BISCAY ESG global summit 2017
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On 11 and 12 June, 2018 international experts gathered in Bizkaia to discuss responsible investment (ESG) at the II Biscay ESG Global Summit.

Testimonials 2017

Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri

Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri

Chairman of Bankia

“Bankia is now embarking on a new stage of growth. And we have set up a strategic plan for this new stage that will be our roadmap for the coming three years.

Our goal is to be Spain’s best bank. We are therefore using a model that we call a responsible management model.

This management model must allow us to continue to be a leader among the main banks, in terms of efficiency, profitability and solvency.

We must ensure excellent service for all stakeholders in order for the financial results to be sustainable. Because sustainability is not only based on economic results, but also on how they are achieved. The whys are as important as the wherefores. Our responsible management model is based on four fundamental cornerstones: First-rate corporate government, satisfied customers, a committed team, and the contribution and commitment to society.

We are also going to delve further into the concept of responsible digitalisation, where privacy and appropriate management of our customers' data are our absolute benchmark.

This is the model to which we aspire”.

Carlota García-Mañas

Carlota García-Mañas

Deputy Head of Engagement, Church of England

What is the investment policy of an ethical investor?
Responsible investors are investors first and foremost, they have fiduciary duties to their beneficiaries and hence they are return seekers with standard investment objectives (target return and risk). What makes them responsible is that they embed responsible parameters in their investment strategy. This means that they will be elements considered in the investment that may not be part of traditional financial fundamentals (e.g. climate risk).

Ethical investors, have restrictions in their investments. As ethical investors we do so because it is right thing to do for us, not for risk return reasons. We accept there is a risk returns in the short-term could be impacted, but we do not see it negatively impacting returns in the longer-term.

How do you include non-financial parameters when investing?
For integration of non-financial factors we have a responsible investment framework (published policy here) and rating system. One has to be patient but consistent with managers on RI expectations and work with them on a journey in a way that suits their culture, investment approach and client base.

How do you track down the achievement of those non-financial targets?
In terms of tracking ESG characteristics we track and report a number of parameters, e.g. CO2 portfolio emissions, with input from external data providers. We will be looking to track impact further through the expansion of our Responsible Investment team into Impact Investment. Clearly we expect our impact managers to report in detail on the positive impacts achieved by their strategy. We encourage ESG reporting from all our managers. We also re-evaluate our managers’ ratings regularly and track their progress.

We also have internal systems that track each engagement and voting activity and the team works very closely on communicating the progress made with a particular company. This systems includes mechanisms of “escalation” by which we may take a stronger stance against a particular resolution at a company's AGM. We equally are in close communication with our managers and exchange views about our holdings.

Which problems have been the most difficult to overcome?
From an engagement perspective, making sure data is accurate and up-to-date is challenging. There are also the geographical barriers and general governance barriers by which an investor has difficulty accessing a dialogue with the Board.

With regard to responsible investment, we find there is less penetration of RI practices in alternatives and the US market, although this is beginning to change.

How do you unify the investment criteria for Christian investors? (because there might be very diverse approach among members of the Church of England).
We do not feel our role or objective is to unify Christian responsible investment practice. However, we work in close alignment with two other National Investing Bodies of the Church of England. We share the Ethical Investment Advisory Group that provides unified ethical guidelines for the three bodies. In practical terms, the teams meet and communicate regularly to align the elements of the investment that are common. But each, due to their legal and status requirements, has its own investment strategy.

We also work with other Christian investors through the Church investors Group. We feel that individual Christian institutions should find their own expression of RI that is right for them. What we try to do is to share our experience and the tools we use, and facilitate collaboration, so that it is clear that everyone can do something to reflect their values and priorities in the way they invest.

What is your roadmap for the next 5 years?
We aim to remain a responsible investor of reference and to drive progress in incorporating ESG across the investment industry and businesses. We pride ourselves of the professionalism of our staff, our thought leadership and will continue working on issues at the forefront of the responsible and ethical investment agenda. In particular, we are very active contributors and participants in engagement platforms promoting alignment with the Paris Agreement for Climate Change and have a number of public engagements through the IIGCC and Climate Action 100+.

Wim Van Hyfte

Wim Van Hyfte

Global Head of Responsible Investments and Research at Candriam

“In times of geopolitical and socio-economic uncertainty, it is time for the international investment community to write a new chapter in its history: one that takes a holistic view on the interplay between long-term development and the opportunities and risks that stem from sustainability, and one, too, that fully appreciates the socio-economic value of sustainability in investment decisions for all stakeholders”.

