Columbia University Sustainable Finance Seminars
SIRI leads the monthly (online and in-person) Columbia University Sustainable Finance Seminar. The working group sessions will focus on the identified pathways to consensus (including but not limited to system-level investing, fiduciary duty, and intergenerational equity) to drive forward the rewiring of the source code of capitalism and foster ecosystem-building. By doing so, SIRI provides an important institutional platform that brings together and fosters dialogue among a variety of key players from the public and private sectors, policy, and academia.
Following each seminar, a report summarizing the key insights and discussion points will be drafted and shared with participants. These reports will also be posted on this webpage accessible to companies, investors, and educators around the world.
Please join us for these monthly discussions and participate in the Columbia University Sustainable Finance Seminars.
Co-Chairs: Caroline Flammer and Bob Massie
Buried Treasure: How Experts Uncover Financial Value and Hidden Risks in Sustainability Data
These seminars are an integral part of SIRI's Pathways to Consensus program, which is generously supported by the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Key issues in sustainable finance can be difficult to understand because some of the most important developments are hidden behind deceptively plain language.
At its core, connectivity asks a simple but profound question: How do the sustainability risks and opportunities described in narrative form relate to the numbers in financial statements?
Though we are all aware of the active global debate about the boundaries of financial and impact materiality, and the search for metrics that unite them, current users of information are required to navigate parallel worlds—one focused on short-term performance, the other on long-term consequences. Critical information about these elements is often divided between sustainability and financial reports, forcing experts like our speakers to pursue the points of “connectivity” between them, which is essential not only for transparency, but also for the integrity of capital allocation. In other words, connectivity is the bridge between disclosure and decision.
Speakers:
Michiel van der Lof
Global Corporate Reporting Services Leader, Ernst & Young
Michiel van der Lof serves as the EY Global Corporate Reporting Services Leader, driving consistency in the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) across the network. In this role, he is a member of EY’s Global IFRS Policy Committee and the Global ISSB Policy Committee, focusing on informing clients and engagement teams in the world regarding new reporting standards and user expectations.
Based in London, Michiel van der Lof is also an Assurance Partner with over 25 years of experience in providing advisory services to international companies. Previously, he held leadership roles as the EMEIA IFRS Leader and the EMEIA IFRS Leader for Financial Services, having qualified as a Dutch-certified accountant in 1996.
Jeremy Stuber
Chair, Corporate Reporting Users' Forum (CRUF) UK
Jeremy Stuber is a global equity analyst and recognized leader on valuation and accounting issues across all sectors. Jeremy has covered various global sectors, including aerospace & defence, automotive, engineering, and IT services.
Jeremy chairs the Corporate Reporting Users' Forum (CRUF) UK, is a member of the Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC), which is one of the advisory groups of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, and is also a member of the Advisory Panel on Intangibles (API), which is one of the advisory groups of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), having qualified with Ernst & Young. Jeremy holds MA and MEng degrees from Cambridge University.
Stuber’s work focuses on how both financial and sustainability disclosures can support rigorous investment analysis and capital allocation decisions. He emphasizes decision-usefulness, materiality, and comparability, with particular attention to whether sustainability disclosures meaningfully inform assessments of risk, return, and valuation, as well as the need for clearer connections between narrative disclosures and financial outcomes.
Renati Suzuki
ESG Reporting Leader, KPMG Brazil
Renati Suzuki is KPMG Brazil’s ESG reporting leader, assisting companies to prepare for the application of the IFRS Sustainability Reporting Standards. She is an expert in measuring the financial impacts of sustainability-related risks and opportunities and has over 12 years of experience in the sustainability field. She leads projects of both financial and sustainability matters, including training and managing teams with different backgrounds. And as an alumna of Columbia University, she holds a Master of Science in Sustainability Management.