Tuesday, October 15, 2024 – Novisto is pleased to announce that it successfully delivered its third annual thought leadership event, the Novisto ESG Forum: Walking the Talk, on October 3rd, 2024.
Held at Maison Alcan in downtown Montréal, the invite-only conference was attended by 160+ business leaders and ESG practitioners from across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. Representing diverse sectors and industries, attendees met to deepen relationships amongst peers and learn from industry thought leaders, regulators, and sustainability pioneers.
Continuing the trend of building themes that are representative of the evolving ESG landscape, this year’s theme was Walking the Talk. The conference’s keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops focused on how organizations can turn their commitments into concrete action via accountability mechanisms for managing impacts, risks, and opportunities.
“The time for bold promises has passed,” said Charles Assaf, CEO of Novisto. “Our focus this year is to deliver against the immense mandate of today’s ESG practitioners with actionable insights, meaningful connections, and powerful technology.”
Inspiring a community of doers
Highlights from the one-day conference include:
- David Metcalfe, CEO of Verdantix, delivered a comprehensive, research-based keynote on the current and future state of the ESG market, calling 2025 a ‘pivot year’ for companies to shift from reporting and compliance towards sustainability performance improvement and ESG risk management.
- Laurent Lhopitallier, Head of ESG at Sanofi, provided a detailed account of Sanofi’s pioneering journey towards the CSRD. Chalk-full of actionable takeaways, Laurent provided insight into determining materiality thresholds of IRO’s, their collaborative approach to external assurance, developing narratives, the role of AI, and much more.
- Dr. Mario Abela, Director of Standards, GRI, and Marie-Jose Privyk, Founder and ESG Advisor, FinComm Services delivered an in-depth fireside chat on the need to reframe sustainability from reporting to performance. Additionally, they highlighted the perils of diving into compliance without a full understanding of the implications of reporting.
- Nawar Alsaadi, FSA, SIPC, Founder of Kanata Advisors, adeptly moderated an interactive panel discussion with Pyarali Jamal, FRSA, Senior Transformation, ESG & Sustainable Finance Specialist at ICAEW, Constance Drilhon, ESG Strategy Director at CAE, and Jennifer Dudgeon, Sustainability Director at Aspen Technology. The session explored the vectors of value creation, namely: reducing risk, lowering costs, and driving business growth.
Novisto would like to thank the following speakers and panelists for their expertise and insights:
- David Metcalfe - CEO, Verdantix
- Laurent Lhopitallier - Head of ESG, Sanofi
- Dr. Mario Abela - Director of Standards, GRI
- Marie-Josée Privyk - Founder and ESG Advisor, FinComm Services
- Nawar Alsaadi, FSA, SIPC - Founder, Kanata Advisors
- Pyarali Jamal, FRSA - Senior Transformation, ESG & Sustainable Finance Specialist, ICAEW
- Constance Drilhon - ESG Strategy Director, CAE
- Jennifer Dudgeon - Sustainability Director, Aspen Technology Inc.
- Leslie Dunham - Head of Sustainability, LPL Financial
- Diane Crowe - Group Sustainability Director, Reconomy
- David Ung - Director, Sustainable Investing, Manulife Investment Management
- Marie David, MSc, CPA - Audit Partner and ESG Audit Lead, KPMG
- Asheen Phansey - Director of ESG & Sustainability, PagerDuty
- Denis Sangulin - Senior Director of Internal Audit & Global Head of Sustainability, Balchem
- Roddell McCullough - Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, First Financial Bank
- Milla Craig - Founder, CEO, President, Millani Inc.
A continued investment in the community
“What defines us at Novisto is a mission to contribute to the sustainability of the economy, environment and society and we do so by empowering companies to make better ESG decisions and better ESG disclosures through our technology”, said Assaf.
To walk the talk on their commitment to sustainability, Novisto made every effort to source the event responsibly. It also calculated the carbon footprint associated with the travel of all guests and speakers. Consequently, Novisto will make a charitable contribution to ClientEarth, a unique environmental charity that uses the law to address climate change; this donation will be based on a carbon price aligned with the Paris Agreement.
Looking for more insights on the 2024 Novisto Forum? Check out the recaps of some of our participants and join the conversation on Linkedin!
- Maria Maisuradze, CFA, FSA Credential Holder, CEO, ED4S → https://hubs.ly/Q02SrhQg0
- David Metcalfe, CEO, Verdantix -> https://hubs.ly/Q02Srltf0
- Phil Terrigno, Director, Financial and External Communications, ITT → https://hubs.ly/Q02Srm0l0
- Pyarali Jamal, FRSA, Senior Transformation, ESG & Sustainable Finance Specialist, ICAEW → https://hubs.ly/Q02S_kLN0
- Scharl Scott, Senior Manager, Corporate Sustainability, Unity →https://hubs.ly/Q02Tw6bq0
About Novisto
Novisto is an ESG data management and reporting solution that goes beyond data and disclosures, helping companies clarify, build, and evolve their ESG performance for the long term. Founded in Montréal in 2019, Novisto is a private company backed by Inovia, White Star Capital, Diagram Ventures, Portage, and SCOR Ventures.
For more information, please visit: www.novisto.com
