Sustainability Conference 2021

What does sustainability mean?

Accountants are bombarded with news about sustainability. But what does it mean, and what does it mean for accountants?

This conference – the first Chartered Accountants Ireland conference dedicated exclusively to sustainability for accountants – will address key environment, social and governance ('ESG') issues facing accountants and financial professionals. Discover how to measure emissions, trends in environmental tax, leadership for sustainability, the skills and roles for finance professionals, board responsibility and how to navigate sustainability reporting. Keynote speeches from Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport and Minister for the Environment, Climate & Communications in Ireland; and Nichola Mallon, Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

Format

This webinar will be delivered via Zoom
Wednesday 16 June 2021 9:30am – 12:30pm
Link will be emailed to participants the day before the course
€112.50/£82 (€90/£78 to members of Chartered Accountants Ireland)

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WHY ACCOUNTANTS MATTER TO SUSTAINABILITY

This guide for accountants describes what to do – and where to start – to operate sustainably, successfully and cost-effectively.

Published:
November 5 2020

Read guide

Visit the sustainability hub

Keynote speakers

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan

Eamon Ryan TD is Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport and Leader of the Green Party.

Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon

Nichola Mallon, MLA is Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

Agenda

Introduction (9.30–9.45)

Welcome
Susan Rossney, Public Policy Office, Chartered Accountants Ireland
Opening address and introductions
Barry Dempsey, Chief Executive of Chartered Accountants Ireland
Keynote addresses
Minister Eamon Ryan, Minster for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Minister for Transport
Nichola Mallon, SDLP Minister for Infrastructure and MLA for North Belfast

Session 1: Environment (9.45–10.30)

How to measure greenhouse gas emissions
John Barcroft, Director, The Environmental Edge
Tax and ESG
Rebecca Greene, Director - Energy and Sustainability Tax Leader, PwC Ireland

Moderator: Dr Cara Augustenborg

Session 2: Social (10.35–11.20)

Panel Discussion on Sustainability Leadership, roles and skills for sustained success and future proofing your business/practice

Ken Bowles, CFO, SmurfitKappa
Karin Lanigan, Head of Member Experience, Chartered Accountants Ireland
Kevin MacAllister, Partner and Regional Market Leader, PWC Northern Ireland

Moderator: Stephen Prendiville, EY

Coffee Break (11.20–11.35)

Session 3: Governance (11.35–12.20)

Board to operations
Níall Fitzgerald, FCA, Head of Ethics and Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland
The investor perspective
Edel O'Reilly, Head of Investor Relations, Corporate Broking, Goodbody
Navigating sustainability reporting
Laura Heuston, FCA, Co-Founder SustainabilityWorks

Moderator: Michael Costello, BDO

Closing (12.20-12.30)

Closing Address
Paul Henry, Current Institute President and Director, Osborne King

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Speakers

Dr Cara Augustenborg. Dr Cara Augustenborg is an environmental scientist and fellow at University College Dublin in Environmental Policy. She is a member of the President of Ireland’s Council of State. Cara was appointed by Minister Dennis Norton as an adviser to Ireland Environmental Protection Agency from 2016-2020 and to the first national dialogue on climate action in 2017. She is a former Chairperson of both Friends of the Earth Europe and Friends of the Earth Ireland. Cara presents the ‘Down To Earth' show and podcast on Newstalk FM.

John Barcroft – Director, The Environmental Edge. John Barcroft is a Sustainability Consultant with The Environmental Edge, where he develops pragmatic sustainable business strategies for clients and provides them with practical action plans aligned to their business model, stakeholder demands and future ambitions. With qualifications from Trinity College, Dublin; Smurfit Graduate Business School; and Yale University – where he earned a Masters in Environmental Management – John completed his 20 year career with DCC, a FTSE100 company, as Head of Group Sustainability. He is currently advising Chartered Accountants Ireland on its Environment and Climate Impact Project and carbon-neutrality journey.

Ken Bowles – CFO, SmurfitKappa. Ken Bowles was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer of the Smurfit Kappa Group in April 2016 and was appointed a Director of the Group in December 2016. He joined the Smurfit Kappa in 1994 and has occupied a number of finance roles in various parts of the Group. Prior to his appointment as Group CFO he held the position of Group Financial Controller from 2010. He was the Group’s Head of Tax from 2007 to 2010 prior to which he was appointed as the Group’s first Head of Compliance in 2004. Mr Bowles is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants and holds a first class MBA from the UCD Graduate School of Business.

Michael Costello – FCA, Managing Partner at BDO. He has more than 25 years' experience in audit and advisory services, and was an Audit Partner as well as BDO Ireland's Head of Audit. Michael is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland's Strategic Communications Committee. Michael’s clients have included the firm’s largest indigenous and international companies across the information technology, financial services, pharmaceutical and property sectors. Michael is also a Board Director of Development Capital DAC which manages investments in scaling Irish businesses.

