LEGAL INNOVATION
FORUM:

Sustainability in focus

CALGARY: June 4th, 2024
12.00 - 5.30pm

Bennett Jones, 4500 Bankers Hall East

855 2 Street SW, Calgary

The Legal Innovation Forum will host its first ESG InFocus forum in Calgary, the afternoon of June 4th, 2024.

This year’s forum is centred on its unifying theme:

Redefining ESG and a new paradigm for sustainable business

OVERVIEw

  • Review key drivers and trends at play for organizations in the west when it comes to sustainability

  • Provide a platform for practitioners to take stock of the evolving sustainability story and what it looks like on the ground.

  • Look at best practices in organizations when it comes to leveraging people, process and technology to deliver results in sustainability

  • Create a network of innovators to share knowledge and experiences when it comes to managing risks around sustainability.

PURPOSE OF FORUM

Platinum sponsor

EDUCATION PARTNER

  • Half-day event (afternoon) held in Calgary: June 4th, 2024

  • 110 decision makers from large organizations (legal, compliance, risk, strategy) focused on ESG

  • 4 panel discussions / fireside chats focused on key topics surrounding the evolving sustainabilty story for business

STRUCTURE

Themes

  • What key drivers & trends are redefining the sustainability landscape for organizations?

  • How are investors’ approaches to sustainability shifting?

  • The business case for sustainability - Fireside chat

  • Where do we go from here? A new paradigm for sustainable business

Meet our speakers

agenda

THEMES + AGENDA

Setting the Scene: What key drivers + trends are redefining the sustainability landscape for organizations?

With the onset of tightening regulations and disclosure requirements, many businesses are sharpening their focus on sustainability by embedding these principles into the fabric of their organizations.

Corporate leaders play a key role in supporting these efforts by socializing and institutionalizing sustainability measures with their senior executive teams and boards to ensure companies are better prepared for the growing scrutiny on sustainability and ESG reporting.

Our panel of experts from leading organizations will discuss the key drivers that are shaping the new era of sustainability in the Alberta - and across Canada.

  • Best practices for embedding sustainability into the core of their organization's business strategy

  • Preparing for enhanced transparency requirements: How will mandatory climate-related disclosure impact business objectives?

  • Balancing opportunities and risks for the business: governance, supply chain, DEI, etc.

The Investor Perspective: How are investors’ approaches to sustainability shifting?

While ESG was once seen as an opportune investment strategy, the landscape has shifted and some investors are feeling the pinch based on their ESG focused investment strategies. ESG has become increasingly polarized in the political arena with some US states pulling billions of dollars of assets from BlackRock due to its ardent pro-ESG stance.

At a time of heightened geopolitical, technological and climate shifts across industries, the debate rages on. In response, companies and investors more broadly are redefining their approach ESG yet still the umbrella of sustainability.

This session explores the shifting approach of investors in respect to sustainability and outlines the strategies needed to ensure organizations are shifting their approaches appropriately.

Themes covered include:

  • The shifting focus: Redefining ESG as sustainability in the eyes of shareholders, employees and                broader stakeholders

  • Deepening Indigenous engagement and equity investments by indigenous communities enhancing sustainability goals for businesses, projects, and communities

  • Sustainability as an investment thesis to drive ROI

FIreside Chat: Creating value: The business case for sustainability

Future-focused organizations are placing sustainability at the core of overall business strategy - not only to meet stakeholder demands or to take an ethical stance - but because it’s good for business.

A strategic plan with sustainability as a key pillar can create value in a number of different ways. It can spur innovation and market cut-through in an increasingly complex operating environment. Provide a framework for leadership in governance and community engagement. And enhance the reputation of the business in the eyes of investors, employees (current + potential) and a broader audience of consumers.

Discussion points will include:

  • Creating a competitive advantage with sustainability as as core pillar of corporate strategy

  • Attracting and retaining top talent through ESG priorities

  • Sustainability as a catalyst for innovation

  • The evolving role of corporate governance vis-a-vis sustainability

A new paradigm For sustainability: Where do we go from here?

How has scrutiny of ESG shifted the business case (and approach) for sustainability and the need for action? An anti-ESG movement and the roll-back on DEI - particularly in the US - has led some organizations to put the brakes on promoting their sustainability goals, which in turn can create risks for the business.

The world is not moving in lockstep on the sustainability issue. With fragmented priorities across the globe, multinational companies are struggling to build a strategy that will be well-received by stakeholders in all jurisdictions.

How can legal departments and business leaders continue to push the business case for sustainability in the current landscape?

Discussion topics include:

  • Recognizing variable speeds of adoption/integration

  • Geographic differences in approaches/views on sustainability’s role in organizational strategy

  • Multinational company perspectives vs. local perspectives

  • Risks of ignoring sustainability

  • How do we continue to bolster the business case for sustainability?