ESG Spring Conference - The sustainability challenge in law & business: education, amplification, and collaboration

The ESG Spring Conference is hosted by the CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance under the auspices of McGill’s Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) and McGill Business Law Platform. 

This conference will unite business school deans, industry experts, representatives from banking, finance, and law firms, as well as educational institutions including CEGEPs, high schools, and community organizations. Together, they will engage in discussions on the pressing challenge of enhancing the effectiveness and universality of ESG practices through collaborative, community-based initiatives.

• 08:20 -  Registration 
• 08:40 - Welcome Remarks: Professor Peer Zumbansen, Director McGill Business Law Platform, Academic Lead, SGI CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance, Desautels Faculty of Management  
• 08:45 -  Panel I: Sustainability Activism and the Importance of Visibility – The Role of Law Firms, Businesses and Stakeholder Groups in promoting Climate Change Mitigation 
  • Panelists: 
    • Harrison (“Harry”) Myles, Goldblatt Partners, LL.P. Toronto 
    • Haley Czarnek, Law Students for Climate Accountability (LSCA) [remotely] 
    • Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Chair in Sustainable Development Law and Policy, University of Cambridge [remotely] 
    • Noah Stern, CEO Mooseknuckles, Canada 
    • Kevin Thomas, Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) 
  • Moderator: 
    • Shivani Salunke, DCL/PhD Candidate, McGill University, Faculty of Law
• 10:15 - Coffee Break 
• 10:30 -  Panel II: Sustainability Finance, Reconciliation and Indigenous Communities – Making Consultation and Consensus a Reality in Today’s Sustainable Finance Projects 
  • Panelists: 
    • Aaron White, Vice President, Sustainable Investments - CIBC Asset Management
    • Jaimie Lickers, Senior VP, Indigenous Markets, CIBC [remotely] 
    • Geordie Hungerford, Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Financial Management Board [remotely]  
    • Klaus Ludwig Schilling Maciel, Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative for Climate Action (LACLIMA);  
    • Yvan Guy Laroque, Larocque Business Law, Winnipeg 
    • Luisa Castañeda-Quintana, DCL/PhD candidate, Vanier Scholar, McGill Faculty of Law [remotely] 
  • Moderator:
    • Peer Zumbansen, Director, Business Law Platform, McGill Law, CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance 
• 12:15 - Lunch  
• 13:45 - Panel III: Sustainability Curriculum Design Across Generations – Educating the Next Generation 
  • Panelists: 
    • Mark McGuire, John Abbott College  
    • Gracie Diabo, Loran Scholar, McGill University, Faculty of Engineering  
    • Geoff Garver, Law and Governance Lead, Leadership for the Ezozoic  
    • Hannah West, JD cand. ’24, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Member, UofT Law Union  
    • Olaf Weber, CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance, Schulich School of Business, York University Toronto  
    • Glen Dowell, S.C. Johnson School of Business, Cornell University 
  • Moderator: 
    • Ella Johnson, Editor in Chief, McGill Sustainable Development Law Journal 
• 15:15 - Coffee Break
• 15:30 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Climate Change, Sustainability and 21st Century Business School Education 
  • Keynote Speaker: Dean Andrew Karolyi, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University 
  • Introduction: Daniel Tsai, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Queens Smith School of Business, Senior Fellow, McGill Business Law Platform 
• 16:15 - DEANS’ Panel: “Sustainability as Educational Challenge" – The Place of Business Schools in Changing Mindsets and Training the Next Generation” 
  • Dean Wanda Costen, Smith School of Business, Queens University
  • Dean Detlev Zwick, Schulich School of Business, York University
  • Dean Andrew Karolyi, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University
• 17:10 - Conclusions 
• 17:15 - Closing