Udhyam ESG Forum

 

Focus: A comprehensive guide to the ongoing effort to standardize global sustainability reporting, focusing on the merger and transition of major frameworks.

Key Points:

• ISSB and IFRS S1/S2: Detailed explanation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and its core standards, and their goal of creating a global baseline.

• The Double Materiality Principle: Contrasting "financial materiality" (risk to the company) with "impact materiality" (risk from the company on people/planet), and its role in European regulations (e.g., CSRD).

• Mandatory vs. Voluntary: Charting the global shift from voluntary standards (like GRI) to mandatory reporting regimes.

• Implications for Practitioners: Practical steps companies need to take to align their current reporting with the converging global standards.

 

Focus: Examining the evolving legal and financial obligations of corporate boards and executives regarding environmental and social risks.

Key Points:

• Legal Precedents: Analyzing court cases or legal opinions that establish climate change as a material financial risk requiring board oversight.

• Board Competency: The need for ESG expertise among directors, and strategies for director recruitment and training.

• Say-on-Climate: The rise of shareholder proposals demanding annual votes on a company’s climate transition plans.

• Risk Management: Integrating Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations into enterprise-wide risk management (ERM) frameworks.

 

Focus: Arguing for the materiality of social factors by detailing methods to quantify and report on human capital risks and opportunities.

Key Points:

• Metrics Deep Dive: Analyzing the utility of metrics like employee turnover rate, gender/pay gap ratios, training investment per employee, and psychological safety index.

• Link to Productivity: Establishing the clear financial link between positive employee experience, lower turnover, and long-term operating margin.

• Reporting Standards: Discussing the limited, yet growing, requirements for Human Capital Management (HCM) disclosure (e.g., from SASB/ISSB).

• The Future of Work: The ESG implications of automation, gig work, and the shift to remote/hybrid models.

 

Focus: An advanced technical and strategic look at managing indirect value chain emissions, which often constitute the vast majority of a company's total footprint.

Key Points:

• Technical Challenges: The difficulties of data collection, verification, and boundary-setting for various Scope 3 categories (e.g., purchased goods, employee commuting).

• Value Chain Engagement: Strategies for collaborating with suppliers and customers to reduce upstream and downstream emissions.

• Financial Impact: How material Scope 3 risks affect a company's valuation, cost of capital, and transition planning.

• Innovative Solutions: Exploring emerging technologies and reporting tools designed specifically for Scope 3.

Focus: A detailed analysis of recent regulatory crackdowns (e.g., in the EU, US, or UK) on companies making misleading environmental claims.

Key Points:

• Defining Greenwashing and its evolution from marketing fluff to a legal liability. 
• Case Studies: Detailed breakdowns of companies fined or sued for greenwashing. 
• Regulatory Frameworks: In-depth look at specific rules like the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) or potential SEC climate rules. 
• Investor Due Diligence: How institutional investors are fighting back against deceptive disclosures.

Event Name: 2023 ESG Virtual Forum 2023
We are just publishing the event and do not take any reponsibility and/or cancellation of the event

When it comes to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration, companies can engage with stakeholders in various ways. According to a blog post by Jambo1, stakeholder engagement is a crucial component of ESG strategy. Here are some ways companies can engage with stakeholders on ESG issues: 

But how now? in this zoned quest, does Ahab touch no land? does his crew drink air? Surely, he will stop for water. Nay. For a long time, now, the circus-running sun has raced within his fiery ring, and needs no sustenance but what's in himself. So Ahab. Mark this, too, in the whaler. While other hulls are loaded down with alien stuff, to be transferred to foreign wharves; the world-wandering whale-ship carries no cargo but herself and crew, their weapons and their wants. She has a whole lake's contents bottled in her ample hold. She is ballasted with utilities; not altogether with unusable pig-lead and kentledge. She carries years' water in her. Clear old prime Nantucket water; which, when three years afloat, the Nantucketer, in the Pacific, prefers to drink before the brackish fluid, but yesterday rafted off in casks, from the Peruvian or Indian streams. Hence it is, that, while other ships may have gone to China from New York, and back again, touching at a score of ports, the whale-ship, in all that interval, may not have sighted one grain of soil; her crew having seen no man but floating seamen like themselves. So that did you carry them the news that another flood had come; they would only answer—"Well, boys, here's the ark!"
Now, as many Sperm Whales had been captured off the western coast of Java, in the near vicinity of the Straits of Sunda; indeed, as most of the ground, roundabout, was generally recognised by the fishermen as an excellent spot for cruising; therefore, as the Pequod gained more and more upon Java Head, the look-outs were repeatedly hailed, and admonished to keep wide awake. But though the green palmy cliffs of the land soon loomed on the starboard bow, and with delighted nostrils the fresh cinnamon was snuffed in the air, yet not a single jet was descried. Almost renouncing all thought of falling in with any game hereabouts, the ship had well nigh entered the straits, when the customary cheering cry was heard from aloft, and ere long a spectacle of singular magnificence saluted us.

