BEST PRACTICE UNDERSTANDING THE ESG OPPORTUNITY Practical tips and case studies were the order of the day at the ACTs first standalone ESG conference ESG H eld in December 2022, the heavily oversubscribed event demonstrated the growing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for todays treasury teams. A diverse agenda ranged from sustainability reporting standards and green bonds to relationship banks approach to ESG and how real-world events can impact the transition to net zero. Peppered with numerous case studies and first-hand experiences, the conference aimed to give delegates a clear insight into how ESG will continue to impact treasury as many more organisations are required to demonstrate their commitment to creating a more just society. Treasurers from businesses such as Anglo American, Burberry, Chemring, Southern Housing, PageGroup, and Wates Group shared their own stories of success and challenges. Introducing the event, co-chair Naresh Aggarwal, ACT associate director, policy and technical, said: ESG is a complex challenge, something that not many of us will have experienced before. It is something that transforms and affects so much of what we do. The key question, however, for many treasurers will be where they start and what they prioritise. Co-chair of the conference Joanna Bonnett, head of sustainability and group treasury at recruitment group PageGroup, gave an example of what her organisation had done. She said the group had put its debt into sustainability-linked finance through its revolving credit facility (RCF), and as a net cash organisation it had challenged its banks, as well as itself, to only invest in sustainable investment products. It is a constant challenge on how we can continue to be better, she said. Jonathan Labrey, chief connectivity and integrated reporting officer from the newly formed International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), told the audience how his organisation was taking a collaborative approach to establishing sustainability reporting standards, working with regulators, businesses and investors to establish one comprehensive system. We want to change behaviour, incentives and how capital is allocated, he said. POSITIVE CIRCLE In a session on sustainable finance products and practicalities, Agnes Gourc, head of sustainable capital markets at BNP Paribas, described how her organisation wanted to see corporate funding as part of a sustainability strategy, believing it created a positive circle. In the same session led by Matthew Tobin of Slaughter and May Ian Brimicombe, senior vice president of specialist finance at Burberry, the fashion company, set out the intense exercise of achieving an ESG rating in order to issue a sustainability labelled bond in 40 ISSUE 1 2023 treasurers.org/thetreasurer TT ISSUE 1 23 pp40-41 ESG conf.indd 40 23/02/2023 13:22