets and disclosure of climate risks in line with the IFRS/ISSB standard.

  • Balancing a decarbonisation focused investment approach with a broader consideration of ESG risks and opportunities
  • The evolving nature of decarbonisation targets and metrics as financiers seek to align portfolios with science-based targets and net zero commitments
  • How a portfolio of decarbonisation investments will be reflected under the forthcoming climate risk disclosure regime

Paul Greenop
Head of Portfolio Management
Clean Energy Finance Corporation

15:40
Connecting climate-related and financial information to disclosures

Join Dr Tanya Fiedler who will navigate you through the maze of challenges associated with translating and connecting climate-related and financial information to disclosures (including disclosures in financial statements). Dr Fiedler has interviewed over 100 report preparers from listed companies, auditors, investors, climate scientists, actuaries, economists, and domestic and international standard setters. She will address key concerns for investors and companies regarding cohesive and effective reporting.

Tanya Fiedler
Scientia Fellow, Institute for Climate Risk & Response and Senior Lecturer, School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation
University of New South Wales

BEYOND SUSTAINABILITY – THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL VALUE DISCLOSURES
16:10
PANEL DISCUSSION: What should organisations do to meet growing expectations on social value disclosures?
  • Beyond mandatory modern slavery reporting, what social value disclosures should organisations consider?
  • What’s the significance of shareholder, investor and consumer expectations on social value disclosures?
  • What are the benefits & risks of making non-mandatory social value disclosures?
  • What are the social value benchmarks being set overseas and what’s the impact for Australia?

Moderator:

Monique Ward
Executive Director – Innovation and Services
Social Traders

Panellists:

Hayley Scott
Head of Social Impact
Winc Australia

Charlotte O’Meara
Senior ESG Specialist
Challenger

Kestra Bowskill
Human Rights Manager
Endeavour Group

Carsten Primdal
Executive Manager, Principal Consultant - Business Engagement
Australian Catholic Anti-slavery Network (ACAN)

17:00
Closing remarks from the Chair & end of Sustainability Reporting Summit 2024