October 17

Registration

Welcome Remarks
Liqian Ma, Cambridge Associates

Science, Technology, Engineering & Momentum (STEM) in Private Investments
Moderated by  Theresa Sorrentino Hajer, Cambridge Associates
Donnel Baird, Founder & CEO, BlocPower
Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil, CEO and Co-founder, Cityblock
Jane Kearns, Partner, Evōk

Building transformative companies and developing products and solutions to solve some of our greatest problems demand a whole system approach, rooted in purpose, catalyzed by science and technology, driven by principled leadership and scaled with capital.  In this discussion, our panelists will share their perspectives about the art and the science needed to build companies to drive real and sustainable change and outcomes, and valuable lessons learned along the way.

Coffee Break

Activating Portfolios for Environmental Sustainability
Moderated by  Di Tang, Cambridge Associates
Rebecca Carland, Investment Committee, Conservation International
Neeta Hatley, Vice President, Controller, Treasury and Financial Operations at National Audubon Society

Strategies to Drive Systems Change, a Conversation with Monique Aiken
Monique Aiken, Managing Director, The Investment Integration Project (TIIP)
Chavon Sutton, Cambridge Associates

Investors are increasingly recognizing the importance of sustainable investing and have begun considering environmental and social factors in their investment decision-making. Yet more is needed to solve the complex interconnected problems we face globally today.  In this session, Monique Aiken, Managing Director of The Investment Integration Project, joins us to speak about the evolution of a new way of investment thinking: system-level investing.

Daily Wrap Up
Jasmine Richards, Cambridge Associates

Welcome Reception

October 18

Breakfast

Overview of the Day
Liqian Ma, Cambridge Associates

Climate Change and Advocacy for the Environmentally Displaced
Moderated by  Marie Ang, Cambridge Associates
Georges Beukering, Director and Co-creator, Climate Fund Managers (CFM)
Naomi Desai, Principal, BCG

The climate crisis will impact everyone, but its effects will be disproportionately borne by low-income regions, undoing decades of progress in human development and displacing millions of people. This session will explore the impacts already being felt, the risks of inaction and how investors can actively integrate just transition considerations in their portfolios to support mitigation and adaptation.

Transition to Thematic Spotlight Sessions

Net Zero State of Play
Marty Reed, Partner, Evōk
Led by  Mike Pearce, Cambridge Associates

Asset owners continue to adopt Net Zero objectives as part of their investment policy.  Many frameworks and alliances have been created to support these efforts, and best practices continue to evolve.  This session will focus on the opportunities and challenges of implementing a Net Zero policy that positive impacts in both portfolios and the real world.  We will discuss insights on how climate solutions investing is a critical component to achieve a Net Zero portfolio and society.

Sustaining the Blue World: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities
James Lindsay, Builder’s Vision
Led by  Dan Baran, Cambridge Associates

Investors are becoming increasingly aware of the growing importance of oceans health to the climate crisis, biodiversity, and overall planetary well-being. In this session we’ll discuss why and do a deep dive on landscaping the opportunities to invest in oceans to drive impact and financial returns, both today and in the future.

Coffee Break

Systems Lens in Action: Social & Environmental Equity Investing
Chavon Sutton, Cambridge Associates

Applying a systems lens and adopting a more disciplined approach to investing for social and environmental equity (SEE) can help investors minimize portfolio risk and maximize impact. In this session, we continue our focus on systems lens investing, moving from theory to application, and introduce a framework for investing that is designed to help investors produce better financial and impact outcomes.

Governance in SII: Building Consensus Around Portfolio Priorities

Madeline Clark, Investment Director, Sustainable and Impact Investing, Cambridge Associates
Tom Mitchell, Cambridge Associates

Good governance is fundamental to good investment decisions. This is particularly true for impact investors, where a shared understanding of purpose, priorities, and principles across an organization is key to shaping and implementing strategy. This will be an interactive session designed to provide attendees guidance and examples for best practices in institutional and/or family governance, and to bring peers together to share their own insights and questions for pursuing a path toward meaningful impact and portfolio alignment.

Return to General Session

Natural Capital and the Case for Biodiversity
Sarah Kitz, Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company
David Farren, Executive Director, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Moderated by JP Gibbons, Cambridge Associates

The world’s stock of natural resources are estimated to be worth $125 trillion. Yet for decades, business decisions were made with little consideration of the depletion of nature’s ecosystems. As external pressures on biodiversity become more severe, a rejuvenated movement to invest in natural capital has emerged. This session will explore the basics of natural capital investing, how it can benefit an investment portfolio and what approaches and tools are being utilized. With growing social and political will behind biodiversity objectives, we will also discuss what we should expect as natural capital investment evolves over the coming years.

Lunch

Art & Science of Change: Where Policy Meets Markets
Honorable Shalanda H. Baker, Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy and Secretarial Advisor on Equity
Christian Zabbal, Managing Partner, Spring Lane Capital
Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance
Moderated by  Wendy Walker, Cambridge Associates

Many governments around the world share goals to minimize the negative effects of both climate change and social inequities, but public policy to support those goals varies wildly.  Further, policy within one jurisdiction can sometimes shift quickly amidst changing political winds.  In this session our panelists – a policymaker, an impact investing field-builder, and a cross-border sustainable infrastructure manager – will share insights on how impact investors can navigate (and even influence) the climate policy landscape, with particular focus on energy transition outcomes for marginalized communities.

“The Ministry for the Future”: A Conversation with Author Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson, American Science Fiction Writer
Sarah Edwards, Cambridge Associates

Kim Stanley Robinson is a world renowned author who has published extensively at the intersection of science and fiction. Robinson leverages scientific theories as a foundation to create deeply engaging narratives. In this session, we will learn how Robinson navigates fact and fiction to explore how we might benefit from embracing the art and science of sustainable and impact investing to achieve solutions to real world problems.

Putting it All Together – Takeaways and Wrap Up
Liqian Ma, Cambridge Associates