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Nature Finance – The Next Wave

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 – Wednesday, October 5, 2022
11:00 – 12:30
Centre International de Conférences Genève - Room A
Fintech Innovative Finance Social

Nature is rising up policy and market agendas with unprecedented speed. Visibility of nature-related risks and investment is growing, alongside nature’s place in addressing climate and food security. Now is the moment to align global finance with nature positive, equitable outcomes. Find out how Geneva’s nature-finance ecosystem is scaling up advocacy, market shaping and innovation activities to deliver this objective.

Speakers:

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema

Co-Chair - TNFD

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema is the UN Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations since February 2023. She is also the co-chair of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Ms. Mrema held several key roles, including Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Director of the Law Division and Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division. Her expertise in legal matters and ecosystem management have proved invaluable in shaping environmental policies and promoting sustainable practices. As the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, she played a pivotal role in developing strategies to safeguard migratory species and their habitats. A topic that extended to her acting roles as the Executive Secretary of UNEP/ASCOBANS and the Interim Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Gorilla Agreement. Ms. Mrema also served her country as a diplomat and legal expert in Tanzania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Ms. Mrema received the esteemed Kew International Award. She has also been featured on the Most Influential African Women lists for both 2021 and 2022, as selected by Avance Media. Ms. Mrema graduated with a Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Center of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

André Hoffmann

Vice chair - Roche

André Hoffmann is a businessman, environmentalist  and a passionate advocate for business as a force for good. André is Vice Chairman of Roche Holding AG, the family business. He also sits on the Board of SystemIQ, the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum, and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. André has a distinguished career in nature conservation and sustainability. He is the President of Fondation Tour du Valat and board member of Capitals Coalition. He is also Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Hoffmann Global Institute in Business and Society at INSEAD.

Katrina Donaghy

Co-Founder & CEO, Civic Ledger

Katrina Donaghy is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Civic Ledger.  Her career began in the public sector with senior roles with Brisbane City Council, Queensland Urban Utilities, and Queensland Government.

Preeti Sinha

Executive Secretary, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

Preeti Sinha is a globally experienced investment and development banker with a 30-year track record associated with raising and managing institutional public and private development capital. She served as CEO & President of FFD Financing for Development LLC, a specialist development finance firm focused on financing the UN SDGs.

Fabienne Fischer

State Councilor, State of Geneva

Fabienne Fischer is a lawyer and politician belonging to the Green Party. She was elected on 28 March 2021 to the Geneva State Council and is currently State Councilor in charge of the Department of Economy and Employment. Ms. Fischer became a City Councilor in 2011. She was also a member of the board of directors of Geneva Airport, as well as vice-president of the board of directors and chair of the real estate committee of the Hospice General. Ms. Fischer acted as a teacher in social sciences at Collège Rousseau and was a partner at BM & Avocats. She has a law and a history masters from the University of Geneva.

Dr. Vian Sharif

Founder, NatureAlpha, and Global Head of Sustainability, FNZ Group - NatureAlpha

Dr Vian Sharif is founder of NatureAlpha, and Head of Sustainability at FNZ Group. She leads the development of innovative technology solutions across financial platforms to catalyse the shift to more sustainable capital allocations. She spent over a decade at global asset manager Investec. As part of a number of governmental and international sustainability advisory groups, she was a Member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Disclosures Technical Experts Scoping Group and the UK Government's Business Advisory group for the Convention on Biodiversity. She is a founder member of the Taskforce for Nature Markets and board member of Nature Finance.

Simon Zadek

Executive Director - NatureFinance

Simon Zadek is Executive Director of Nature Finance, Senior Advisor to the Task Force on Nature Related Financial Disclosure, Co-lead of the Taskforce on Nature Markets and Convenor of The Sustainability-linked Sovereign Debt Hub. He was Head, Secretariat, UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals, Senior Advisor on Finance in the office of the UN Secretary General, and Co-Director of UNEP’s Finance Inquiry. He co-Chaired China’s Green Finance Task Force, and led the Green Finance Study Group secretariat under the Chinese, German and Argentinian G20 Presidencies. Prior to this, Dr. Zadek was Senior Advisor to the World Economic Forum and the Global Green Growth Institute, founder and CEO of the international think tank, AccountAbility and Development Director of the New Economics Foundation. He was Visiting Professor at the Singapore Management University and the Copenhagen Business School, and has been a senior fellow at Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and the University of Southern Africa. Dr. Zadek has worked with many corporations, governments and multi stakeholder initiatives on their sustainability and broader strategies, been a member of the International Advisory Board of Generation Investment Management, and has published extensively, including the award-winning book, The Civil Corporation.