Jesus Martinez

Jesús Martínez Pérez

Director of Finance and Treasury, Iberdrola

"At Iberdrola, we conduct our operations with the focus on the expectations of our stakeholders in order to maximise the creation of sustainable value. The Iberdrola strategy embodies all this: our commitment to combating climate change and the close relationship with the communities where we operate are highly recognised and acclaimed aspects. In this regard, green funding, where we are world leaders at corporate level, is an additional part of our commitment to invest in renewable aspects and those that contribute to improving efficiency and, therefore, sustainable growth by cutting CO2 emissions.

Social Responsibility, or sustainability, or as it is known in the English Speaking world, the ESG approach, are the path to create a fairer and more sustainable world. The organisation of events such as the Biscay ESG Global Summit is essential to extend this view to all economic stakeholders and society as a whole. Iberdrola, in keeping with its sustainable growth strategy and commitment to combating climate change, is proud to partner whose initiatives".

Thierry Bogaty

Thierry Bogaty

Head of Socially Responsible Investments at Amundi

“The Summit successfully gathered international experts of the ESG ecosystem: leading financial professionals committed to responsible investment,and also public authorities which demonstrate a strong involvement about ESG questions”.

Sylvain Lambert

Sylvain Lambert

Partner PwC

"The Biscay ESG Global Summit 2017 was a tremendous source of inspiration. The debates were very rich and animated by high level panellists. I was impressed by the quality and accuracy of the discussions. The summit was a great opportunity to meet inspiring people and to share our views on responsible finance."

Mark Lewis

MARK LEWIS

Financial Stability Board

What do you think about Bizkaia Provincial Council’s initiative to push for a new and sustainable way of doing finance?
I think the initiative is a very appropriate as it is very relevant and highly topical. We are witnessing a profound shift in the way that investors think about the sustainability of finances, but sustainable finances are not only important for investors, but for everyone. Ultimately, the use of ESG criteria is merely an effort to change the investment process and horizon. It is about looking at long-term horizons, beyond the short-sightedness of the markets. This way of long-term investing considers factors that are ignored in the typical short-term investment processes and they are key factors. I therefore believe that it is the right time for Bizkaia Provincial Council to drive the use of ESG criteria and sustainability in finance.

Something is changing in the financial world. But do ESG criteria have a future or is it a trend that will die in the near future?
There is no turning back on the use of ESG criteria when investing. I still remember that, in 2005, when the carbon market was in its infancy in Europe, a company in the energy sector told me that they had some other emissions initiative in place, but that they were not convinced that climate change was caused by humans and that they did not have much faith in the carbon market. And that was all about acid rain. But very important changes have taken place since then: the acid rain that was the talking point back then has disappeared as legislators have solved it by passing policies. And there is increasingly telling evidence that humans are the main cause of climate change. There are fewer and fewer people who challenge this evidence.

The vast majority of investors have accepted that fact as reality. And even the sceptics have accepted that governments around the world are prioritising combating climate change. Accordingly, those sceptical investors just have no other option than to accept the regulatory framework and we can consequently say that the battle has been won.

We can therefore say that this is no fad. Anybody who insists on ignoring those social, economic and regulatory signals about the importance of ESG criteria will not have a very long future in this industry. Just as Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, the largest investment fund manager in the world, pointed out in his latest letter to the CEOs of the leading US companies: “if you do not take the environmental and social impact of your businesses into account, there will be no room for you in our portfolios".

How are we all doing in relation to the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement?
Two different points need to be stressed here.

The first thing to be taken into account is that there is a discrepancy between the Paris Agreement between what is, on the one hand, the long-term target of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 ºC above pre-industrial levels, and, on the other hand, the level of ambition expressed by nearly all the national approaches in Paris. The problem is that the Paris Agreement sets the target, but does not provide the solution. Every five years, and as was to be expected, all countries have to review their level of ambition. In 2018, the countries are going to update their progress for the first time so that they can commit to new targets in 2023. The positive aspect is that governments are going to have greater flexibility in the future thanks to developments in technology. Thanks to technology, it will be increasingly easier for every politician to have a greater level of ambition when setting targets to combat climate change. You just have to look at how quickly offshore wind power technology is developing, thus dramatically cutting the cost of obtaining electricity, and that is the same with photovoltaics.

