The Sustainable Finance/ESG Agenda: What Do Directors Need to Know?

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This event is now booked out. If you have any queries, or wish to be added to the cancellation list, please contact the IoD Events Team.

Event Details

Our in-person Briefing with Laura Heuston, Director and Co-Founder, SustainabilityWorks, will take place in The Westbury Hotel, on Thursday, 8th September 2022. At this event, Laura will present a session titled ‘The Sustainable Finance/ESG Agenda: What Do Directors Need to Know?’

Laura will give an overview of: the key stakeholders driving the sustainable finance agenda, and why they are doing so; and why she regards sustainable finance policy and regulation as a political Trojan horse that is being used to drive corporate action on environmental and social issues. She will outline why global sustainability challenges and trends, and climate change in particular, are of strategic relevance to all corporates regardless of sector or size. Laura will also offer insights into: how corporate sustainability strategies are developed; the role of the board with regards to sustainability and ESG; and immediate next steps that individual directors can take to ensure that they can provide the strategic guidance and oversight their companies need on these issues.  

Please note, there will be a facilitated Q&A after Laura's presentation. 

The IoD Briefings Series is sponsored by Accenture.

This event is exclusive to IoD Ireland members and is free of charge.

Laura Heuston has in-depth expertise in sustainable finance and ESG, with a particular focus on investment and banking, and on EU and global sustainable finance policy and regulation. In previous roles with KPMG and Airtricity, she specialised in working with corporates and asset managers in renewable energy and energy efficiency finance, advising on transaction structures for national and international M&A, disposals, fundraising and other transactions. In 2017, she was the lead author on a report for the Irish Government on how Ireland should position its international financial services offering to seize green and sustainable finance-related opportunities and she subsequently pivoted her career to focus wholly on the then emerging area of sustainable finance. 

Laura is a Founding Director of SustainabilityWorks (SW), a boutique, multi-disciplinary sustainability and ESG consulting firm. Bringing together financial, business and communications know-how, SustainabilityWorks advises real economy and financial services clients, as well as public and non-profit organisations. The organisation supports clients to develop robust sustainability/ESG strategies for their organisations and then to implement those strategies and transparently report on progress through ESG reporting. Laura also develops and delivers board briefings and training on sustainability and sustainable finance at an organisational and at a national level. 

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Chartered Tax Adviser, Laura also lectures in sustainable finance at UCD Smurfit Business School and at the Institute of Banking. She is a member of the Investment Committee of the Temporis Capital Aurora Renewable Energy Fund and is on the Board of the Irish Green Building Council.

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations services and Accenture Song—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 710,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

Queries

For any queries with regard to this online event, please contact Anna Hannigan, Events Manager, IoD Ireland.

Registration

Please register using the 'Book Now' button. Please note registration will be taken on a first come first served basis. Once the event is booked out, a waiting list will be in operation. For this reason, please notify Anna Hannigan, Events Manager, IoD Ireland, if you can no longer attend the event. Thank you in advance. 

Agenda

Registration will open from 5:00pm on Thursday, 8th September, with the Briefing starting promptly at 5:15pm, followed by Q&A. Refreshments will be served from 6:00pm to 6:45pm to allow members to network after the event.

Venue Details

This event will take place in the Grafton Suite, at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin 2.

Photography

Photography will also be taken at the event for marketing and promotional purposes. For further information, please contact: comms@iodireland.ie. 

CPD

IoD events/webinars may be eligible for CPD, including Chartered Director CPD, please check with your relevant professional body.

Please note, in advance of this event, we will be sending the attendee list to all registered attendees and our sponsor. This attendee sheet will include the name and company name of all registered attendees (as per their membership details). 

Should you wish to connect with a fellow member who registered for this event, please reach out to them via the IoD Members’ LinkedIn Group, or email us directly and we will try to facilitate this on your behalf. For more information, please contact Anna Hannigan, Events Manager, IoD Ireland. 

For GDPR reasons, we cannot provide contact details on the attendee list.