Against the backdrop of war in Europe and severely heightened geopolitical tensions, Christiana’s perspectives on the future trajectory of sustainability and sustainable finance come at a critical moment. Next to the tragedy of war itself, the conflict has brought to the fore questions for many countries in Europe, and to those way beyond its shores. Questions related to energy security and independence, fossil fuel dependence and the availability of alternative energy sources. How will the rise in energy prices and inflation impact our lives? Countries like Russia and Ukraine hold significant global market shares in both fossil fuels and many key raw materials and resources, including food, replacing of which in the short to medium term will be very difficult. Christiana will address many of these crucial points that carry heavy significance for the way forward for the global economy and society, and we will discuss what these mean for investors and corporations alike.

In this panel, we hear from Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), and Michael Baldinger, Chief Sustainability Officer, on how long-term, multi stakeholder model goes hand-in-hand with excellent financial performance. At UBS, sustainability means thinking and acting with the long term in mind. In this session, we ask - How business leaders can set out to build net positive companies which profit by fixing the world’s problems? What are some of the emerging trends that investors should look out for?

As countries and many companies are now committed to deliver on their emissions reduction targets, carbon trading is a powerful tool to achieve such emission reductions in a cost-efficient manner. What is the latest on China’s emissions trading, the world’s largest regulated market in terms of emissions volume covered? In complement to regulated emissions trading, can the voluntary carbon market serve as an interim solution? How can companies tap into the voluntary carbon market to reduce hard-to-abate emissions?

With countries and companies making ambitious transition commitments towards a low-carbon economy, investors are facing a high degree of uncertainty on how to invest credibly. We believe that active engagement with companies can be a force for good and enable better decision making among stakeholders. What can companies do to increase the credibility and accelerate their decarbonization strategy? What are the challenges to capital mobilization? What transition financing tools are available to channel the necessary funding from family enterprise/PE & VCs/institutional investors to support the transition? What are the opportunities for APAC?

With the urgent need to restore and protect our planet’s biodiversity, we need to find ways to unlock more capital to fill the estimated funding gap of over USD800 billion a year to meet global climate goals by 2030. With growing interest in strategic philanthropic approaches and impact investment, how can we leverage these forms of capital to help scale up on-the-ground efforts? Is there a way we can also harness this type of capital to complement growing institutional investor and government interest in biodiversity?

With average temperatures expected to increase 3°C by the end of the century, climate change risks are not something that can be set aside for future study. Millennials have since tackled climate change head on by building green tech enterprises. Investing in private equity can provide exposure to this fast growing and innovative business. What are the trends driving these businesses? What are the investment opportunities?

With countries transiting towards a low-carbon economy, companies and investors are facing a high degree of uncertainty on future climate change pathways. Private investors are shifting their investment approaches to position for and benefit from this transition to achieve greater impact with their investments.

In this session, Amy Lo invites two young, inspiring, and successful changemakers in business who embrace sustainability into the core of their businesses. As active participants in the paradigm shift, they not only drive innovations to address changing consumer behavior but also advocate changes in mindset and lifestyle. We also learn how fund houses are steering through these uncertainties, and what trends are driving growth and transformation.

Responsible consumption and sustainability in supply chain are two emerging trends for ESG in APAC, with the public, investors and companies gearing to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, increase resource efficiency, and promote sustainable lifestyles. During this breakout session, we will bring together thought leaders and corporates to explain how these rising trends are impacting the APAC markets and how they are navigating in these new global ESG trends.

ESG considerations are now commonplace in the investment process for various asset classes.

However these factors may not yet be top of mind when it comes to the broad asset allocation process. 
How can allocators include ESG variables to the classic risk/return frontier?

In this fireside chat, we tackle the whys and hows with our asset allocation and portfolio construction experts.