Highlighted
| News regarding CSPM Co-Director Elizabeth Demers |
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| News regarding Sustainability Affiliate Daniel Kim |
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| Shari Mann hosted a panel on Sustainability Reporting |
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| Sustainability affiliate receives positive press coverage |
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 Leah Feor received positive press coverage related to research that was published in late 2023: |
Awards and honours
Sustainability affiliate receives RBC scholarship
 Sustainability affiliate Amar Mahmoud received the RBC scholarship, which is awarded to students who effectively practice sustainability research |
Majid Mirza is named to the third annual Changemakers list
 The Globe and Mail comprised its third annual Changemakers list. Finalists were evaluated based on their ideas, accomplishments and impact. Out of hundreds of submissions, it was narrowed down to 50 activists, executives, entrepreneurs and academics whose single-minded devotion to making the world a better place for everyone serves as an inspiration to us all. One of these activists was the CSPM's Majid Mirza! Read more about Majid's accomplishment in the Globe and Mail. Other news regarding Sustainability Affiliate Majid Mirza:
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Sarah Keyes has been recognized by the Institute of Corporate Directors
We are pleased to share that a CSPM advisory board member and ESG Global's CEO, Sarah Keyes, has been recognized by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) for International Women's Day! As a successful female leader in the Canadian governance landscape, Sarah shares some thoughts on the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Winner of the 2023 SSC Case Study Competition
Tony Wirjanto won the 2023 SSC Case Study Competition on Understanding how Canada’s economy might be impacted by climate change at the 2023 Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) annual meeting at Carleton University, Ottawa. Published in arXiv on November 6, 2023, this paper can be downloaded:
Sarah Keyes is named to the third annual Changemakers list
A call for nominations was sent from both the business community and from across The Globe and Mail to comprise the third annual Changemakers list. Finalists were evaluated based on their ideas, accomplishments and impact. Out of hundreds of submissions, it was narrowed down to 50 activists, executives, entrepreneurs and academics whose single-minded devotion to making the world a better place for everyone serves as an inspiration to us all. One of these activists was the CSPM's Sarah Keyes!
Read more about Sarah's accomplishment in the Globe and Mail.
2022 recipient of the Warren Ober Award
Jillian Adams, a research assistant with the CSPM, was the recipient of the 2022 Warren Ober Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student within the Faculty of Arts. Congratulations Jillian!
Sarah Keyes receives her FCPA designation from CPA Ontario: A message from her...
"Many of you know that I became a CPA with a goal to make a positive impact on the Canadian accounting profession by highlighting it's role in ESG and Sustainability. As I approach 10 years as a CPA, I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have received the 2022 FCPA designation from CPA Ontario. This is a significant personal achievement for me and I am incredibly honoured by this recognition - it is proof that passion combined with hard work, perseverance and determination can make a difference. I'm more motivated than ever to build on this momentum and scale my impact in 2023 and beyond!
A special thank you to Wendy Kei, FCPA-FCA, F.ICD and Alan Willis FCPA, FCA for this nomination, and to all of those who provided letters of support for me. You have had an amazing influence on my career and I am so graterul for your mentorships."
- Sarah Keyes, FCPA, FCA
(Source)
Newly appointed to the Implementation Committee of the CSSB
The Implementation Committee for the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) is now operational, with 13 newly appointed members working to develop the initial institutional structure for the CSSB. One of those newly appointed members was Sarah Keyes, an advisory board member with the CSPM. Congratulations Sarah on being appointed to the Implementation Committee of the CSSB!
Media Release – Canadian Sustainability Standards Board Implementation Committee Members Appointed
Presentations
The CSPM Co-Director Liz Demers’ Presentations
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Daniel Kim presented his papers in Manchester and Oslo!
Daniel Kim presented his paper 'Do carbon emissions affect the cost of capital? Primary versus secondary corporate bond markets' at a seminar for the Manchester business school, United Kingdom on May 4th, 2023.
Also, the BI Norwegian Business School hosted a one-day research conference on corporate governance in Oslo, Norway on June 9th. At this conference, Daniel Kim presented his paper 'It's Not Easy Being Green'.
Read both papers:
Some Aspects of Green Finance: Concepts and Methods
Tony Wirjanto was invited to present at the Fields-WICI Math for Complex Climate Challenges Workshop - University of Waterloo - St. Jerome’s University Academic Centre. The presentation, Some Aspects of Green Finance: Concepts and Methods, took place on May 3rd.
