Green Bonds, Carbon Offsetting & the Challenges with Data & Transparency

About the Webinar

From our Financial & FinTech and Sustainability Committees, hear the latest developments from industry experts on the ESG drive towards Net Zero & COP26.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Products & Data sources provide valuable tools to help institutional investors and firms meet their ESG requirements. Promoting the integration of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into institutional investment portfolios on an award-winning market infrastructure.

Which Products & Data sources are providing useful tools to ensuring firms can meet ESG requirements?

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Funds Managers,
Banks,
ESG Consultants

For more on our Road to Net Zero campaign, visit https://netzero.britcham.org.sg/

KEY TOPICS

During this webinar, our panel will address the following:

Green Bonds & Issuances

ASEAN's total green bond issuances from 2016 to 2019 was approximately only US$8.1 billion (S$10.8 billion), of which Singapore contributed 55 per cent.

'Race to Zero' - United Nations Climate Change Initiative- Carbon services, Carbon offsets & how to expand emissions-reduction efforts beyond borders

To meet ambitious net-zero targets, many companies plan to neutralize a large chunk of emissions by buying carbon offsets — credits generated by projects reducing carbon emissions elsewhere.

The Carbon Market is valued at about $400 million, to anywhere from $10 billion and $25 billion by 2030.

FinTech as a Force for Good

the challenges with ESG data and transparency

Project Greenprint - global crises

How to leverage the power of technology to help find solutions to complex problems.

Speakers

Helena Fung

Head of Sustainable Investment, Asia Pacific at London Stock Exchange Group

Caroline Haas

Head of Climate and ESG Capital Markets at NatWest Markets

Miha Hribernik

Head of Asia at Verisk Maplecroft

Mikkel Larsen

Group Chief Sustainability Officer at DBS

Sam Myers

Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner

Russell Toop

Managing Director of Cheshire Consultancy

As Head of Sustainable Investment, Asia Pacific, Helena is responsible for FTSE Russell’s Sustainable Investment indexes, data and analytics solutions across the Asia Pacific region. A core part of her role is client engagement on a comprehensive range of products and data to support them in reaching their investment decisions. Working with research and leadership teams, she has a responsibility for developing FTSE Russell’s Asia Pacific Sustainable Investment product strategy and expansion.

Helena relocated to Hong Kong in 2014 from London - a key hub for ESG investments, where she worked for the responsible investment arm of Hermes Investment Management as global head of client relations, enabling pension funds and asset managers to integrate sustainability criteria into passive and active portfolios. Helena’s experience prior to joining FTSE Russell included ESG integration, equity analysis and advising on philanthropy for family office, asset management and institutional clients. She has been working in ESG and Sustainable Investment since 2008, including providing advisory research on stewardship implementation for pension funds, drafting responsible investment policies and integrating sustainability policies into both active and passive portfolios.

Caroline serves as Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance for Financial Institutions and SSAs with in
Financing & Risk Solutions. She works closely with the respective origination teams and focuses on providing a holistic approach to
Sustainability – working with clients across products and markets, as well as providing ESG rating, regulatory and
disclosure insights. In addition to the financing dialogue, Caroline engages with institutional investors globally to
understand their ESG objectives, as well as develop new products to meet their needs.
Caroline is actively involved in RBS and NWM’s Climate Change Steering Groups, as well as AFME’s Green
Securitisation working group and ICMA’s Transition Bond working group. Participation in these industry groups
enables Caroline to help shape sustainable finance as it evolves. Given this dynamic area, Caroline is also involved
in embedding sustainability throughout NWM, through product governance, marketing and communication, as well
as supporting internal carbon reduction efforts. Caroline graduated from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry followed by
an MBA from European University. Prior to joining NatWest Markets, Caroline spent 10 years working for a London children’s charity providing extracurricular
and academic support as Development Director and Board Trustee. She continues to act on the
Governing Board of Colville Primary School as Deputy Chair. Caroline had 10 years of investment banking
experience advising financial institutions across Europe on capital products at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and
Credit Suisse which included financing M&A related transactions. In addition, Caroline is a member of Synchronicity
Earth’s advisory council, a UK biodiversity charity.

Mikkel Larsen is the Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Managing Director of DBS and a committee member of Global Compact Network Singapore’s Management Committee.
Mikkel chairs the DBS Sustainability Council, which comprises senior leaders across business and support units and is responsible for developing DBS’ overarching sustainability framework, setting key performance indicators and targets in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, and driving sustainability initiatives across the bank. He is also the interim CEO of Climate Impact X, a joint venture established by DBS, Singapore Exchange (SGX), Standard Chartered and Temasek, which aims to be a global exchange and marketplace for high-quality carbon credits.
He is presently a member of or represents DBS in numerous international and local councils or committees. These include: the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, GRI Stakeholder Council, United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Green Finance Working Group [Workstream Chair] under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s Financial Centre Advisory Panel (FCAP), Singapore’s Environment and Resources Standards Committee (ERSC) and the Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS).
Prior to joining DBS, Mikkel was the Chief Financial Officer for Asia Pacific in UBS from 2009 to 2012 covering Investment Bank, Wealth Management and Asset Management. He was previously the Asia Pacific Head of Accounting Policy and location controller for Hong Kong at UBS. Mikkel has also worked in Citigroup in London and KPMG in London and Denmark.
Mikkel is an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), and has an MBA from London Business School, graduate education from Harvard University, a master’s in Sustainability Leadership from Cambridge University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Economics from CBS in his native country Denmark where he also holds his CPA.

Sam is responsible for the UK’s trade and investment relationships across the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore and covering Natalie Black’s maternity leave. He leads a team of over 200 staff working in British Embassies and High Commissions to support UK businesses. He joined the UK’s Department for International Trade in April 2019, where he was Deputy HM Trade Commissioner for Southeast Asia. Before joining DIT, Sam worked for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where he was head of UK Science Policy and Relations. Sam’s Civil Service career began in 2001 as a graduate FastStreamer in the Department for Trade and Industry, where he ran a Minister’s Private Office before becoming the Head of External Relations for the Department. He spent 6 years in Asia with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, boosting science and technology partnerships with Southeast Asia and China. Sam’s structural biology research at Mount Sinai, New York, was published in the journal Science and he has a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Bath.

Russell established Cheshire Consultancy in early 2019. Cheshire Consultancy is an independent consultancy firm providing strategic sales advisory, market advisory, and enterprise sales to financial services technology firms looking to expand their business in Asia.

Having relocated from London in 2007, Russell has extensive sales and industry experience in front, middle and back-office technology, having built leading vendors' Asia business including Trading Technologies, Dynamo Software and FIS.

His deep network of connections covers global exchanges, brokers, investment banks, family offices, hedge funds, fund managers, private equity, proprietary trading firms and commercial entities. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)