But here be it premised, that owing to the unwearied activity with which of late they have been hunted over all four oceans, the Sperm Whales, instead of almost invariably sailing in small detached companies, as in former times, are now frequently met with in extensive herds, sometimes embracing so great a multitude, that it would almost seem as if numerous nations of them had sworn solemn league and covenant for mutual assistance and protection. To this aggregation of the Sperm Whale into such immense caravans, may be imputed the circumstance that even in the best cruising grounds, you may now sometimes sail for weeks and months together, without being greeted by a single spout; and then be suddenly saluted by what sometimes seems thousands on thousands.
Broad on both bows, at the distance of some two or three miles, and forming a great semicircle, embracing one half of the level horizon, a continuous chain of whale-jets were up-playing and sparkling in the noon-day air. Unlike the straight perpendicular twin-jets of the Right Whale, which, dividing at top, fall over in two branches, like the cleft drooping boughs of a willow, the single forward-slanting spout of the Sperm Whale presents a thick curled bush of white mist, continually rising and falling away to leeward.
Seen from the Pequod's deck, then, as she would rise on a high hill of the sea, this host of vapoury spouts, individually curling up into the air, and beheld through a blending atmosphere of bluish haze, showed like the thousand cheerful chimneys of some dense metropolis, descried of a balmy autumnal morning, by some horseman on a height.
As marching armies approaching an unfriendly defile in the mountains, accelerate their march, all eagerness to place that perilous passage in their rear, and once more expand in comparative security upon the plain; even so did this vast fleet of whales now seem hurrying forward through the straits; gradually contracting the wings of their semicircle, and swimming on, in one solid, but still crescentic centre.
Crowding all sail the Pequod pressed after them; the harpooneers handling their weapons, and loudly cheering from the heads of their yet suspended boats. If the wind only held, little doubt had they, that chased through these Straits of Sunda, the vast host would only deploy into the Oriental seas to witness the capture of not a few of their number. And who could tell whether, in that congregated caravan, Moby Dick himself might not temporarily be swimming, like the worshipped white-elephant in the coronation procession of the Siamese! So with stun-sail piled on stun-sail, we sailed along, driving these leviathans before us; when, of a sudden, the voice of Tashtego was heard, loudly directing attention to something in our wake.

Integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into an investment’s strategy is a growing trend. ESG integration considers how a company’s policies or practices could impact society and the environment, in addition to its financial performance1. Rather than defining a specific set of requirements, this strategy embeds ESG considerations into a firm’s existing investment process2.

According to Harvard Business School Online, ESG integration is a strategic lens that positions companies with high material ESG ratings as investment opportunities that can increase a portfolio’s return2. The strategy focuses on factors that directly impact how a company operates, known as material ESG factors2. For example, if you own a small technology company with 10 employees, data security would be considered a material ESG issue because your business handles user data2.

Integrating ESG factors into the investment process can help investors better understand a company’s ESG performance and make purpose-driven investment decisions2. It aligns financial goals with environmental and social objectives, creating opportunities for positive impact while maximizing returns2.

Please note that these insights are based on general trends and may not capture all the nuances of ESG integration strategies. For more specific information, I recommend consulting industry reports or experts in the field.

When it comes to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration, organizations are increasingly aware that ESG practices need to be part of their broader strategy. This is because ESG risks can impact long-term financial health, resilience, and continuity1. Addressing ESG exposure can help mitigate vulnerabilities, highlight opportunities for corporate innovation, enhance stakeholder relations, and enable a competitive edge1.
ESG risks vary widely and are becoming more relevant. They include physical risk from climate change (“E”), reputational risk from social injustice (“S”), and regulatory risk from corruption (“G”)2. Understanding the full spectrum of an organization’s ESG risk exposure is vital for developing an integrated business strategy1.
For investors, considering ESG risks before capital investment is crucial. ESG risks can arise from various sources, including environmental regulations, social and political changes, and governance issues3. Evaluating these risks can have a significant impact on investment performance and value3.
Please note that these insights are based on general trends and may not capture all the nuances of ESG risks and opportunities. For more specific information, I recommend consulting industry reports or experts in the field.
Source: 1. kpmg.com 2. vinciworks.com 3. timesofindia.indiatimes.com 4. ey.com 5. garp.org +2 more