The second point that I initially mentioned lies in the need to speed up the level of ambition. COP24 in December 2018 in Katowice (Poland) will be the first opportunity to see that level of ambition. I do not believe that there will be significant breakthroughs, but it will be an important moment politically and symbolically speaking regarding the commitment of the countries. It will have to be seen, for example, if finally the USA still intends to leave the Paris Agreement, as it has recently sent out contradictory messages indicating that it might return to the agreement.

What would your message be for an ordinary citizen that does not believe in ESG or for those that do not give importance to environmental, social and governance issues?
The problem for a citizen is that the concept of climate change is very abstract. It needs to be specified. What we are going to see is that people are gradually becoming even more aware and that is going to force the legislators to respond. For example, very specific measures are being studied in the United Kingdom to cut the use of plastics and thus reduce the amount of plastic waste ending up in the oceans. In fact, the British government is committed to drastically cut plastic consumption by 2040.

However, the impact of climate change needs to be embodied in substantial and specific proof so that everybody can understand its importance.

Rosa García

Rosa García

Non-executive President of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

“ESG principles are part of Siemens Gamesa since the EGS early years (back in 2008), thanks to which we have been able to get those principles and the rationale behind embedded in our Business Strategy. We also take an active role in defining and updating the ESG parameters and the relevance of non financial information by taking part in the Global Reporting Initiative, as well as making our whole organization aware about the ESG relevance by linking monetary compensation to reaching certain ESG goals. All this job and commitment by Siemens Gamesa has been recognized by leading ESG global indexes like Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE4GOOD, Ethibel, ECPI and Global Challenges Index. We thank public institutions, as it is the case for the Provincial Council of Biscay and the Biscay ESG Global Summit, for their active and leading role in this process, which requires the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, and which we believe is the basis of sustainable business model.”

María Luz Castilla

Mª Luz Castilla

Partner PwC

"The Biscay ESG Global Summit 2017 was a first-rate international meeting on ESG, attended by top-tier institutional and financial representatives and from leading corporations in the field of ESG.

Changes in the institutional and regulatory environment have meant that non-financial or ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) aspects are playing an increasingly greater role. The recent implementation of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive requires good governance, environmental and social information to be included in management reports. The Task Force for Climate Disclosure has recommended greater transparency about climate risks. The recent Action Plan of the European Commission is a significant impetus to sustainable finances.

In this context, ESG aspects are marking strategic decisions. The Biscay Global Summit is a inspiring benchmark to analyse latest trends, understand the ESG criteria of investors and analysts and get a close look at the latest corporate and institutional developments in ESG as explained by leading figures in the field. A meeting that should be in every top manager’s diary”.

Steven Smit

Steven Smit

Head of Sustainability at Morningstar, Inc.

“The conference succeeded in attracting a broad range of stakeholders (companies, investors, government) who learned more about how ESG can benefit their organizations. The conference was a good place for networking, learning and sharing ideas relating to sustainable investing. The conference had senior attendance and was very well organized.”

Josu Jon Imaz

Josu Jon Imaz

Repsol CEO

“Sustainability must be a strategic target for companies, in addition to being a key aspect for many investors in our companies. Therefore, our ever-growing pursuit is for investors that invest using ESG criteria. This event is very useful to share experiences and involve everyone concerned about governance, social and environmental criteria: companies, the investment and financial community, institutions and stakeholders in general. We found the 2017 event to be a very positive experience”.

Jan Poser

Jan Poser

Chief Strategist & Head Sustainability - Bank J. Safra Sarasin

What do you think about the Biscay Government´s initiative to push for a new and sustainable way of doing finance?
The Biscay Government is establishing itself as a reputed thought-leader among its peers of European regional administrations. It has clearly recognized that the economy will need to change the way we produce and consume. This decision will greatly benefit the region of Biscay by transforming it into a hub for future-oriented business models.

Why is it so necessary to use ESG criteria when investing?
An analysis is incomplete if it does not integrate ESG factors, because it neglects an important set of relevant data. Moreover, global sustainability trends will be determining the business place of tomorrow. Ignoring these trends will almost certainly lead to business failure. A thorough integration of material ESG factors into decision-making is the only way forward, be it on a public, on a company or on a financial markets level.

Does an investor have to give up return when investing using ESG criteria?
There are by now so many academic studies that show that ESG factors can even increase returns. The reason is obvious: ignoring important data does not help performance. I would conclude from this that ESG integration is a fiduciary duty for all investors towards the beneficiaries of the investments.