Mark Halle

Senior Advisor - Nature Finance

Mark is a Senior Advisor with NatureFinance. Following two years with the CSCE, he has devoted his career to the environment and sustainable development, beginning with five years in UNEP’s Policy Planning Division. He spent four years in WWF-International’s Conservation Division, with responsibility for building its programmes in China and as conservation advisor to HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. There followed fourteen years at IUCN. He left IUCN to establish the International Institute for Sustainable Development (Europe) where he remains Senior Fellow. Mark was Senior Advisor to the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System.

Christoph Baumann

Envoy of the State Secretary for Sustainable Finance - State Secretariat for International Finance

Mr. Baumann holds an LLM in international law from the University of London, a master's degree in economics from the University of Zurich, and is a CFA charterholder.

Patrick Odier

Chair - Building Bridges

Patrick Odier has been Chair of the Board of Directors of Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd. since January 1st, 2014. He was Senior Managing Partner of the Lombard Odier Group from 2008 to 2022. Mr. Odier joined the Lombard Odier Group in 1982 and completed his training in Zurich, New York, and Montreal, before becoming a Managing Partner in 1986. He holds an economics degree from the University of Geneva and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. Mr. Odier is president of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF). He is also Chairman of Building Bridges. He is a member of the Board of economiesuisse (Swiss Business Federation). He was Chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association from 2009 to 2016. He is also a board member of several Swiss and international academic institutions and philanthropic organizations.

Walelasoeikigh Paiter Surui

Indigenous Youth Activist. Paiter Surui People

Walelasoeikigh Paiter Surui Flag is an Indigenous activist of the Paiter Surui People and Leader of the Indigenous Youth Movement of Rondônia.

Neidinha Bandeira

Co-founder & Leader, Kandidé Ethno-Environmental Defense Association

Neidinha Bandeira is an environmental and human rights activist, leader and co-founder of the nonprofit Kandidé Ethno-Environmental Defense Association

Emeryc Kpenou

Partner, Southbridge

Emeryc Kpenou is a Partner at Southbridge and actively participates in the development of SouthBridge’s green finance operations.

Hannah Jones

CEO, The Earthshot Prize

Hannah Jones has served as the CEO of Earthshot Prize since 2021. Previously, she served as President of Nike Innovation Labs and has held numerous positions at Nike since 1998.

Nakul Saran

Member, Taskforce On Nature Markets

Nakul Saran was previously Chief Operating Officer of Sea the Future, Minderoo Foundation’s global industry-led initiative to end plastic leakage to nature and accelerate the transition toward a circular plastics economy. At Sea the Future, Nakul leads a global team spanning Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States to design innovative market-based mechanisms that can enable plastics circularity and kick-start commercially viable recycling markets. He also oversees the initiative’s programs on Transparency, Advocacy, and Technology & Innovation. Nakul’s work has largely focused on developing financing and governance solutions to restore the world’s fragile ecosystems. Prior to joining Minderoo, he served as an independent consultant for major public and social sector clients including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and Friends of Ocean Action. From 2016 to 2018, he was the Head of Special Projects and Sustainability at Tata Trusts, where he was responsible for the organization’s portfolio on energy, climate change, and the environment in India. A passionate lover of oceans, Nakul has served as Vice President, Fish Forever at Rare, where he led the global conservation organization’s efforts to revitalize oceans, scaling the program to span five countries and over 100 coastal communities, and was awarded the Mulago Foundation’s Rainer Arnhold Fellowship for his leadership. He also spent seven years at McKinsey and Company, where he led the Oceans and Fisheries service within the Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice. Nakul holds master’s degrees in Ocean Engineering and Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

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