Thursday is dedicated to empowering climate finance practitioners with the knowledge and skills required for a sustainable future. Join experts and leaders from Chartered Accountants, the Compliance Institute, the Insurance Institute, PRI, and the CSRD Sandbox/Workshop as they share insights, strategies, and compliance solutions. Together, we'll equip ourselves to navigate the challenges and opportunities of sustainable finance and contribute to a greener world.
Dee Moran (FCA) has significant experience in both practice and industry. The Professional Accountancy team is responsible for a broad technical policy agenda of relevance to the Institute and its membership and works to coordinate policy approaches and develop guidance for members. Dee leads the Institute in the area of sustainability reporting and in responding to consultations in this area.
David Connolly is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Senior Manager of a specialised team within EY dedicated to helping companies in the financial services sector navigate the complex world of climate change and sustainability. David is currently leading CSRD engagements which includes double materiality assessments and basis of preparations on behalf of regulated clients; this includes a deep dive gap assessment across the identified topics and sub-topics related to CSRD. Formerly Principal with Accountants for Sustainability, a sustainability consultancy specialising in advising finance professionals on their sustainability / ESG strategy and reporting obligations, David also has 20 years’ experience of commercial banking and strategy with Bank of Ireland.
Dermot Kennedy is an accomplished director with significant experience in Compliance, Risk and Fraud, Operations, Engineering and Customer Services management, primarily in the Information Technology and Fintech areas. He has worked for multinational companies including Amazon, Dell and Sanmina, and most recently served as CS Director Ireland at Remitly, leading the launch of Remitly’s European operation in Cork - growing the site to 270 team members in just two years while ensuring that the activities of REL’s align with regulatory requirements, compliance, local laws, and business requirements. Dermot is passionate about developing highly scalable standards, policies, procedures, repeatable processes, and methodologies to enable best practices to be standardized across organizations. He holds a Masters in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science, Diploma in Fintech, Risk and Compliance, and Six Sigma Black (American Society of Quality) qualification.
Ann Shiels established FinLexSus in January 2022 as a sustainable finance regulatory business working with regulated fund management companies and asset managers to upskill on, understand and implement EU sustainable finance regulatory requirements including SFDR and EU Taxonomy. Ann worked in the Irish funds and regulated financial services industry for over 20 years, mainly as a qualified solicitor in a large Irish corporate practice. She holds a certificate in Sustainable Finance from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability leadership, is a Green Team Network executive member and lectures in sustainable finance at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.
David Carlin is currently running a pilot for nearly 50 global banks and investors on topics of climate scenarios, climate risk assessments and climate governance. He is also a contributor to Forbes, where he writes about climate change and leadership. Prior to joining UNEP FI, he worked as a senior manager in Risk and Public Policy for Oliver Wyman Consulting and in Model Risk Management for PNC Bank. His background is in quantitative modeling and decision science. He conducted research in financial decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College.
Eva Sheehy has worked with a wide variety of public and private clients including those in the Retail, Food & Agri and Transport and Construction industries. Eva joined KPMG in 2013 and has extensive experience working on audit and assurance engagements. Eva assists clients completing ESG reporting readiness assessments and advises clients on current and future ESG reporting standards relevant to their business and sector.
Sarah Moran is a director in KPMG’s dedicated sustainability advisory practice. Sarah trained in KPMG’s global centre of excellence for climate risk in the UK and now leads out Sustainable Finance and Climate Risk service lines. Sarah lectures in sustainable finance, climate risk and ESG reporting with UCD Smurfit Business School and Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Anna Skrivanou supports signatories in progressing their practices, engage in regional policy debate and regulatory change, and build strong responsible investment ecosystems, by focusing on convening investors, policy makers and other stakeholders. Anna has an 8-year experience in asset and wealth management. Prior to the PRI, Anna worked at HSBC Asset Management in London, as a relationship manager in the global wholesale team focusing on key distributors and as a discretionary investment specialist managing high net worth clients’ portfolios. Anna holds the CISI level 7 Chartered Wealth Manager qualification, a MSc in International Financial Management from University of Surrey, and a BSc in Economics from University of Athens.
Brian O’Kennedy is CEO of Clearstream Solutions, a leading independent carbon management and corporate sustainability consultancy which he founded in 2009. Brian has over 20 years’ leadership experience in global supply chain management and procurement, particularly in the areas of IT, Media, Print and Packaging. Brian has served as Chair of the CDP Ireland Network, the global carbon reporting program, and is also a member of Steering Committee of the global Responsible Sourcing standard, Verego SRS. He has a degree in Economics from Trinity College, a Certificate in Sustainable Management from BSI Group and is currently studying the Circular Economy at TU Delft.
