What is the curriculum?

The ESG Integration Programme Curriculum has been designed by Dr Stephen M. Davis with support from a global peer group of corporate governance experts. It covers seven core modules which navigate a complexity of corporate governance issues drawing on case studies from around the world. Each module is around 1.5 – 2 hours in duration and include:  

 

Wednesday 21^nd March, 2012

 

08:00-08:30       Welcome and introductions

 

Presenters:

• Dr. Stephen Davis, Executive Director of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance, Yale School of Management, USA
• Carl Rosen, Executive Director, ICGN, UK

 

 

08:30-10:00 Module 1: Introducing ESG in practice

 

• Evolution of ESG in practice - the history, origins and trigger points
• Governance in relation to value, risk and materiality
• Understanding the investment and accountability chain
• Drivers moving ESG into the investment process
• Contrasting governance models (family owned, widely held, state)
• Comparative regulatory frameworks (principles vs. rules) and major market differences
• Political and international dimensions on the importance of ESG

 

Presenters:

• Dr. Stephen Davis, Executive Director of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance, Yale School of Management, USA
• Ralf Frank, ESG Global Coordinator, EFFAS and Managing Director of DVFA, Germany

 

 

10:00-10:30       Refreshment break

 

 

10:30-12:00     Module 2: Managing ESG responsibilities from an investor perspective

 

• Core functions of a corporate governance professional
• Understanding your fiduciary duties and the accountability chain
• Positioning governance within the organization: compliance v. value
• Relationships with portfolio managers and the ICGN Model Mandate
• Stewardship codes: expectations of beneficiaries and other stakeholders
• What trustees need to know, and relations with governing boards
• Resources: when and how to outsource for ESG
• Reporting to beneficiaries, regulators, trustees
• International dimensions: working with different cultures and legal contexts
• Responsibilities and innovative financial features (e.g. stock lending, derivatives)

 

Presenters:

• David Pitt-Watson, Chairman, Hermes Focus Asset Management, UK & ICGN Board Member
• Keith Johnson, Attorney, Rienhart Law, USA

 

 

12.30 – 1.30      Lunch

 

 

1:30 - 3.00         Module 3: Global best practice: ICGN Principles and PRI Guidance

 

• Purpose and usefulness of international guidance
• Application of guidance in investment practice
• Overview of the ICGN Global Corporate Governance Principles
• Overview of the Principles for Responsible Investment
• Regulatory trends and developments in Europe

 

Presenters:

• Erik Breen, Head of Responsible Investing, Robeco, Netherlands (TBC)
• Rob Lake, Director of Strategic Investment, Principles for Responsible Investment, UK

 

 

3:00-3:30           Refreshment Break

 

 3:30-5:30           Case study: Case Study: Investor-Investee Engagement 

•   Karina Litvack, Director, Head of Governance and Sustainability Investment, UK
•   Mike Lubrano, Managing Director Corporate Governance, Cartica Capital, USA

 

06:30-21:45                Networking Dinner

 

 

 Thursday, 22^rd March, 2012

 

8.00-10.00         Module 4: ESG and investment decision-making

 

• Evaluating costs and benefits of ownership tactics
• Incorporating ESG into investment time horizons
• Practical challenges to embed ESG into the investment process
• Universal owner principle: applying market-wide concerns to individual stakes
• Application of ESG risks to different asset classes
• Investment approaches to ESG: e.g. activist hedge funds, focus funds, relational investing
• Approaches to ESG in indexed funds versus actively managed portfolios
• Short selling and governance implications
• Screening and exclusion strategies

 

Presenters:

·         Rob Bauer, Professor of Institutional Investors, University of Maastricht, Netherlands

·         Claudia Kruse, Head of Governance & Sustainability,  APG Asset Management, Netherlands  

 

 

10:00-10.30       Refreshment break

 

 

10:30-12:30       Module 5: Conducting an ESG analysis for corporate valuation

 

• Key questions to ask when conducting an ESG analysis
• Developing or adapting templates
• Tips on how to evaluate and oversee outside resources
• Understanding valuation assessments
• Remuneration analysis - aligning corporate behavior with investor objectives
• Interpreting analysis given different cultural and regulatory environments
• Decisions on outsourcing
• Recognising available resources

 

Presenter:

• Dr Steve Waygood, Head of Sustainability Research and Engagement, Aviva Investors, UK

 

 

12:30-1:30         Lunch

 

 

1:30-3:30           Module 6: Effective engagement and communications

 

• Developing an engagement strategy
• Tools of engagement – e.g. dialogue, filing resolutions, collective action, media
• Tips on how to evaluate and oversee outside resources
• Key questions to ask when conducting an ESG engagement dialogue
• Collective action options – acting ‘in concert’ or not?
• Overview of investor groups and resources available
• Liaising with the media

 

Presenters:

• Michelle Edkins, Managing Director, Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment, USA
• Peter Montagnon, Senior Investment Advisor, Financial Reporting Council, UK

 

 

3:30-4.00           Refreshment Break

 

 4.00 – 5.30        Module 7: Managing proxy voting

 

• How the proxy voting chain works
• Developing, implementing and refreshing voting guidelines on ESG
• Working with a proxy voting committee
• In-house or outsource, or hybrid?
• Understanding benefits and limitations of outside services
• International dimensions and cross-border challenges 

Presenter:

• Ian Richards, Head of Governance and Responsible Investment, Threadneedle Investments, UK

 

 

5:30 – 6.30 Wrap-up discussion

 

• Dr. Stephen Davis, Executive Director of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance, Yale School of Management, USA 

To download the curriculum, please click here.