What would your message be for those investors that do not believe in ESG or for those that haven´t decided yet to invest using ESG criteria?
ESG will deepen and broaden your horizon. It will lead to more informed discussions on investments. It is a powerful tool to engage with your asset managers, your clients and beneficiaries and your investee companies. Even if it did not raise performance, it would raise the level of passion everywhere as portfolios will have a better profile in terms of controversies, carbon footprint and many other criteria for the sustainability of our planet.

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Jesús Martínez

Graduated in Economic Sciences and complementary subjects in Business Studies (University of the Basque Country-UPV – Bilbao).
Master’s Degree in Finances (Deusto Commercial University – BIlbao).
Jesús Martínez has spent most of his professional career in Iberduero, S.A and Iberduero, S.A where he has held different management positions. He is currently Director of Finance and Treasury, and had previously been Head of the Debt Management and Administration Department and Head of Banking Management. He previously worked as the Commercial Manager at Banco Atlántico and as Head of the Administrative Department at Belgicast.
Member of the Iberdrola Pension Plan Supervisory Committee.
Board Member of Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción.
Founding Member of the Spanish Risk Management Club.
Frequent speaker at conferences and seminars of the Basque Professional Association of Economists, UNESA, etc.
Contributor to financial publications with specialist articles.

Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri

Born in Bilbao in 1954. Married and with two children. Graduated in Economics and Business Administration from Deusto University. Finances and Strategic Planning from Leeds University (U.K.). Lecturer at Deusto Commercial University, in the Strategic Planning Area (1977-1979).

Professional career: Joined the Bank of Bilbao in the Strategic Planning Area in 1977. In 1992, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri became General Director of BBV and he was appointed to its Steering Committee in 1994, where he was head of Commercial Banking in Spain and for Latin-American operations. In April 2001, he became General Director of the BBVA Group and head of Retail Banking globally. In December of that same year, he was appointed as the CEO of the BBVA Group, a post that he held until October 2009. Since May 2012, he has been the Chairman of Bankia and of BFA.

During his extensive professional career, Goirigoizarri has been a Member of the Board and Vice-Chairman of Telefónica, Vice-Chairman of Repsol and Chairman of the Spain-USA Foundation, and a Board Member of BBVA Bancomer in Mexico and Citic Bank in China.

Goirigoizarri is currently Chairman of Bankia and of BFA, Vice-Chairman of CECA, Chairman of Garum Fundatio, Vice-Chairman of Deusto Business School and Chairman of the Franklin Institute Advisory Board.

Fernando Acebrón

Fernando Acebron is Governmental Affairs Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Ford Spain since 2015 and Member of the Board of Directors since 2017, leading all the institutional and governmental relations in Spain related to both industrial and commercial activities of the Company.

He was previously Industry and Market Director of ANFAC (Spanish Manufacturers’ Association). He joined ANFAC in 1999, and was appointed as Technical Director in 2007.

He has been a Member of the Executive Committee in AENOR (Spanish Standards Association), elected Vice-President in June 2014 and Vice-President of SIGRAUTO (Spanish Association for ELV treatment).

He is currently a Member of the Board of ASEPA (Spanish Automotive Engineering Society).

He is a Professor, Master Programs (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid) and has served as Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering – Polytechnic School of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2002-2012).

He is an Industrial Engineer and holds a master degree in Automotive Engineering and Business.

Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni

Coordinating the sustainability group strategy and deployment; audited by the board of directors

  • Versus customers car manufacturers (OEMs) and external stakeholders
  • Financial arena: Registration document, ISR investors and sustainability road-shows
  • Coordination of industrial sustainable policy: suppliers/risk& environment/R&D eco-design
  • Coordination of social and societal actions (internally and externally)

Sustainability internal and external dimension (Global Compact, UNECE, UNIDO, GRI, and internally: social training, teaching at INSEAD CEDEP to the high potential collegues).
Brought the group from below average to best in class level (Dow Jones Sustainability Index DJSI N ° 1 position amongst >40 worldwide competitors in the auto sector, according to extra-financial ratings) Valeo declared 3rd most sustainable corporation worldwide (Davos 2018).

In charge of multilateral and governmental affairs in 30+ countries of operations and multilateral bodies in relation with the group (EU, European Investment Bank relations, World Bank, OECD). Coordinating the public affairs of the group national directorates in each country/region of operations. Negociating with ministerial/head of government level.