Dorian Fougères has worked for over 20 years on coastal and marine, water, agriculture, forest, and climate change policy and management throughout California as well as overseas. Formerly the acting Deputy Director for the California Tahoe Conservancy, he oversaw the state agency's climate adaptation, community forestry, landscape forestry, watershed restoration, land management, recreation and access, and sustainable communities programs, as well as all organizational scaffolding. Prior to this he worked for many years as a senior mediator at the Center for Collaborative Policy, CSU Sacramento, including establishing its southern California office. Dorian authors the The Promise and Practice of Resilient Landscapes blog
Kathy Jacobs is an experienced risk professional and chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience in Regulatory Compliance in retail and commercial banking, fintech payments and insurance in various domains including AML/sanctions, data protection, conduct risk. Kathy holds the Licentiate of the Compliance Institute, the Certified Data Protection Officer qualification, and Postgraduate Diploma in Corporate Governance (UCD) and is currently studying for the Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance for Compliance Professionals. Kathy has been an active member of the Compliance Institute since its establishment, was a member of the Compliance Institute Council from 2012 to 2023 and served as President 2020-2022.
Sarah Thompson has experience in advising a broad range of clients on financial regulation matters and is admitted to practice in Northern Ireland, Ireland and England & Wales. She advises on Central Bank of Ireland authorisation processes, perimeter issues, ongoing compliance with conduct of business and other requirements with a special focus on ESG matters and on the Individual Accountability Framework and the Senior Executive Accountability Regime, as well as financial services M&A. Prior to joining Arthur Cox, Sarah worked in London in the financial regulatory groups of two major international law firms.
Alex McLean leads the cross-firm ESG Group, which assists clients with the identification and integration of ESG priorities at all levels of their business. He has a broad-based infrastructure and utilities practice, with particular expertise in renewables, energy and natural resources law. Alex has almost twenty-five years energy regulatory, transactional and major projects experience in Ireland and Australia and has been centrally involved in the liberalisation of the energy markets in both jurisdictions. He has extensive experience acting for government, regulators, financiers, market participants and customers, both on the island of Ireland and internationally, and combines broad industry expertise with a strong background in energy regulation and reform.
Delilah Rothenberg is a Co-Founding Partner of the Predistribution Initiative (PDI), a multi-stakeholder non-profit organization designed to support investors in aligning their investment governance, financial analysis, and asset allocation practices with the principles of system-level investing and systematic stewardship. Delilah brings nearly two decades of experience in finance across asset classes – particularly private capital markets – having worked with private equity investors, lenders, and project developers on growth financing, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) integration, and impact strategy for over 12 years. Prior to private capital markets, Delilah worked in sell side equities with Bear Stearns and investment research with Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). Delilah serves on the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) Markets Advisory Group; is on the Advisory Panel for the Capitals Coalition; is an Advisor to For the Long Term (public treasurers focused on ESG); was an advisor to New York City Comptroller-elect Brad Lander’s campaign; and, is a former Open Society Foundations Fellow. She has served on various committees, advisory groups, and working groups for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) amongst others.
Eimear specialises in the design and delivery of world class, professionally relevant, career defining digital and innovation education and training programmes. Eimear is the Director of Digital and Innovation in the Institute of Banking (IOB), working with industry to understand current and future skills needs and developing exciting education propositions that enable individuals and organisations to truly achieve their ambitions.With a background in eLearning and having successfully built and led a scalable eLearning function, the blend of innovative technologies with compelling content result in a unique, learner focused experience.
Nessa Joyce is a Consultant in William Fry’s Asset Management & Investment Funds department and a senior member of its cross-practice ESG & Sustainability Group. Nessa is a member of the Irish Funds ESG Policy, Legal & Regulatory Working Group through which she contributes to the development of sustainable finance policy at national and EU level.
Katie Heston supports clients on their corporate biodiversity journey, particularly those operating in the built environment. She is also responsible for key account management across a wide range of sectors. Katie has previously worked for construction companies Cairn Homes Plc, BAM and CRH in ESG reporting. She has a background in Marine Biology and holds a bachelors degree from NUI Galway.
