The ALFI Impact Investing conference is being held at Espace Namur in Luxembourg-Hamm on 12 May 2016; today the full programme has been announced.
The event - entitled "Impact Investing - Strategy for the future" is being organised in collaboration with LuxFLAG, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
PROGRAMME
08:00 Registration & Breakfast
08:45 Chairperson’s welcome & introduction: Christian Hertz, Chairman of the ALFI Responsible Investing Committee, Managing Associate, Linklaters LLP
09:00 Keynote address by: Amit Bouri, CEO, The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), New York
09:30 Climate finance: What opportunities for impact investors? One of the core aims of the Paris Cop 21 Agreement is to direct all finance – both public and private – towards sustainable, low-emissions, climate-resilient development. How can private investors adhere to this commitment and achieve both environmental and financial return? Moderator: Marc Bichler, Ambassador-at-large for climate change, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; Panelists: Martin Berg, Investment Officer, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg; Henrik Malmsten, Founder, Durable Vision Invest, Stockholm; Jacco Minnaar, Director Energy and Climate, Triodos Investment Management, The Netherlands; Robert Scharfe, CEO, Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
10.20 Coffee break
10.50 Impact Investments: Experiences from the field; Moderator: Germain Birgen, Directeur, Banque de Luxembourg S.A.; Panelists: Simone Quatrini, Coordinator, UNCCD The Global Mechanism, Germany; Jacopo Signorile, Partner, Megrez Capital, Italy; Markus Beeler, Head Product Management, ResponsAbility Investments AG, Switzerland
11:40 OUT OF THE BOX PRESENTATION - Follow the Water by: Lujendra Ojha, Ph.D. Candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; Having experienced that – at least on earth – life tends to show up wherever there’s water, NASA’s search for life beyond Earth has always been driven by the mantra “Follow the water”. Now, researchers have found definitive signs that liquid water is flowing on the surface of Mars – which raises a bunch of questions and fuels imagination. Nepalese-American death metal guitarist Lujendra Ojha, PhD candidate in Planetary Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta and lead author of a report on these findings, addresses the potential impact of this discovery: Does it mean there is life on Mars? How does it impact our existing understanding of life in the universe? What impact might it have on future human settlement?...
12:10 Chairperson’s wrap up
12:15 Buffet lunch
13:45 Chairperson’s introduction (to afternoon programme)
13.50 Introduction by: Greta Bull, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), USA: Reaching scale in Impact Finance beyond Microfinance. While some few microfinance investment vehicles are reaching sufficient scale to attract institutional investors, the vast majority of impact finance investment vehicles remain small, especially compared to the tremendous impact investment gap of $-1-2 Trillion per year. This panel will debate about how to scale the impact finance industry while not losing sight of its original mission. Moderator: Patrick Goodman, Partner, Innpact, Luxembourg; Panelists: Greta Bull, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), USA; Wouter Koelewijn, European Liaison, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), TheNetherlands; Daniel von Moltke, Head of Asset Management, Symbiotics SA, Switzerland; Michael Schneider, Impact Entrepreneur, Member of the Supervisory Board GRIPS Energy AG, Germany.
15.00 The dawn of a new circular revolution: Shifting Philips business models to be sustainable in the future: Philips expects the transformation to a more circular economy to deliver a triple win. A win for customers to have better performance for lower operational expenditures, a win for the environment to have less CO2 emissions and waste to landfill, and a win for Philips to provide additional services and gain market share with new business models for Healthcare (pay per scan) and Lighting (pay per use). Markus Laubscher, Director Sustainability, Philips
15:30 Refreshment break
16.00 Impact measurement and Reporting: How to distinguish between “players” and “pretenders”: Learn how bright investors look beyond endlessly recited worn-out, hollow phrases of ESG reports to identify a company’s true attitude and behavior and its actual contribution to commonly agreed, socially desirable objectives. Moderator: Anne Contreras, Of Counsel, Arendt & Medernach, Luxembourg; Panelists: Sylvia Wisniwski, Managing Director, Finance in Motion, Germany; Archil Bakuradze, Executive Chairman, Crystal - Microfinance organisation, Georgia; Jacques Grivel, Chairman, FINETHIC Fund, Luxembourg; Christian Schattenmann, Fund Manager, Bamboo Finance Group, Switzerland.
16.45 Innovative financial models to invest with impact: In order to achieve the targeted effect, impact investments need to have a distinct long-term focus. Firstly, how do you convince your group that an ‘in-house’ impact investing practice is needed? Secondly, regarding investors: how can investment vehicles and models reconcile the need for long-term commitment with the investor demand for flexibility and liquidity? What are the most recent regulatory initiatives to enhance the offer of impact investing vehicles? What needs still to be done? Moderator: Annemarie Arens, General Manager, LuxFLAG, Luxembourg; Panelists: Louise Hedberg, Head of Corporate Governance, East Capital International AB, Stockholm; Frédérique Lifrange, Partner, Elvinger Hoss Prussen, LuxembourgDaniel von Moltke, Head of Asset Management, Symbiotics SA, Switzerland; Vincent Gradt, Portfolio Manager Impact Investing Funds, AXA Investment Management, United Kingdom; Alderman Peter Hewitt, Alderman for the Ward of Aldgate in the City of London, United Kingdom.
17:30 Closing Drink
To register to attend the event, see www.alfi.lu/Impact-Investing-conference#event-register
