These are exciting and important times for sustainable finance in Canada. 

The country is creating the world’s second green finance taxonomy after that of the EU, and will shortly unveil a new set of definitions for the business activities that will support its climate transition. 

The government has also added alignment with the G20-backed Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) for companies into its Covid recovery plans – a move other jurisdictions, including the EU, have shied away from. 

Tiff Macklem, a climate champion, and one of four government advisors on fostering green finance, has become Governor of the Bank of Canada. 

And Canada’s huge pension funds continue to use their influence to push hard for climate-friendly action. The mighty, CA$410bn Canada Pension Plan Investment Board recently overhauled its sustainability policy to urge companies to report in line with the TCFD and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

And it isn’t just climate – at the start of 2020, a landmark decision was made by Canada’s supreme court that Canadian mining companies could be held accountable for accusations of human rights abuses within their operations, regardless of where they occurred. 

Where Canadian institutional investors go, others follow: from pioneering in-house private equity in public sector pensions to leading new investments in clean energy in North America and beyond, Canadian investors are respected for their leadership in global capital markets. 2020 looks like being the year they also step up strongly on the sustainable finance leadership opportunity. 

The RI Digital: Canada 2020 conference will examine the potential for Canadian investors to accelerate the energy transition, enhance corporate governance standards, and create a more prosperous future for all Canadians through the coronavirus recovery and beyond. 

From systemic risks like economic inequality and climate change, indigenous project finance, human capital development and transport infrastructure, participants will debate a wide range of ESG themes that have the potential to either reinforce or damage the bottom line for long-term value investors. 

Join us on 15th-16th September to learn how Canadian investors and their global peers are adapting their unique investment style to incorporate key ESG risks and opportunities. 

Register here to find out who is leading the way, and what lessons have been learned en route to more robust ESG integration and long-term value creation.

Discussion subjects at RI Digital: Canada 2020 include:

Is Canada taking a lead on ESG integration in global markets, or dragging its heels?

Winding up fossil fuels & financing clean energy and grids: what will that take in Canada? 

Canada and the great green taxonomy debate

Indigenous peoples as project partners - global opportunities in the era of The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) 

Increasing diversity amongst board directors & improving board relevance - a global opportunity