Speaker: Claire Bennett, Director, ESG and Climate Change, National Capital Region ESG Lead, PWC

Topic: ESG Reporting: Drivers and Trends

Claire is a National Director in PwC Canada’s Sustainability and Climate Change practice and the ESG Lead for the National Capital Region. She has over 14 years experience building and executing top ranking and award-winning corporate and community level ESG and climate change strategies and programs. Claire’s work has led to industry impacts, including legislative changes in infrastructure solutions design and ESG value creation in partnership with UNRISD. She has a masters in planning (policy and design) and publications on the topic of integrated sustainability management, is a LEAN Green Belt, and recipient of a Canada Clean50 award.

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Recording of Session 1

Speaker: Vibhor Rohatgi, MSc. Associate at ESG Global Advisors Inc.

Topic: How to Devise a Corporate ESG Strategy

Vibhor Rohatgi is an Associate at ESG Global Advisors, a consulting firm that provides ESG advisory services to corporations and investors. Vibhor has over 3 years of work experience in ESG, sustainability and climate change and has supported organizations to identify and prioritize ESG-related risks and opportunities and develop strategies that align with their strategic objectives in order to drive value. Prior to his work at ESG Global Advisors, Vibhor was a Responsible Investment Intern at PSP Investments (PSP) where he conducted ESG due diligence on investment deals and identified material ESG risks, opportunities, and investment considerations for emerging industries. Vibhor holds a Master of Science in Sustainability Management and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Toronto..

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Recording of Session 2

Speaker: Prathmesh Raichura, Partner, Risk Consulting, ESG, KPMG

Topic: ESG and Value Creation

Prathmesh is a Partner in KPMG Canada’s Risk Consulting and ESG practice where he specializes in helping clients to address ESG risks and opportunities. Prior to joining KPMG in Canada, he was the Sustainability Leader for KPMG in India where he worked directly with other global KPMG practices including UAE, Turkey and Malaysia. With more than 20 years of experience as a sustainability professional, he has a wide array of focus areas including: ESG Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Audit, ESG Compliance and Data Governance & Training services, Sustainable Finance, ESG Strategy, Supply Chain, Reporting, Due Diligence and Assurance.

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Speaker: Emrul Hasan, Vice President, Global Programs, CARE Canada

Topic: ESG Landscape and Trends: Understanding Challenges and Implications

Emrul Hasan is a highly experienced and sought-after transformational leader experienced in executive leadership and management, focusing on strategic planning, development, and execution of international humanitarian and development, ESG, CSR and DE+I initiatives. He is a certified sustainability professional with extensive knowledge of ESG reporting standards and frameworks. Emrul has worked with a variety of organizations across different sectors, including finance, retail, and extractive industries globally, helping them with sustainability, ESG, and DE+I strategy, reputational and regulatory risk management, social impact measurement, and net-zero pathway strategy. He has also worked with various governments and development organizations in 27 countries, designing, implementing and evaluating high-impact social and economic development programs.

Currently, Emrul is the Vice President of Global Programs at CARE Canada. Before this, he held various senior leadership positions, including Vice President of Citizenship + Sustainability at Hill+Knowlton's Corporate Advisory arm and Vice President of Program Effectiveness and Quality at Plan Canada. Emrul has also worked at Plan International Bangladesh, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and UNDP-UNCDF. He was a member and Co-chair of the CSO Partnership Advisory Group (CPAG), which advised Global Affairs Canada on implementing CSO's partnership policy. Emrul also served as the Executive Lead for the DE+I effort at Plan Canada and was a member of the Anti-racism and Equity Council of Plan International. He is also an Advisory Board Member of the JennAir Disrupting Design Initiative of Whirlpool Canada.

Emrul is recognized as a thought leader in International Development, ESG, CSR, and DE+I, and his expertise is frequently sought by media, governments, and international agencies. He has been invited to speak at over 25 high-profile conferences, including the United Nations General Assembly, Intersessional UN Expert meetings and the Senate of Canada at the Standing Senate Committee hearing on Human Rights.

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Recording of session 4

Speaker:

Gordon Drake, Senior Manager, Deal Advisory, Global Infrastructure Advisory, KPMG LLP

Topic: Decarbonization

Gordon Drake is an Senior Manager in the Global Infrastructure Advisory practice of KPMG’s Toronto office. He specializes in energy and utility operations, regulatory issues, wholesale electricity market design, and the energy transition.  For nearly two decades, Gordon was a leader at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the crown agency at the heart of Ontario’s electricity system. There he developed expertise in power system operations, North American electricity markets, and emerging technologies such as demand response, energy storage, and renewable generation.

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