Supply chain financial responsibility in the state-owned French strategic fund in automotive industry: Member of Selection and Investment Committees of French Suppliers’ Modernization Fund (Fonds Avenir Automobile (rang 2), part of Banque Publique d’Investissement, BPI).

Public funding in transversal public/private partnerships multiple research projects (collaborative, pre-competitive research out of group >11% gross expenditure in R&D), trainings, investments.

Ralf Pfitzner

Since January 2018, Ralf Pfitzner leads the sustainability department of Volkswagen AG. His responsibilities include the global governance for sustainability at the Volkswagen Group and its brands. Targeted focus areas are linking sustainability activities closer to the core business of Volkswagen and acting on climate change mitigation. Among others, his responsibilities covers incorporation of sustainability in the “Together Strategy 2025”, setup and implementation of sustainability initiatives, sustainability reporting, stakeholder engagement, rankings and ratings as well as Volkswagen’s Corporate Citizenship strategy.

From 2004 to 2017, Ralf Pfitzner was Vice President Corporate Strategy – Sustainability – Resource & Energy Efficiency at Siemens AG. There, he was in charge of decarbonization and climate change topics. He led the global “CO2-neutral Siemens” program with the goal of CO2-neutral operations by 2030 and was in charge of the Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio, consisting of highly energy efficient products & solutions and renewable energies, accounting for €39bn in revenue in fiscal 2017 and helping Siemens customers save about 570 Million metric tons of CO2, more than half of Germany’s annual CO2 emissions. Prior to that position, he was in charge of Sustainability ratings such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index that evaluated Siemens as most sustainable industrial company (“Industry Group Leader”) in 2014.

Previously, Ralf Pfitzner managed the department of Product-Related Environmental Protection of Siemens AG. Before he joined Siemens in 2004, Ralf Pfitzner was Senior Executive at KPMG Sustainability Services. From 1995 to 1999, he was Project Manager at the Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment, Berlin.

Ralf Pfitzner has a degree in Engineering and Environmental Technologies (Technical University of Berlin) and studied Environmental Sciences at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (Swiss Federal Technical University). Furthermore, he successfully completed the General Management Program (GMP) at Harvard Business School in 2012.

Paolo Bersani

Paolo is an Italian Partner in PwC where he leads the Italian Performance Assurance practice. Since 2006 he is in charge of the Sustainability and Climate Change team. They help companies get the value they expect from their corporate communication, increasing transparency, trust from stakeholders and strengthening their reputation and brand. Paolo has a wide experience in Non Financial Reporting (IIRC, GRI, AA1000APS, GBS, etc) and represents PwC Italy on the IIRC Business Network after having participated to the IIRC Pilot programme. He has an active role in the professional community participating to the main research groups, committees and associations that, in Italy, are active on these topics.

• With the firm since 2006
• Performance Assurance leader
• Sustainability and Climate Change Leader
• Since 1998 he engaged on the principles, models and reporting systems on non-financial information and performance and the evolution of Corporate Reporting.
• Impact models
• Stakeholders’ engagement
• Sustainability strategy
• and Integrated Thinking
• Risk management (design and implementation ERM framework)
• Internal Audit Services
• Compliance resulting from rules and / or policies / business management systems to control risks
• Since 1996 Chartered accountants and Certified Auditor
• Since 2001, member of the Confindustria Committee guidelines on the Italian Legislative Decree no. 231 of 2001
• Since 2006: member of the ASSIREVI Research Group on NFI-Non Financial Information.
• In 2006-2010 member of the Governing Council of the GBS (Study Group for the Social Report)
• Since 2010: member of the Board of Directors CDAF-ANDAF of Turin
• October 2010: organizer, with ANDAF, the first Italian conference on Integrated Report (Bologna)
• In 2012-2014 member of the Italian Group of Companies IIRC Pilot (International Integrated Reporting Council)
• Since 2014 in the IIRC Italian Business Network
• Since 2014 member of the Scientific Committee of the GBS (Gruppo di Studio sul Bilancio sociale)
• Since 2015 member of

Anne Catherine

Is expert of sustainable finance in Europe, as such, she is deeply involved in promoting European best practices. After leading the development of Novethic.fr as editor in chief in 2001, she was promoted Chief Executive Officer in 2006 to boost Novethic’s positive impacts, and accelerate the sustainable transformation of financial institutions, companies and committed citizens. In 2017, she joined the EU High-Level Expert Group on sustainable finance (HLEG) which final reports has guided and inspired the European Commission Action Plan. Fully committed to an inclusive and low-carbon European economy, Anne-Catherine is a tireless advocate with several bodies, speaking regularly at conferences internationally and on social networks.She is an active member in many initiatives as Finance for Tomorow or MENE (corporate movement for new economy).

