Friday 17 June, 10:00 – 10:45
@DEM, Eco A and Eco 5
Chair: Leonardo Becchetti (Università di Roma Tor Vergata)
Sustainable banking for ecological transition: lessons and experience from pioneers
(Jointly organised with aGreeenfin)
Responsible banking concerns extending lending opportunities to uncollateralized borrowers thereby addressing the main constraints (access to education and external finance) to equal opportunities and the possibility that future achievement does not depend on initial conditions. In addition to it, responsible banks have learned to vote with their loan portfolios by aiming at the social and environmental impact of financed loans. What are their challenges in the next future in an extremely competitive and concentrated industry with tiny profit margins and high economies of scale?
Guest speakers
Adriana Kocornik-Mina (Global Alliance for Banking on Values)
In the role of Metrics and Research Senior Manager at the Global Alliance for Banking (GABV) on Values, . dr. Adriana Kocornik-Mina contributes to strengthening the capabilities of frontrunner values-based banks to enable transformative social and environmental impact. She is an expert in various global and regional initiatives in sustainable finance, including the World Benchmarking Alliance, ISO Technical Committee on Sustainable Finance, and the European Economic and Social Committee (Group III). Before this, Adriana worked at Wageningen University and the London School of Economics on adaptation to climate change-related challenges.
Anna Fasano (Banca Etica)
Economist, passionate about Ethical Finance, Social Economy and Third Sector organisations, she has been the director of the NGO Vicini di Casa and an expert in social housing. Within the Banca Etica Group she has an expertise in governance models, control systems and human resource management. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Banca Etica since 2010. From 2016 to 2019 she had the role of Vice President. From 2019 she is the first woman president of Banca Etica.
Friday 17 June, 11:10 – 12:45
@DEM, Eco A
Roundtable: Sustainable finance, key challenges for ecological transition
In the last years, we assisted in the rapid growth of environmentally friendly financial instruments. In addition to it, the vote with the wallet of investment funds for ecological transition has rapidly become mainstream as far as investment funds have progressively discovered ESG risk and the global warming challenge has become more dramatic. EU regulation has intervened in the process trying to avoid washing and asking financial actors to provide statistical evidence for their environmental engagement. How will the process work in the future also in the light of the new challenges posed by the shock of the war in Europe?
Discussants
Laura Berry (Shareholders for Change)
She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee Chair for the Praxis Mutual Funds, a Trustee and Investment Committee Chair for a Connecticut-based family foundation, the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, and is Vice President of the Comitato Etico di Etica, Sgr, an asset management company in Milan, Italy. She is also a founding board member for Washington, DC-based Majority Action (originally 50/50 Climate), Berlin-based Shareholders for Change and the Church Center for Peace and Justice, in New York City. Her institutional roles included nearly a decade of service as Executive Director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a New York-based coalition of faith-based institutional investors; The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and a 17-year career as a Large Cap Value Portfolio Manager with analytical responsibility covering the Pharmaceutical industry. She began her career in the specialty chemical industry as a Chemical Engineer. Laura received her Certified Financial Planner designation from Quinnipiac University, holds an M.S. from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. from Michigan Technology University. She lives with her husband in New Haven, CT
Francesco Bicciato (Executive Director of ITASIF)
Member of the EUROSIF board. He has worked as programme manager for the United Nations and other public and private international organisations. Since the 1990s, he has been a promoter of the ethical finance movement and has led microcredit and social and environmental finance organisations. He has been Vice President of FEBEA (Fédération Européenne des Banques Ethiques et Alternatives). Furthermore, he is the author of several publications on sustainable finance and international cooperation.
Nick Robins (London School of Economics)
Nick Robins is a Professor in Practice for Sustainable Finance at the London School of Economics. Nick has over 20 years’ experience in sustainable finance. He currently focuses on mobilising finance for a just transition to net-zero and the role of central banks in greening the financial system.
Victor van Hoorn (former Executive Director of EUROSIF)
Victor Van Hoorn was Executive Director of EUROSIF, the leading European association for the promotion and advancement of sustainable and responsible investment. Specialised in EU public affairs, financial regulation and capital markets, Victor’s expertise lies in macro-economic policy and its relations with EU politics. He is an ardent support of the EU and believes that finance can be a force for good, provided it is harnessed with the right policy frameworks and incentives. Prior to EUROSIF, Victor was Head of Financial Services at Hume Brophy, an EU public affairs consultancy, advising asset managers and asset owners on their engagement with EU policymakers. He also a graduate of Maastricht and Georgetown Universities, and Sciences Po in Paris.