International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages

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1 International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg, South Africa 16 th January 2018 The Vineyard, Cape Town, South Africa 18 th January 2018

2 International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages The Commonwealth (CCLI) is organising two high-level symposia in South Africa on the legal basis for directors and trustees to consider, manage, and report on climate change-related risk, and the circumstances in which they may be liable for failing to do so. These events are relevant to a wide range of organisations working on or interested in climate change issues. It is now clear that climate change presents material if not unparalleled economic risks and opportunities. The Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, together with others, have recently warned of the potential liability exposure of company directors for i) their company's contribution to anthropogenic climate change, ii) a failure to adequately manage the risks associated with climate change, and iii) inaccurate disclosure or reporting of these factors. These emerging exposures have implications for corporate governance in climate-risk exposed industries (from financial services to mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and beyond), and for the insurance sector (in terms of professional indemnity and directors' and officers' insurance). Despite these risks, there remains little in-depth analysis of how prevailing corporate governance laws and fiduciary duties facilitate or constrain the actions of company directors confronted with complex climate change challenges. In light of this and related developments, the CCLI has been established as a research, education, and outreach project by the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, HRH The Prince of Wales s Accounting for Sustainability Project, and ClientEarth. CCLI is initially focused on four Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom) and is examining the legal basis for directors in common law countries to take account of physical climate change risk and societal responses to climate change, under prevailing statutory and common (judge-made) laws. The South Africa symposia will be held at the Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg on the 16 th January 2018 and at The Vineyard, Cape Town on the 18 th January To RSVP please contact events@smithschool.ox.ac.uk. International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages 2

3 Tuesday, 16 th January 2018 Agenda Johannesburg 09:30 10:15 Arrival and Registration at Conference Venue 10:15 10:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks 10:30 11:45 Session I: The financial and business implications of climate change in South Africa Chair: Ben Caldecott, Founding Director, Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme, Smith School, University of Oxford Joanne Henstock, ED - Governance, IR & Sustainability, EY South Africa John Oliphant, Chairman, Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa (CRISA) Professor Coleen Vogel, Professor, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand 11:45 13:00 Session II: Duty to adapt - company directors Chair: David Cooke, Lawyer, Company and Financial Project, ClientEarth Christine Reddell, Attorney, Corporate Accountability & Transparency Programme, Centre for Environmental Rights Prof. Derick De Jongh, Director, Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership University of Pretoria Linda de Beer, Independent Director Sue Lund, General Manager, Growth & Diversification, Transnet SOC Ltd 13:00 14:00 Lunch 14:00 15:15 Session III: Duty to adapt - investors Chair: Tracey Davies, Head of Corporate Accountability and Transparency Programme, Centre for Environmental Rights Mzila Mthenjane, Executive head: Stakeholder Affairs, Exxaro Johan Thyse, Vice President: Group Regulatory Services, Sasol Lindie Engelbrecht, Executive Director: Members & Global Alliances, SAICA International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages 3

4 15:15 15:45 Tea/Coffee 15:45 17:00 Session IV: Corporate disclosures and misrepresentation Chair: Jessica Fries, Executive Chairman, The Prince of Wales s Accounting for Sustainability Project Loshni Naidoo, Project Director, Integrated Reporting, SAICA Tini Laubscher, Senior Technical, Auditor-General South Africa Shameela Soobramoney, Senior Strategist, Johannesburg Stock Exchange 17:00 17:45 Closing Keynote Mervyn E. King, SC, Advisor, Arbitrator, Mediator; Former Justice of the Supreme Court of South Africa 17:45 18:45 Drinks Reception 18:45 20:30 Dinner International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages 4

5 Agenda Cape Town Thursday, 18 th January :30 10:15 Arrival and Registration at Conference Venue 10:15 10:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks 10:30 11:45 Session I: The financial and business implications of climate change in South Africa Chair: Ben Caldecott, Founding Director, Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme, Smith School, University of Oxford Glen Tyler, South Africa Team Leader, 350Africa.org Dr Morné Du Plessis, Chief Executive, WWF South Africa Professor Mark New, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Climate Change, UCT and African Climate & Development Initiative 11:45 13:00 Session II: Duty to adapt - company directors 13:00 14:00 Lunch Chair: David Cooke, Lawyer, Company and Financial Project, ClientEarth Panelists: Richard Foster, Owner & Managing Member, Richard Foster & Associates Christine Reddell, Attorney, Corporate Accountability & Transparency Programme, Centre for Environmental Rights Jess Schulschenk, Director: Sustainability Institute, Stellenbosch University 14:00 15:15 Session III: Duty to adapt - investors Chair: Tracey Davies, Head of Corporate Accountability and Transparency Programme, Centre for Environmental Rights Sunette Mulder, Head of Responsible Investment Committee, ASISA Lindie Engelbrecht, Executive Director: Members and Global Alliances, SAICA Jon Duncan, Head of Responsible Investment, Old Mutual Investment Group International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages 5

6 15:15 15:45 Tea/Coffee 15:45 17:00 Session IV: Corporate disclosures and misrepresentation Chair: Jessica Fries, Executive Chairman, The Prince of Wales s Accounting for Sustainability Project Loshni Naidoo, Project Director, Integrated Reporting, SAICA Joanne Yawitch, CEO, National Business Initiative Terry Winstanley, Director and National Head of Environmental Practice, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr 17:00 17:45 Closing Keynote Mervyn E. King, SC, Advisor, Arbitrator, Mediator; Former Justice of the Supreme Court of South Africa 17: Drinks Reception 18:45 20:30 Dinner International Symposia on Directors Duties and Liability Exposures for Climate Change Damages 6

The climate risk reporting journey A corporate governance primer

The climate risk reporting journey A corporate governance primer A step-change in financial disclosure expectations In late 2015, in the shadow of the Paris Agreement and amid increasing concerns of investors,