NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

This gathering is co-hosted by TIIP, The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, and Principles for Responsible Investment and made possible by support from Domini Impact Investments, Orrick and the High Meadows Institute.

**Space is limited for the in-person gathering. All interested in attending who cannot be accommodated in-person will be able to participate virtually.**

More information about the event and a summary of the agenda are below:

It’s time for a new way to think about investing, one that can contend with the complex risks we face today. Previously, investors could find ways to insulate their portfolios from certain global events. Today, even seemingly ‘local’ events can immediately and adversely affect all portfolios. The largest, most influential investors are recognizing this trend and considering the interconnection between environmental and societal systems under stress and adverse portfolio performance.

Those same investors are adapting and adopting policies and practices that are additive to conventional investment scrutiny at the security and portfolio levels, helping them to confront global environmental and social systemic challenges in a way that makes financial sense. Adjusting to a changing world of risks, these asset owners and asset managers are charting the next, critical shift in the evolution of investment, what we call system-level investing.

The 3rd Annual System-level Investing Symposium is an opportunity to bring together these key investors and influencers to continue to establish and refine a shared vision of system-level investing and stewardship; identify system-level investing examples; discuss opportunities, challenges, and breakthroughs needed; and to help the industry avoid working at cross-purposes.

This hybrid event, with participants able to join either in-person or online, will include remarks from TIIP as well as feature other leaders at the forefront of the system-level investing movement. During the first part of the day, participants will hear from leading investors who are harnessing system-level investing to address the societal, financial, and environmental systemic challenges of today. In the afternoon, in-person attendees will be able to share their views with peers in a “Learning Lab” focused on key topics in system-level investing, including fiduciary duty, materiality, shareholder engagement, standard setting and more.

Key research will also be released during the event, including a series of case studies on the first-mover investment teams that have acknowledged the importance of—and embraced the practices for—system-level investing. These investors, many of whom will be speaking at the event, are demonstrating where the field is headed and presenting a path forward for other investors to learn from their peers and to join them on the vanguard of this evolution.

Summary Agenda (in-person and virtual, 9.00am-2.30pm ET):

• Welcome
• Presentation: System-level Investing Takes Flight
• Panel: What Investors Look for in OCIOs and Investment Managers
• Break
• Rapid Fire Round: Data and Analysis – The Opportunities and Challenges
• Panel: Meeting Client Demand
• Luncheon and Fireside Chat: System-level Investing State of Play
• Rapid Fire Round: How System-level Investing Meets Alpha and Beta Expectations
• Presentation: Making the Fiduciary Case
• Break and Virtual Meeting Ends

(In-person only, 2:30pm – 4.30pm ET)

Learning Lab: Implementing System-level Investing (Participants select one topic below)

#1 – Strategy development and implementation
#2 – Fiduciary Duty
#3 – Data and Analysis
#4 – Measurement and Reporting
#5 – Standard Setting
#6 – Materiality
#7 – Industry Associations
#8 – Stewardship
#9 – US Policy
#10 – Efforts addressing systemic social risks

Closing

Reception to follow for in-person attendees from 4:30-5:30pm ET

Time: 9am – 5:30pm EDT

Evolving policies and trade regulations in the solar industry, such as the U.S. UFLPA, have led to necessary changes in sourcing strategies for PV module buyers. While many buyers are purchasing from the largest vertically integrated Tier 1 Chinese suppliers to minimize traceability risks, others are considering procuring from non-Chinese suppliers based out of Southeast Asia and India.

In this webinar, CEA will outline the pros and cons of these two sourcing strategies, and provide an overview of the locations and capacity of the upstream PV supply chain. They will also share how procurement teams can identify potential importation compliance risks when sourcing from Southeast Asia and India.

CEA’s Asia-based traceability experts will share what they’ve learned through conducting dozens of traceability audits in upstream factories and provide a roadmap for a due diligence framework that solar developers can use to appropriately evaluate manufacturers and minimize procurement risks.

pv magazine Webinar content:

• Pros and cons of common strategies for ethical sourcing of PV modules
• Overview of the current locations and capacity of the upstream PV supply chain
• Summary of how top Chinese module manufacturers have improved their traceability systems since 2022
• Identification of the risks of procuring from non-Chinese suppliers in Southeast Asia and India, and proposed strategies to mitigate that risk
• Overview of the techniques and due diligence frameworks buyers can use to minimize procurement risk
• Q&A

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Tristan Rayner, editor at pv magazine, will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.

Time: 11: 00 ET