ESG in Manufacturing
1:00-1:05 pm ET
Welcome Remarks
1:05-1:45 pm ET
Effective ESG Communications Strategy
This session will cover industry disclosure trends and best practices across existing and emerging channels of ESG communications, from regulatory filings, ESG reporting, corporate website disclosures and employee communications. Hear Laura Wanlass, Global Head of Corporate Governance & ESG Advisory at Aon, discuss how companies are addressing the increasingly complex cross-departmental coordination on ESG efforts (Marketing, IR, Legal, HR, etc.), as well as how to communicate with the board on ESG.
Laura Wanlass
Global Head of Corporate Governance & ESG Advisory, Aon
Laura Wanlass is Global Head of Corporate Governance and ESG Advisory at Aon, which helps clients of all sizes, maturities, and industries understand and assess their potential exposure under the multitude of external stakeholder related policies, guidelines, and perspectives. Areas of subject matter expertise and related consulting services include:
- ESG & Corporate Governance Strategy & Benchmark Assessments
- Annual Shareholder Meeting Voting Projections & Engagement Strategy
- Tailored Reporting Recommendations & Strategy (Regulatory, SASB, GRI, TCFD)
- Voting Items at Annual Shareholders Meetings, including routine and non-routine item
- Governance Ratings Assessments & Strategy
- Board & Committee Performance Evaluations & Composition Analysis
Laura also has experience in federal taxation, business formations, and financial and econometric modeling practices. Prior to joining Aon, she worked in both the legal and business environments.
Laura received a J.D. from the Lewis and Clark Law School and a B.S. in economics from the University of Utah. Laura is a frequent industry speaker and writer on corporate governance topics. Laura is also the Vice President of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP). 4-time Rebelle Rally Competitor.
1:45-1:50 pm ET
Break
1:50-2:30 pm ET
Decarbonizing the Manufacturing Industry
Global manufacturing and production account for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and 54% of energy consumption. With increased focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives from boards and consumers, investors, and much-needed talent looking to purchase from, invest in, and work for companies with significant ESG commitments, manufacturers are working to reduce their carbon emissions.
The Manufacturers Alliance, in partnership with Infosys, surveyed almost 200 companies and interviewed cross-functional leaders to understand where the industry stands in terms of decarbonization. Delivering on Carbon Neutral Goals details that many manufacturers are making progress with Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with 45% of respondents advancing their measurements of these emissions. Further advancement into Scope 3 emissions is on the horizon with 28% reporting tracking beyond their factories. Jasmeet Singh, EVP and Global Head, Manufacturing at Infosys, Katie McGinty, VP & Chief Sustainability, and External Relations Officer at Johnson Controls, and Danielle Merfeld, VP & Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy, will join us to review the findings and to share common challenges and best practices to track, report, and reduce carbon emissions.
Jasmeet Singh
Executive Vice President and Global Head of Manufacturing at Infosys
Jasmeet is Executive Vice President and Global Head of Manufacturing at Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Infosys holds a strong ESG vision around climate change, technology for good, diversity and inclusion, energizing local communities, ethics and transparency, data privacy and information management and became carbon neutral in 2020, 30 years before the Paris Agreement deadline. At Infosys, Jasmeet is responsible for overseeing and growing client relationships in the Automotive, Aerospace, Defense, and Industrial Manufacturing sectors. Under his leadership, the sector has grown double digits for the past 2 years while improving the margin profile of his business.
Jasmeet is also on the Board of Fluido, a Finland-based digital transformation leader and Salesforce platinum consulting partner that became part of the Infosys family in October 2018. He is also on the board of Panaya, an Israel-based company that Infosys acquired in early 2015. Panaya is a leader in change acceleration, impact analysis and testing across SAP, Oracle and Salesforce-based ecosystems.
Prior to this, Jasmeet led the Financial Services business as the SVP & Industry Head for the Americas at Infosys. He has been instrumental in growing the business and deepening the relationships in this sector.
With over two decades of experience in IT and technology-driven business transformation, Jasmeet brings a deep appreciation of business processes and the usage of technology as a strategic differentiator for clients. He has a keen interest in the business value the manufacturing industry can derive from the intersection of technologies like IIOT, Automation and Machine Learning.
Jasmeet started his career with Tata Steel after completing his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT (BHU) Varanasi. He also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies Delhi.
Jasmeet is based out of New Jersey, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He is an avid reader and enjoys playing tennis.
2:30-2:45 pm ET
Break
2:45-3:15 pm ET
Microsoft’s Sustainability Journey
At Microsoft, sustainability isn’t just something the company does, it’s become an integral part of the business as employees have worked on reducing emissions over the last decade and more. Microsoft has been carbon neutral since 2013, and that drove the implementation of a data system to track and tax carbon across the business. The same data-driven approach led them to assess, select, and build new technologies to reduce emissions across their own operations—with smart building strategies, smart grid and renewable energy programs—and through their supply chain. And in 2020, they set new commitments to go beyond neutral and to a real net zero target, and become a carbon negative, water positive, zero waste company by 2030, while also building a Planetary Computer. The company continues to see clear ways that sustainability solutions are not only good for the planet, they are good for business.
In this session, Bob Familiar, Director of the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), will cover the history of sustainability at Microsoft and how that has influenced the culture, the products and technology and how the company is bringing solutions to market along with partners to help customers address their own sustainability goals.
Bob Familiar
Director, Microsoft Technology Center
Bob Familiar is the Director of the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) in Boston. The MTC is an innovation hub for Microsoft’s customers where they engage and collaborate with Microsoft Architects on their most challenging issues related to becoming a Digital Business. The MTC provides Envisioning, Strategy and Architecture Design Sessions, Hands-On Workshops, Hackathons and works with customers to design and build Rapid Prototypes for connected products and the application of augmented reality and artificial intelligence within business scenarios.
Familiar is a software industry veteran with over 36 years of experience as a software developer, architect, consultant, evangelist and author of two books, ‘Microservices, IoT and Azure’ and ‘Business in Real-Time using Azure IoT’. He is a frequent industry speaker on enabling businesses to realize the full benefit of digital transformation through the application of lean engineering, IIoT and sustainability.
3:15-3:20 pm ET
Break
3:20-4:00 pm ET
Perspectives in Manufacturing
Hear from Cliff Fleener, Corporate Director of Environmental Responsibility, Valmont Industries, Inc., about the organization's ESG journey.
