Webinars

Responsible Investor presents a series of four webinars focused on the SDGs (Sustainable development Goals). The SDGs - officially know as "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" – are 17 aspirational Global Goals. They have generated unprecedented interest from investors, companies and policy-makers and could be a pivotal moment for responsible investment. Responsible Investor is proud to present a series of webinars dedicated to the SDGs that will drill down into some of the key issues and highlight the main points. The SDGs could be a game-changer for responsible investment. This opening session will review all current SDG developments as well as their potential impact on investment decisions and corporate behaviour. SPEAKERS: Emma Doner, Innovation Project Manager, VigeoEiris Kris Douma, Director Investment Practice and Engagement, PRI Elodie Feller, Investment Commission Coordinator, UNEPFI Mark Gough, Executive Director, Natural Capital Coalition HOST: Daniel Brooksbank, Editor SDG Webinar Series: APR 19 - SDG Webinar Series: OVERVIEW MAY 03 - SDG Webinar Series: SUSTAINABLE CITIES & COMMUNITIES MAY 10 - SDG Webinar Series: GENDER EQUALITY MAY 17 - SDG Webinar Series: ZERO HUNGER

Can FinTech and AI solve the ESG data puzzle? What’s the best route to reduce costs, increase flows and further improve the quality of ESG data from corporate reporter to end-user? The 2016 Carrots & Sticks report identifies almost 400 sustainability regulations, guidelines, codes-of-conduct, frameworks and other reporting instruments across 64 countries. How accurate is this data? How are corporations coping with the pressure and cost of reporting? How can asset managers make sense of what it means? And will data vendors turn to AI to collect and deliver this googolesque volume of data? During this 60-minute webinar we will discuss: • Global trends in sustainability reporting and regulations: What have been the major trends in the last decade and how harmonized have they been? How can auditors help in the quest for more accurate ESG data? • How are corporations coping with the growing pressure from regulators to disclose more ESG data? What tools do they use? What can be done to reduce the costs, improve the quality? Can entry be made more accessible for SMEs? • As asset owners place more demands on asset managers to integrate ESG in their investment process, how are custodians meeting this challenge and what are the key pressure points? • ESG research and data vendors are under increasing pressure to provide more coverage and higher quality ESG data and ratings to investors. This creates cost and logistical challenges in an industry where most of this work is still carried out by specialized analysts. Is AI the answer? Speakers: Cornis T. van der Lugt, Centre for Corporate Governance, Stellenbosch University Business School, South Africa Hendrik Bartel, TruValue Labs Inc. Trevor Allen, BNP Paribas Securities Services André Chanavat, Senior Product Manager, Thomson Reuters Moderated by: Daniel Brooksbank, Responsible Investor

Overview: ‘Water crises’ is recognised as one of the top 3 critical global risks by the World Economic Forum. In addition water scarcity, as has been recently demonstrated in countries such as Brazil and the US, can have significant implications for economic productivity. In 2015 the California drought cost $2.7 billion and shaved 0.1% off California’s GDP. The 2015 drought in Brazil is predicted to have cut GDP growth by 1-2 %, pushing the country into negative growth and contributing to inflation. Draft Agenda: The current impacts of drought on economic productivity What does this mean for investors (portfolio risk) and banks (lending activities)? How is the sector dealing with these risks? Is it possible to create a drought resilient finance sector? And what are the implications for banks, pension funds, insurers etc.? Speakers: Anders Nordheim, Programme Coordinator, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Water, UNEP FI Hubert Aarts, Co-Head of Listed Equities at Impax Asset Management and Manager of BNP Paribas Aqua Fund Piet Klop, Senior Advisor Responsible Investment at PGGM Investments Cate Lamb, Global Head of Water, CDP Moderated by: Sophie Robinson-Tillett, Deputy Editor, Responsible Investor In partnership with: Natural Capital Declaration Sponsored by: BNP Paribas Investment Partners

The battle of the resolutions – focus on ExxonMobil: • Can an informal alliance of global investors achieve their aim of establishing a new set of norms around climate risk reporting and disclosure? • With European investors and corporations broadly backing calls for improved climate risk reporting and disclosure, is this the moment we will see North America come on board? • Will this resolution end the apparent inconsistency by asset owners and asset managers who vote for climate risk resolutions when supported by management but not when companies resist? Speakers: • Patrick Doherty, Director of Corporate Governance, NYS Office of the State Comptroller (USA) • Edward Mason, Head of Responsible Investment, Church Commissioners (UK) • Anne Simpson, Investment Director, Global Governance, CalPERS (USA) • Helen Wildsmith, Stewardship Director - Climate Change, CCLA Investment Management (UK)• • Shanna Cleveland, Senior Manager - Carbon Asset Risk Initiative, Ceres Overview: Stockholder Proposal Regarding Report on Climate Change Impact Assessment is Item No 12 on the ballot at ExxonMobil’s AGM on 25 May. It has been co-filed by England’s Church Commissioners and the New York State Common Retirement Fund in the US. This transatlantic partnership is a first for the Church Commissioners. The resolution asks ExxonMobil to improve its annual reporting on climate risk and to disclose to investors how resilient the company’s portfolio would be if efforts to restrict warming to 2° were successful. In an article written by Edward Mason for Responsible Investor link, he explains that their resolution doesn’t ask ExxonMobil to change its house view that the 2° target will be overshot. It simply asks them to report on how the business would fare were the Paris Agreement to be implemented. It is the same request for reporting on portfolio resilience that the “Aiming for A” shareholder resolutions made of BP and Shell in 2015.

ESG has been described as “the new bottom line” by Goldman Sachs. It's hard to argue with that when there's $59 trillion committed to ESG integration via the PRI, and it's on the agenda at the G20 and the Bank of England. This RI Webinar with Thomson Reuters examines how incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes can mitigate portfolio risk and enhance performance. Discussion and Q&A: · Portfolio management in transition: long termism, carbon risk, ESG · It’s all about performance: ESG as a driver of investment strategy and performance · Shock protection: using ESG analysis to mitigate downside risks · The importance of access to accurate and transparent data Moderator: · Daniel Brooksbank, Editor, Responsible-Investor.com Speakers: · Robert Walker, Director of Governance & Social Research, HSBC Global Banking and Markets · Tim Verheyden, Associate Researcher, Arabesque Asset Management · Christopher Greenwald, Head of SI Research, RobecoSAM · Detlef Glow, Head of Lipper EMEA Research, Thomson Reuters *“The New Bottom Line” is attributed to Goldman Sachs.