ESGTree, a leading environmental, social, governance (ESG) software platform for private capital investors, and Together|Ensemble (TE), Canada’s national conference to track progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are partnering to host Sustainable Finance Experts at this year’s conference in Waterloo, Ontario.

This novel collaboration will bring together a diverse array of sustainability leaders from across North America to Waterloo’s renowned innovation ecosystem.

As Organizing Partner, ESGTree will join the University of Waterloo and Government of Canada to address how private capital investors can contribute more effectively to the UN SDGs, through measures like Impact Investing, SDG Financing, and Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). Its panel features leading voices from Pension Funds and large Asset Managers to grassroots level Community Foundations that will lend their unique perspectives on the intersections between Sustainable Finance and the SDGs.

“Through collecting and conversing, we can accelerate the adoption of sustainable finance practices for a more resilient future,” said Majid Mirza, CEO of ESGTree.

The UN SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Together|Ensemble provides a vital, recurring opportunity for the private sector, academia, government, and civil society to come together to evaluate their SDG progress and holistically address Canada’s toughest sustainable development challenges.

Private capital markets play a unique role in achieving the SDGs as they have influence over tens of thousands of companies worldwide. Private markets now control $14.7 trillion in AUM after growing at an annualized rate of 12.8% from 2012 to 2022, vastly outpacing publicly traded stocks and bonds.

Key Conference Highlights:

• 200-250 delegates from Canada, the US and Mexico, encompassing seasoned professionals from diverse sectors, including financial institutions, corporations, academia, non-profit sector, government and students.
• The Sustainable Finance Stream will feature leading voices from University Pension Plan, K1 Investment Management, FinDev Canada, Sarona Asset Management, Deetken Impact, MEDA, Waterloo Region Community Foundation, Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab, and others.
• Topics include sustainable finance, future cities, and the application of AI and emerging technology for eco-innovation.
• Interactive and case study-based workshops.
• Bilingual format featuring live interpretation for all streamed sessions online.

  Event Details:

• Date: May 28th–29th, 2024
  
• Location: Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA). Some sessions will also be streamed online
  
• Website: https://togetherensemble.ca/

According to PwC and Harvard, 81% of institutional investors in the US plan to increase their allocations to ESG products over the next two years, almost on par with Europe (83.6%).

This would effectively more than double the ESG AUM in the US, over a five year period, from US$4.5 trillion in 2021 to US$10.5 trillion in 2026. This is forecasted despite the complexities of administrations changes and some state governments continuing to push back on ESG (https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2022/11/17/exponential-expectations-for-esg/)

So how can the friction between institutional investors (limited partners) and private equity firms (general partners) be reduced, while leveraging technology solutions to improve efficiency and reduce cost?

Tanya answers this question from her long-standing role as both investor and convener, offering a unique perspective on this prevalent problem. 

Private equity has turned a corner on responsible investment with the help of the EDCI, which boasts a global membership of 350+ Limited Partners and General Partners that are collaborating with various stakeholders to drive convergence around ESG metrics. The aim is to generate a critical mass of comparable information on how GPs’ portfolio companies are performing on ESG relative to each other, as well as to promote greater reporting transparency for limited partners (LPs).

The EDCI is collaborating with ESGTree in this endeavour, where both parties are committed to propagating the adoption of a standard set of metrics across the investment sector.

Thanks to this collaboration, ESGTree clients can directly submit their reports to the EDCI by using the ESGTree platform. They can also:

–   Easily calculate scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for their portfolio companies with ESGTree’s proprietary Carbon Calculator.

–   Build internal capacity with step-by-step guidance on how to report on EDCI metrics via our Client Success Team.

Shahzeb Irshad, Senior Vice President of Operations at ESGTree, affirmed,

“Our collaboration with EDCI highlights our commitment to solve for the lack of standardized ESG metrics.”