With Lord Bailey, this roundtable explores how ESG frameworks can support government ambitions across housing, infrastructure, and economic growth, while ensuring the built environment meets environmental and social goals. Themes include challenges around data, regulation, and SME engagement, and how ESG can drive investment, innovation, and accountability across planning, construction, and retrofitting in light of upcoming policies like the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and Future Homes Standard.

The Chancellor’s Mansion House speech highlighted pensions as a key driver of sustainable finance. This roundtable looks at how pension reform and ESG can be better integrated to create a future-proof pensions system. Key topics include ESG mandates, fiduciary guidance, and how pension schemes can support investments in green infrastructure and the net-zero transition.

We are delighted to have Lara Wolters MEP lead this virtual discussion. A key voice on corporate sustainability, Lara was the rapporteur on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This roundtable looks at the European Commission’s Omnibus Simplification Package — whether it is a necessary reform or a setback for ESG — and its implications for the UK.

This roundtable focuses on how the UK Industrial Strategy can drive regional growth through sustainable investment, reshaping markets, supporting communities, and regulation. We explore how the strategy can empower businesses to adopt sustainable practices and foster long-term investment in British industry. Chi Onwruah MP, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Esin Serin (LSE), Dan Marks (RUSI), and Martin Martinoff (Innovate UK) lead the discussion.

The roundtable examines the intersection of ESG principles and the unique challenges and opportunities in the Global South, drawing lessons from the recent COP conferences and the innovations emerging from developing markets. We are joined by Michael Wilkins, the Executive Director and Professor of Practice at the Centre For Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College London.

The TFMR’s roadmap published in October, recommends scaling an effective and credible transition finance market. This roundtable comes at a pivotal moment, following the release of the government’s UK Green Taxonomy consultation on 14 November. The discussion is led by Vanessa Havard-Williams, the Transition Finance Market Review’s Chair.

Chaired by Victoria Collins MP, this roundtable explores the urgent need to shift from conventional ESG frameworks toward a more competitive, business-led sustainability model. Based on CISL’s Competitive Sustainability report, the discussion highlighted the growing economic impacts of climate and biodiversity loss and the tension between short-term profits and long-term resilience.

This roundtable exams the new Labour government’s green agenda, following the King’s Speech and its focus on energy transition and sustainability. With insights from Heather Buchanan (Bankers for Net Zero) and Oscar Warwick Thompson (UKSIF), the discussion explores key legislation like the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy Bills.

This roundtable explores the rise of group litigation as a growing force in corporate accountability, with insights from Pogust Goodhead and Harbour Litigation Funding. Driven by high-profile cases and legal reforms, UK class-action claims surged from £4bn in 2021 to £26bn in 2022. Participants discuss how this trend pressures companies to strengthen ESG strategies, the ethical questions around third-party funding, and the potential for green hushing as litigation risk increases in the ESG space.

This roundtable explores the future of ESG with insights from Robert Armstrong (FT), Alex Edmans (LBS), and Lindsey Stewart (Morningstar). Speakers highlight the ongoing confusion between ESG and corporate sustainability, stressing the need for clearer, more targeted reporting. As regulation evolves, the gap between investor expectations and corporate strategy must close.

Inaugural roundtable of the PLG on ESG. This roundtable focuses on the revised UK Corporate Governance Code, with Richard Moriarty (FRC) and Peter Swabey (CGI) discussing its evolution following major corporate failures. The Financial Reporting Council faced the challenge of tightening governance standards while supporting enterprise.