Lucy Gaffney is a bio-scientist and entrepreneur and has been working within the life sciences sector since2005. In November 2021, she joined Natural Capital Ireland to lead the development of a national businessand biodiversity platform, an initiative funded by the Irish Government. The platform aims to helpbusinesses develop meaningful biodiversity strategies and ultimately help Ireland transition to anature-positive way of working. In 2021 she also established Wild Plan, a private consultancy which provides support to SMEs on their journey to nature-positive. In January, Lucy was named as one of the Irish Times 50 People to Watch in 2023 for her ongoing work in the business and biodiversity space.
Paula Hodson is the Director of Education and Development at The Insurance Institute of Ireland. Paula began her insurance career in 1985 as a Trainee Underwriter in Allianz and was promoted to manage the not-for-profit business for the organisation, including education, medical and religious order business. Paula achieved her ACII in 1991 and then studied marketing for four years with the Marketing Institute of Ireland. In 1996, Paula joined American company St. Paul in Ireland to manage their healthcare business. In 1998, she obtained a Higher Diploma in Medico-Legal Risk Management from UCD. Paula assumed the position of Deputy General Manager at St. Paul after it was acquired by Travelers Insurance in 2001. Her portfolio included marketing, sales, broker management and compliance. She went on to become the third female President of The Insurance Institute of Dublin in 2007, a distinguished role. Paula joined The Insurance Institute of Ireland team after completing her Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute (FCII) in 2012. She is responsible for relationship management, business development, and education. Paula is also a member of the board of The Insurance Institute of Ireland and the European Financial Insurance Certification Organisation.
Donna Wilson joined AIB in 2001 and her career has spanned a number of business areas including Group Internal Audit, AIB UK and Retail where she has held a number of senior leadership roles including Head of Audit AIB UK, Head of Customer Advocacy AIB UK and Head of First Line Governance Retail. Most recently Donna has taken up the Enterprise wide leadership role of Head of ESG Transformation & Reporting, AIB Group.
Chartered Accountants Ireland is partnering with Climate Finance Week Ireland to deliver a webinar on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its implications for SMEs in value chains. With effect from financial year beginning on or after 1 January 2024, companies in Ireland will begin reporting under the CSRD (and as a result, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards ‘ESRS’). Drawing on our speaker’s expert knowledge, the webinar will first describe the CSRD and the ESRS. This will be followed by a panel discussion, on how the financial services sector is transforming its own environment, social and governance profile, and the impact this will have on customers along the value chain. Building on the concept “you’re in scope because they’re in scope”, the speakers will discuss ways for SMEs to prepare for the potential impact of the CorporateSustainability Reporting Directive.
Held in partnership with Chartered Accountants Ireland
Speakers:
This session will open with an introduction to Sustainable Finance and ESG and we will explore the current status of where we are at in the Sustainable Finance landscape. We will discuss the key learnings of the Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance for Compliance Professionals from both a learner’s perspective and also from a programme co-ordinator, lecturer, content developer and subject matter expert.
Held in partnership with The Compliance Institute
Please click here to register.
Today the word 'nature' seems on everyone’s lips. But what is nature, how is it linked to biodiversity and why should investors and companies care about it? This session will orient those who are new to these topics, as well as provide some novel linkages for those already leading in this field. It will cover the recognition of impacts and dependencies; commitments; frameworks, data uses, and tools; early adopter examples; and unresolved issues. Join this participatory session to sharpen action within your organization.
Held in partnership with CDP Ireland
This session held will focus on helping institutions understand the need for net zero alignment, what climate targets must include, what progress we have seen in target setting and what are the remaining challenges to net zero alignment. The session will also feature an open Q&A and a focus on practical guidance in advancing target-setting efforts.
Held in partnership with The Insurance Institute
INVITE ONLY
In this session we will provide an update on PRI’s latest programmes and deep dive into PRI’s Nature work and our stewardship initiative for nature, Spring. We will provide an update on policy developments in Biodiversity, useful resources available to investors and an overview of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) before we present Spring the new collaborative stewardship initiative on nature which will convene a group of investors, who will use their voice and influence to drive positive outcomes for nature.
Held in partnership with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, kindly hosted by Arthur Cox
Financial markets are increasingly recognizing the imperative to address climate risk, but what about social risks and inequality? Worldwide, resistance to climate solutions is growing, whether due to concerns of job loss, lack of access to affordable energy, or lack of ability for less developed regions to economically grow. This session will explore emerging financial risks and opportunities relating to social issues and inequality. The investment case to reduce social risks and inequalities will be shared, including why addressing these risks are critical to advancing climate solutions. Emerging tools and resources to address social issues and inequality will also be discussed.
Held in partnership with Predistribution Initiative
Speaker:
Many thanks for registering, you will receive an email confirmation, calendar reminder and updates closer to the event.