Check out this video presentation on the topic by Jiayue Zhang on behalf of Tony Wirjanto:
Sustainability affiliate Tony Wirjanto's presentations
- Tony Wirjanto co-hosted an on-line workshop with Aging and Retirement Division and Catastrophe and Climate Strategic Research Programs Division of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute on Impact of Climate Change Risk on Retirement on February 26, 2024, in my capacity as a recipient of an on-going project on the Impact of Climate Change Risk on Retirement funded by the SOA.
- Co-hosted a workshop in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada on climate finance, nature-based solutions and flood risk at the University of Waterloo on December 19, 2023, in my capacity as one of the two academic advisors for University of Waterloo’s Flood Impacts, Carbon Pricing, and Ecosystem Sustainability (FINCAPES). FINCAPES is a joint research initiative between Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. It is funded by Global Affairs Canada of Government of Canada and a participating country (with an initial endowment of CAD $16+ millions).
- Was invited to present at 'The 26th International Congress on Insurance: Mathematics and Economics' at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. The paper presentation, Navigating Uncertainty in ESG Investing, took place on July 6th, 2023.
Sustainable growth depends on everyone feeling the sense of urgency
With a decade of diverse experience as a thought leader, consultant and auditor, Sarah Keyes, FCPA, FCA is a recognized voice on the financial impacts of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. Sarah leads a team of advisors that help organizations address climate change issues and how they relate to organizational decision-making. Sarah is an expert in climate change mitigation and adaptation issues.
In a short film, Sarah uses her deep understanding of her subject to highlight the urgency of the current situation. Her point of view is that as humanity only has seven years left to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, achieving this depends on working within the existing system and harnessing the power of capitalism.
Rockway CC Event Series - Voluntary Tax Disclosure in Sustainability Reports
On January 17, 2023, Ken Klassen and Jillian Adams spoke at the 'Waterloo-Wellington CPA Ontario Association: Rockway CC Event Series - Voluntary Tax Disclosure in Sustainability Reports'.
Academic research on the evolution of tax transparency through voluntary disclosure of tax information in sustainability reporting was presented. Using a global sample of firms, the research identified factors that influence the willingness to undertake these disclosures.
The presentation was based upon a new study by Adams, Demers, and Klassen, all affiliates of the CSPM, which is available on our Sustainability 'Recent Research' webpage.
"In Conversation with…” webinar series
Professor Elizabeth Demers, Co-Director and Research Affiliate with the CSPM participated in a global webinar with representatives of HBS’s Impact-Weighted Accounts Project. As a representative of the European Accounting Association’s (EAA) Stakeholder Reporting Committee (SRC), Demers hosted Katie Panella, Project Manager, and Ethan Rouen, Assistant Professor, both of Harvard Business School in the SRC’s “In Conversation with…” webinar series.
Tax Aggressive Behavior and Voluntary Tax Disclosures in Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Professor Ken Klassen and PhD student Jillian Adams have been invited to be visiting guests of the Accounting for Transparency research center funded by the German Research Foundation. During their stay, they will visit Paderborn University and the University of Mannheim and present their recent research paper, entitled “Tax Aggressive Behavior and Voluntary Tax Disclosures in Corporate Sustainability Reporting” (co-authored with Elizabeth Demers), as part of the Accounting for Transparency seminar series.
Member announcements
Sarah Keyes, CSPM Advisory Board Member, profiled in Corporate Knights
In the last two decades, accounting has been transformed as ESG takes centre stage. Many of the industry’s most ambitious change agents have been women, one of them being Sarah Keyes, a CSPM Advisory Board member.
A story by the Corporate Knights was published about the 'warrior accountant' who is pushing the envelope on climate action, and rising as an activist accountant.
Tony Wirjanto earned a Research Grant
CSPM member Tony Wirjanto was awarded a highly competitive research grant by Society of Actuaries Research Institute on a project with a title: The Impact of Climate Change Risk on Retirement. His team members consist of experts in the field from RBC.
Good luck with the project Tony!
Meet our new member: Majid Mirza
The CSPM welcomes one of the newest members of our team Majid Mirza, who will be serving as a Research Affiliate.
