The inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance, bringing together academic experts, practitioners and board directors, will take place at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, between 26 and 28 June 2023.
The conference is a global collaboration between the Centre for Climate Engagement and Climate Governance Initiative, based at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge and Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics with support from the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC).
It brings together academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice.
Conference sessions will include keynotes from Loh Boon Chye, CEO of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Professor Winston Chow, Associate Professor of Urban Climate and Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow at SMU on topics to include corporate governance, leadership, green finance, regulatory frameworks, corporate law and the challenges and obstacles to climate action in the boardroom.
Both the Centre for Climate Engagement and Sim Kee Boon Institute specialise in bridging the academic and practitioner communities in their respective disciplines – In doing so, the Centre for Climate Engagement accelerates climate leadership on corporate boards, with a particular focus on corporate governance and corporate law. It reaches a wide audience of non-executive board directors at a global level through its coordination of the Climate Governance Initiative, an international network of board directors committed to making climate a boardroom priority. SMU’s Sim Kee Boon Institute, on the other hand, conducts applied financial economic research driven by industry and societal needs through multidisciplinary collaborations involving research talent from around the world as well as industry and public-sector partners. The Institute will be hosting this conference over three days at Marina Bay Sands.
“We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Singapore Management University on the inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance. We believe that using a multi-disciplinary approach will help advance the global dialogue on the critical issue of driving corporate climate action” said Emily Farnworth, Director, Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge and Head of Secretariat, Climate Governance Initiative.
Professor Dave Fernandez, Director of Singapore Management University’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics and Co-Director of the Singapore Green Finance Centre, who championed the idea of holding a global academic conference in Singapore to forward the corporate climate governance agenda, said: “Sustainability is a relatively new topic which is gaining traction as a result of the climate crisis. This topic is not going to go away, and we must as a society keep up with the changing times. This is why we have made Sustainable Finance one of the core areas of focus at our institute.”
He continues: “We look forward to hosting this inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance which gives leading academics, non-executive directors and practitioners from sustainability and related fields a platform to discuss new ideas and learn from one another.”
A side-event discussing the key actions from the conference will follow the invitation-only conference, hosted by Climate Governance Singapore, for which SMU is a knowledge partner. This livestreamed session, which will be open to the public, will see academics and practitioners discussing key takeaways for board directors driving climate action. The livestream will take place at 15:30-17:00 SGT on 28 June 2023. Registration for this webinar is available now by clicking here.
The principal outcomes from the conference will be shared with the Climate Governance Initiative’s global network, providing insight into the key discussion points and questions to directors can take to the boardroom.
Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University (SMU) is internationally recognised for its world-class research and distinguished teaching. Established in 2000, SMU’s mission is to generate leading-edge research with global impact and to produce broad-based, creative, and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. SMU’s education is known for its highly interactive, collaborative, and project-based approach to learning
Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics
Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) for Financial Economics at SMU has the mandate to conduct applied financial research which is driven by industry and societal needs. Over the last 15 years, a diverse portfolio of financial research, outreach and training initiatives has been built. Today, the Institute is expanding beyond traditional finance and economics fields, and focuses its efforts on the areas of financial inclusion and education, sustainable finance, financial technology. To maintain our relevance to finance practitioners and policy-makers, SKBI also adopts a view on Asian and global economic trends.
Centre for Climate Engagement
The Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge plays a unique role in bringing leading academic research to a targeted non-executive director audience in a format that enables change. Established to rectify the lack of engagement in climate change mitigation in the corporate community, particularly boards and to support cutting edge research in climate law, governance, disclosure and organisational change, the priority areas for boards driving climate action. The Centre also provides the Secretariat for the Climate Governance Initiative.
Climate Governance Initiative
The Climate Governance Initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, provides a platform for non-executive and independent directors to engage and understand how their role in the boardroom can accelerate corporate climate action. With networks of board directors in over 50 countries globally, and links to worldwide academic institutions the Initiative equips boards with the knowledge and skills to take climate action in the boardroom
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