NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, in collaboration with Ceres, Impact Frontiers, Predistribution Initiative, PRI, and Novata as well as sponsors Investindustrial, Omidyar, ADL, and Glenmede present the Private Equity Sustainability Practicum, a day-long convening of GPs, LPs, and portfolio companies to share responsible investment practices that drive positive value creation. A series of panels, keynotes, and demonstrations from industry leaders identified market drivers and explored how regenerative capital can improve financial performance.

Sessions featured the practical application of sustainability strategies as a lever to address material business issues including operational efficiency, risk mitigation, innovation and growth, materials management and more. Attendees gained a new lens with which to analyze investment opportunities that yield environmental, social, and financial benefits.

The program included the following:

Welcoming Remarks from Master of Ceremonies

• Samir Goel, Co-founder of Esusu, member of NYU Stern CSB Advisory Board

Market Drivers Plenary

• Cynthia Curtis, SVP, Head of Portfolio ESG, Revantage (a Blackstone Real Estate Portfolio)
• Karine Khatcherian, Managing Director, Closed Loop Partners
• Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Senior Research Scholar, NYU Stern CSB
• Erin Smith, Sustainability Strategy Executive, Bank of America
• Moderated by Amy Cortese, Editorial Director, ImpactAlpha

Insights into Sustainability’s Role in Improving Performance for PE

• Tensie Whelan, Clinical Professor of Business and Society; Founding Director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

Sustainability Strategy and Value Driver Tool for GPs and Portfolio Companies

• Jennifer Flood, Head of Sustainability (North America), InvestIndustrial
• Alison Fenton-Willock, Director Sustainable Investing, KKR
• Angela Jhanji, Managing Director, EQT Partners
• Moderated by Florent Nanse, Principal, Arthur D. Little

NYC's Pension Fund Priorities for Climate & Job Quality in Private Market Asset Management

• Brad Lander, NYC Comptroller

Climate Frameworks: Pathways to Sustainable Investment & Financial Performance

• Melanie Fornes, Climate Change Investment Specialist, Glenmede
• Steve Hatfield, Head of ESG, US, The Carlyle Group
• Keren Raz, Senior Responsible Investment Manager, APG Asset Management
• Serge Younes, Head of Sustainability, Investindustrial
• Moderated by Peter Ellsworth, Senior Director, Ceres

Putting “People are Our Greatest Asset” into Practice

• Daniel Pedrotty, Director of Capital Strategies, North America’s Building Trades Union
• Diana Propper de Callejon, Managing Director, Cranemere
• Shiva Rajgopal, Kester and Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing, Columbia Business School
• Tom Woelfel, Senior Director of Impact, HCAP Partners
• Moderated by Delilah Rothenberg, Co-Founding Partner and Executive Director, Predistribution Initiative

Best Practices in ESG and Impact Data Management

• Bobby Patnaik, Chief Technology Officer, Lafayette Square
• Emma Sissman, Vice President, Goldman Sachs
• Courtney Thompson, Head of Sustainable Products & Solutions, Morgan Stanley
• Moderated by Lorraine Spradley Wilson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Novata