Majid Mirza is Co-Founder/CEO of ESGTree, a technology and advisory platform focused on ESG management for financial institutions. He has been named one of the ‘Top 15 Voices in the Green Economy’ by LinkedIn and is a global expert on impact investing and ESG. Majid has headed impact investing divisions at various organizations and is a founding board member of the Canada Forum for Impact Investing and Development (CAFIID). Previous to launching ESGTree in 2020, he consulted on ESG strategy, reporting, and integration for over a dozen private equity firms as well as foundations and federal government entities. Majid’s doctoral research is on ESG in private capital markets. He regularly lectures at conferences and universities on the topic of ESG, impact investing, and sustainable finance with a particular focus on reporting and disclosure practices.
Read more about Majid's expertise.
We have a new sustainability research associate!
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We are fortunate that Daniel Kim will be joining the University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor, and the CSPM as a sustainability research associate, on August 1, 2023. Welcome Daniel, we look forward to you becoming an integral part of the CSPM and SAF team! |
Meet our new member: Muhammad Azim
The CSPM welcomes one of the newest members of our team, Muhammad Azim, who will be serving as a Research Associate.
Muhammad specializes in empirical capital markets research, including work that has significant sustainability implications.
Read more about Muhammad's expertise.
Meet our new member: Mingyue Zhang
The CSPM welcomes one of the newest members of our team Mingyue Zhang, who will be serving as a Research Associate.
Mingyue specializes in empirical capital markets research, including work that has significant sustainability implications.
Read more about Mingyue's expertise.
Other news
News regarding the CSPM co-director, Liz Demers
- Liz Demers was appointed to the CPA Ontario Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC), comprised of 12-14 senior sustainability leaders from around Ontario with diverse backgrounds, for a three-year term. This committee will shape the future of the profession in sustainability reporting and assurance, and the first meeting will take place in March 2024.
- Invited to serve as a discussant at the Northern Finance Association meetings in Toronto in September, discussing the paper “Effects of Mandatory Carbon Reporting on Unrepresentative Environmental Disclosures.”
- “Are ESG ratings informative about companies’ socially responsible behaviors abroad? Evidence from the Russian invasion of Ukraine” is now in print and available for reading.
- Appointed as the CAAA’s Board of Directors and as of July 1st, 2024 and is serving as Research Committee Chair
- Invited to discuss the paper “Effects of Mandatory Carbon Reporting on Unrepresentative Environmental Disclosures” (authored by Grewal, Richardson, and Wang) at the Northern Finance Association meetings in Toronto in September.
- Hosted an EAA Stakeholder Reporting Committee global webinar in the “In Conversation with…” series interviewing Laura Girella (Technical Specialist, Connectivity and Integrated Reporting, IFRS Foundation and Ass. Prof. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) and Corey Walrod (ISSB Technical Staff) in relation to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s Request for Information (RFI) that is currently outstanding and aimed to inform its work plan for the upcoming two-year period. This took place in July of 2023.
- Her paper 'Are ESG Ratings Informative About Companies’ Socially Responsible Behaviors Abroad? Evidence from the Russian Invasion of Ukraine' (co-authored with D. Ahmed, J. Hendrikse, P. Joos, & B. Lev), is forthcoming in the next issue of Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly.
- Liz attended the Stanford GSB Sustainability Reporting and Control Conference, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
- Effective as of January 2023, Liz has been appointed as an editor at Contemporary Accounting Research.
News regarding Sustainability affiliate Tony Wirjanto
Tony Wirjanto updates:
- April 2023 – Present: Invited to join on March, 3, 2023 and officially became an active member of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) at the University of Waterloo in April of 2023.
- May 2023 – Present: Academic Advisor for University of Waterloo’s Flood Impacts, Carbon Pricing, and Ecosystem Sustainability (FINCAPES) project as a joint initiative between Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Environment, funded by Global Affairs Canada with an initial endowment of $15 million.
- May 2023 – Present: Invited to join on May 17, 2023 and officially became an active member of the Waterloo Climate Institute (WCI) at the University of Waterloo in May of 2023; research fields in: (1) deep decarbonization and sustainability transitions, (2) Innovations in climate science, and (3) Climate risks, resilience, and adaptation.
A Tale of Two Taxes: Does Corporate Income Tax Avoidance Undermine the Role of Environmental Taxation in Promoting Environmental Sustainability?
GIGS 3rd Annual Conference 2024 — Call for papers
News regarding Sustainability Affiliate Mingyue Zhang
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