Helena Viñes-Fiestas

Helena Viñes heads the Sustainability Centre, an internal think-tank that oversights and works to improve the sustainability footprint of BNPP AM’s investments, including the fund’s responsible investment and ownership policies. She leads the research, analysis and policy of BNPP AM. She equally represents the investment branch of BNP Paribas in a series of networks and initiatives such as the Principles of Responsible Investment. She is board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and co-chairs their working group on Climate-related disclosures. She is equally a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Green Finance Advisory Group, the EFAMA group on ESG and the Technical Advisory Group of the LSE-led Transition Pathway Initiative.  She worked previously at Oxfam where she led Oxfam’s advocacy work on responsible investment and engagement with institutional investors in support of poverty reduction.  She is the author of numerous papers and articles, including a book.

Sara Lovisolo

Sara is responsible for sustainability management and strategy at London Stock Exchange Group, with focus on policy analysis.  She is an active member of the Consultative Group of the UN-backed Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and of the City of London’s Green Finance Initiative. She is also co-chair of the working group tasked with setting up the Italian government-backed Sustainable Financial Centre. She has a Masters in Economics and has co-authored a number of publications on the impact of taxation on the cost of capital.

Jordi Albareda Ureta

Since its creation in Bilbao in 2015, the Fair Saturday Foundation is working to foster more developed and inclusive territories through culture. As a result, the Fair Saturday movement was born. The day following Black Friday, cultural organisations from all over the world get together in a participatory festival which aim is to generate social and cultural impact. In just three years, the Fair Saturday movement is present in more than 100 cities at an international level. The Fair Saturday Foundation has recently launched the project “Invisible Barriers”, an innovative patronage cultural programme for children from environments at risk of exclusion.

Jordi has a University Degree in Business Management at Deusto Business School. He started his professional career at McKinsey&Co and later held different positions in the management of several multinationals. Professor in the Deusto Business School and collaborator in “in company” management development programmes. Entrepreneur and advisor of different business projects. Personally involved in different cultural and social projects. Vice-president of the Bilbao Choral Society and the RAIS Foundation. Founder of the San Antonio de Iralabarri Choir, Bilbao.

Through his career in entrepreneurship and social innovation, he has been recognised with different awards, the “2016 Novia Salcedo Award” among them. In 2018 he has also been named “fellow” at the German Marshall Fund.

Arjan de Draaijer

Arjan is a partner at KPMG and has 20 years experience in management consulting and assurance. He is KPMG’s Global lead for True Value and is the managing partner of KPMG’s Dutch Sustainability Services practice. Arjan holds Master degrees in chemical engineering and business administration. His key areas of expertise include societal impact creation and valuation. Arjan has worked with clients in:

– Developing strategies to create value and manage risks in a world that is increasingly shaped by environmental and social megatrends. He engaged with clients in amongst others chemicals, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, industrial products and the financial sector on valuating social and environmental impact with the KPMG True Value methodology and developing strategies to enhance business and societal value and reduce risks.

– Performance improvement: Developing objectives, targets, KPIs and management systems to integrate societal value creation and risk mitigation into business operations and the value chain.

– Reporting and assurance: Developing and assuring integrated and sustainability reports. Setting up the administrative organisation and internal controls to facilitate reliable and transparent (impact) reporting and enable performance improvement.

Arantxa Tapia Otaegi

Astigarraga 1963

The Basque Government’s Minister for Economic Development and Infrastructures since October 2016

EDUCATION
– Industrial Engineer specialising in Electrical Engineering. 1987
PhD cum laude from the University of Navarra. 1992

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
– Lecturer at the School of Engineering of the University of Navarra (1987-1992)
– Professor at the University School of the UPV-EHU (1995-2005)
– Basque Government’s Deputy Minister for Transport and Public Works (2005-2007)
– Provincial Councillor for Mobility and Territorial Planning at Gipuzkoa Provincial Council (2007-2011)
– Chair of the Innovation Committee of Gipuzkoa General Assemblies
EAJ-PNV Member of Parliament in the Spanish Parliament (2011-2012).
Spokesperson for the Basque Parliamentary group on the Economy & Competitiveness, Development, Defence, Education & Sport, Agriculture, Food and the Environment Spanish Parliamentary Committees.
– Basque Government’s Minister for Economic Development and Competitiveness (2012-2016)

Unai Rementeria

President of the Government of Biscay

Date of birth: 10 August 1973.