Barry Dempsey – Chief Executive, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Barry is also a Member of the Irish Takeover Panel, Board Member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide and Board Member of the Global Accounting Alliance. Previously, Barry was CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation, Peter Mark and the Irish Cancer Society. He is committed to the benefits sustainability initiatives offer businesses, the accountancy profession, communities and the economy.

Níall Fitzgerald – FCA, Head of Ethics and Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Níall leads the delivery of strategic objectives on business ethics and governance across operations, including policy, member support and resources, and engagement with regulators, standard setters and other stakeholders. Níall is a member of the Institute’s Sustainability Expert Working Group and is passionate about internal implementation of sustainability initiatives and applying sustainability reporting frameworks.

Rebecca Greene – Director - Energy and Sustainability Tax Leader, PwC Ireland. Rebecca has experience in a wide range of transactions in the sector with a specialised focus on renewable energy and sustainability / ESG. Rebecca works closely with a number of domestic and international clients including the completion of a secondment in 2020 to an international renewable energy group. Rebecca has expertise in a wide range of tax issues from compliance and consulting to due diligence, acquisition structuring and divestments. She is a member of the Marine Renewables Industry Association ('MRIA').

Paul Henry – FCA, President, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Paul is also the Chair of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies. He is a Director in Osbourne King, a real estate services company based in Northern Ireland specialising in commercial property, where he leads the advisory and consultancy service.

Laura Heuston – FCA, Co-Founder SustainabilityWorks. Laura Heuston is the Co-Founder of SustainabilityWorks, a boutique sustainability consulting firm that offers a unique blend of skills and experience across sustainability strategy, finance, policy and communications. An FCA and a CTA, Laura has over 20 years professional experience across industry and practice. While working with KPMG and Airtricity, she specialised in working with corporates and asset managers in the renewable energy and energy efficiency finance sectors, advising on transaction structures for mergers, acquisitions, disposals, fundraising and other transactions. She now lectures on sustainable finance with the UCD Smurfit Graduate School and the Institute of Banking in Ireland and her consulting work covers a broad range of sustainable finance topics, with a particular specialism in energy efficiency finance, community investment in renewables and responsible investment.

Karin Lanigan – Head of Member Experience, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Prior to taking on this role in 2019, she managed the Career Coaching and Recruitment Service operated by the Institute. She is a qualified Executive Coach and has a Msc in Personal and Management Coaching. She has over 20 years experience providing advice and guidance to finance professionals in the areas of professional development, strategic career planning, career change and personal branding.

Kevin MacAllister, Partner and Regional Market Leader, PWC Northern Ireland

Edel O'Reilly is Head of Investor Relations, Corporate Broking at Goodbody. She has over 20 years’ experience in capital markets and is a member of an internal Goodbody ESG working group, a cross-division forum that defines relevant strategies and activities for the firm (as well as individual business divisions), and monitors and shares information, including industry best-practice, in this evolving discipline. The team has undertaken qualitative research to better understand how institutional investors are embedding ESG in their appraisal process and their expectations of companies and management teams on ESG capabilities. Goodbody’s own CSR Framework outlines the firm’s approach to taking responsibility for, and delivering positive impact on, social, ethical, environmental and consumer matters and ensuring this forms an integral part of day-to-day business.

Stephen Prendiville leads EY Ireland’s Sustainability business. Driving forward both EY Ireland’s own carbon negative and net zero strategy internally, while also ensuring our clients gain the maximum value from EY professionals experienced in sustainability and related services. Originally from Limerick, Stephen move to Canada in 2011 where he worked with large cities (including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa) to deliver sustainable mobility solutions as well as climate resilience advisory services. Passionate about the provision of higher order electrified public transport and compact urban design, and its role in tackling poverty and homelessness, Stephen has dedicated his professional career to network system thinking – considering the implications of multiple trends and disruptions for planning and strategy development for clients. Notably, Stephen has also undertaken significant infrastructure development and related policy development initiatives for the advance of the circular economy. Stephen returned to Ireland in the Summer of 2020 to lead EY Ireland’s ambitious climate action agenda and the growth of its sustainability services for our clients.

Susan Rossney is a Public Policy Officer with Chartered Accountants Ireland, Chair of the Institute’s Expert Working Group on Sustainability and member of the Sustainability Expert Working Group of the Global Accounting Alliance.

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Sustainability Conference 2021

What does sustainability mean?

Format

WHY ACCOUNTANTS MATTER TO SUSTAINABILITY

Keynote speakers

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan

Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon

Agenda

Introduction (9.30–9.45)

Session 1: Environment (9.45–10.30)

Session 2: Social (10.35–11.20)

Panel Discussion on Sustainability Leadership, roles and skills for sustained success and future proofing your business/practice

Coffee Break (11.20–11.35)

Session 3: Governance (11.35–12.20)

Closing (12.20-12.30)

Speakers

EVENT PARTNER

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