Academic qualifications: Degree in Law and Diploma in Economics from the University of Deusto, and Diploma in Administrative and Urban Planning Law.

He holds a Master in Legal Practice from the Biscay Bar Association, another in Urban Planning Law from the IVAP, and has a knowledge of public and private accounting.

Career history: He began his professional career in 1999, as Secretary-Comptroller of Nabarniz Town Council.

He also has experience in the private sector. He worked as a lawyer in Administrative Law at the law firm Sanz & Saiz Abogados (1999-2002) and then at the law firm Ibarrondo & Lamikiz, also as a lawyer specializing in Administrative Law (2002-2007). Between 1999 and 2007 he advised several municipalities in the fields of Urban Planning, Environmental and Administrative Law. From 2007 to 2008 he acted as counsel for the Legal Department of the public company Euskal Trenbide Sarea (ETS) and in 2008 for the public company Bizkailur, currently Azpiegiturak.

He was Councillor for Urban Planning and Deputy Mayor of Mundaka from 1999 to 2007 and served as Mayor of this municipality from 2007 until 2013. He was also a member of the regional board of EUDEL, the association of Basque municipalities (2007-2010). In 2009 he was elected as a member of the Basque Parliament, representing the Basque National Party, EAJ-PNV (until 2011). In municipal and regional elections that year he was elected to the Biscay Parliament (Juntas Generales de Bizkaia) and appointed spokesperson for the EAJ-PNV Group.

From January 2013 to 1 July 2015, he was Head of the President’s Office and spokesperson for Government of Biscay (Diputación Foral de Bizkaia).

Other positions held: Chair of the General Council and Executive Committee of the Biscay Transport Board (Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia) and Chair of Metro Bilbao.

Pascal Baranger

Pascal Baranger joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1997 after managing the environmental department of various consulting and engineering firms. He also practiced as an Engineer function for the ANRED, now called ADEME, the French Environmental Agency.

With PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pascal works for audit, consulting and training missions in the sustainability field. He is responsible for performing CSR reporting review in France and he is leading reviews of many French group’s reports.

He also practices many actions of consulting and training, especially in CSR, in environmental management and in ISO 14001.

He is involved since 2006 in the AFNOR working group dedicated to ISO 26000 elaboration and he manages a task force dedicated to CSR reporting.

Filippo Bettini

Filippo Bettini is the Chief Sustainability & Risk Governance Officer at Pirelli.

He holds a degree in biomechanical engineering from Politecnico of Milan and Master in Business Administration from Bocconi University of Milan. Filippo entered Pirelli in 2008 to manage some of the non-core activities of the Group while actively cooperating in company portfolio reshaping. He covers current role since 2010. From 2001 to 2008 he worked in Telecom Italia Group covering roles with increasing responsibility in innovation management until being appointed Chief Strategy Officer. From 1985 to 2001 he worked in biomedical and biotechnology field both in multinational companies and academic research centers.

Filippo is a Board Member of CSR Europe and represents Pirelli in UN Global Compact Lead and in World Business Council for Sustainable Development; he sits in several working groups addressing sustainable mobility programs.

Mª Luz Castilla Porquet

Mª Luz holds a degree in Chemical Sciences and a PDD by IESE, with complementary studies in Marketing and Environmental Sciences at the Wye College-University of London. Sustainability Territory leader in Spain. PwC Participates actively in relevant discussion forums both nationally and internationally.

Mª Luz is a member of the Spanish Green Growth Group, a business group that seeks to promote, together with government, business opportunities on the road to a low carbon economy.

She is a member of the Standing Committee of AECA CSR, a member of the CSR Committee of the College of Chartered Accountants of Catalonia and belongs to the Municipal Council for the Environment and Sustainability of the City of Barcelona.

She has managed several publications on Sustainability and Climate Change and its clients are listed companies, multinationals, SMEs and institutions and public entities.

Alberto Postigo

Alberto Postigo joined Moody’s Inverstors Service in 2002. He is currently based in Madrid with responsibilities as lead analyst for a number of Spanish banks. Before joining the Financial Institutions Group, Mr. Postigo worked in the structured finance group for six years, mostly in the analysis and rating of ABS transactions.

Before joining Moody’s, Mr. Postigo worked at Lucent Technologies as a senior consultant in the switching and networking group. Mr. Postigo holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering by the Universidad de Valladolid as well as a degree in Economics and Business Administration by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis is Managing Director and Head of Research at the Carbon Tracker Initiative. Previously, he was Managing Director and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays (2015-18), Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux (2014-15), and Managing Director and Global Head of Energy Research at Deutsche Bank, where he worked for 14 years until 2013. For the last 15 years, Mark’s research has focused on the overlap between energy and climate change. His work on power, gas, and carbon was ranked Number 1 by Energy Risk magazine in its 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 surveys, and his report on the Paris Climate-Change Agreement was runner-up in the 2015/16 City of London Farsight Award for long-term financial research.

In addition to his experience as a sell-side financial analyst, Mark spent one year as Deputy Head of investor relations at E.ON at the beginning of the Energiewende, and two years as a credit analyst covering the European utility sector at Standard & Poor’s (1997-99). In total, Mark has over 20 years’ experience as a financial analyst covering global energy and environmental markets, and since May 2016 he has been a member of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Mark is a UK and French Citizen and holds a BA (First-Class Hons) in Modern Languages and Economics from Sheffield University, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and an MA from London University.

Xi Li

Dr. Xi Li is currently Associate Professor of Accounting at the London School of Economics. Before joining the LSE in 2016, she worked at Fox School of Business, Temple University and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She earned her PhD in accounting from the London Business School. Dr. Li studies financial reporting and disclosure, corporate social responsibility (CSR), shareholder activism, and debt contracting with a focus on international capital markets. Her studies have been published in leading academic journals in the field of accounting and finance. Her research papers have won several awards, including International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM) Research Award, Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing, and the FIR-PRI Award for Best Published Research Article. Her research findings have been cited by various social media, including Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Pension & Investments, among others. Dr. Li’s current research projects examine internationally coordinated shareholder engagements on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

Luisina Berberian

Luisina Berberian is an Associate Director of the Infrastructure Finance Ratings group of S&P Global Ratings based in Madrid where she has primary responsibilities in a portfolio of project finance transactions.

Luisina’s experience at S&P Global includes five years in Infrastructure Finance Ratings; the analytical group which covers utilities, project finance, PPPs and transportation in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She joined Standard & Poor’s in London in October 2012 and has also worked two years in the Buenos Aires office under the Latin America Utilities & Infrastructure Team. Luisina’s expertise encompasses the European social, renewable energy and transportation infrastructure sectors.

Luisina holds a Business Administration diploma from the Universidad Catolica Argentina.

Ladislas Smia

Ladislas Smia is co-head of the Responsible Investment Research department at Mirova, the Responsible Investment division of Natixis Asset Management.

He began his career at PwC as a consultant in sustainable development, where he spent 3 years. In 2010, he joined Natixis Asset Management as an SRI analyst, specializing in investment in Energy and Information & Communication Technologies.

Ladislas Smia is a graduate of the engineering school “Les Mines de Nancy”. He is also a graduate of the HEC Paris business school, with a Masters in Sustainable Development.

Carlota García-Mañas

Currently serves as Deputy Head of Engagement for the Church Commissioners and Pensions Board. Carlota has a long-standing career in ethical, sustainability and ESG analysis. She initiated her profession in the SRI industry as an analyst for EIRIS (Now VigeoEIRIS) a pioneer in ethical research and analysis. She left EIRIS in 2015 as their Global Head of Research. Carlota has a long relationship with faith investors. For example, as EIRIS head of research provider she serviced the CofE for many years and helped shape some of its ethical policies such as the High Interest Rate Lending policy. In that capacity she also built services and oversaw work for other faith investors such as the Methodist Church.

Carlota is currently completing the ICSA Advanced Certificate in Corporate Governance and has an academic background in Civil Engineering and Environmental Economics.

Carmen Nuzzo

PRI Senior Consultant, Credit Ratings Initiative.

Carmen is senior consultant at the Principles for Responsible Investment where she leads the ESG in Credit Ratings Initiative. The project, which is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, aims at enhancing the transparent and systematic consideration of ESG factors in credit risk analysis by investors and credit rating agencies.

Carmen has over 16 years of experience in economic and market analysis as macroeconomist. She started her career at Salomon Brothers, subsequently working for Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, with stints in the not-for-profit sector, including at ShareAction. Since 2014, the focus of her research has been on Sustainable Economics, publishing in-depth thematic notes related to environmental and social issues, including health, inequality, gender diversity, climate change and the sharing economy.

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