Raising Corporate Ambition for Environmental Sustainability: Canada’s Road to COP27

Webinar Series - Raising Corporate Ambition for Environmental Sustainability: Canada's Road to COP27

Environmental degradation, a direct consequence of our ambitious economic activity, fueled and exacerbated by the climate crisis, is the defining plight of our time. With rising temperatures increasing the severity of weather extremes, threatening food and water security, and fueling economic disruption, national and corporate commitments must become action. Businesses play a crucial role, not just in accelerating climate action, but in the future of environmental sustainability. The future that we want requires a mindset shift; it requires adaptation, mitigation and financing. The need to strengthen ambition in these three pillars of collective climate action are the core takeaways outlined by the Parties at last year’s COP26.

In this webinar series, we’ll use these three pillars as a lens to discuss the actions, tools and partnerships businesses are leveraging to advance action on some of Canada’s most pressing environmental challenges ahead of this year’s COP27. We’ll navigate the challenges of future-proofing Canadian businesses against impending environmental and climate risks and take a look at Canada’s international efforts to scale progress.

Session 1 – Feeding the Future: The Challenges and Opportunities of Canada’s Agricultural Sector

Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
Time: 3 PM to 4 PM ET
Agricultural production is incredibly dependent on weather and climate; we now understand that weather and climate are heavily influenced by our agricultural practices and policies as well. The impacts of the climate crisis will not be consistent across Canada, its seasons or the world but the threat to food and water security remains uniform. In this webinar, we’ll take a look at how the agricultural industry is tackling the challenges of climate change mitigation and the adaptation efforts needed to protect vulnerable ecosystems, coastal regions and peoples. We’ll also learn about Canada’s international efforts contributing to the global food security effort and the opportunities for collective action needed to further help scale solutions.

Speakers

Carlos M. Romero, PhD, AITRobynne Anderson - President and CEO : Emerging ag incSuzanna Ersoy - Deputy Director Sustainable Development Goals Unit (SDGs) : Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Session 2 – Taking the Lead: How Canadian Businesses are Accelerating Action for a Sustainable Blue Economy

Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022
Time: 3 PM to 4 PM ET

Integral to the prosperity of humankind, oceans mobilize and regulate a global system that creates the essential elements needed for a habitable planet. This global resource not only acts as a buffer against the impacts of global warming, absorbing 30% of carbon emissions produced by human activities, but it also sustains the livelihoods of over three billion people. A growing global economy will require the expanded use of oceans in order to produce and transport food, energy and raw materials. With the health of the oceans deteriorating quickly due to increasing temperatures, pollution and acidification, businesses and governments must recognize the urgency and global importance of healthy oceans and prioritize key actions to promote their wellbeing.

In this webinar, we will look at how Canadian businesses and other key stakeholders are acting on this emergency while discussing the challenges and opportunities of adaptation, partnerships and the investments needed to further support sustainable ocean health and economies.

Speakers

Dr. Francis Wiese - Science Director, Climate Solutions: StantecKendra MacDonald - Chief Executive Officer: Canada’s Ocean SuperclusterShaun Frankson - Co-founder and CTO: Plastic Bank

Session 3 – Climate Change & Technology: Shifting Mindsets towards Innovation Adoption

Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022
Time: 3 PM to 4 PM ET
The effects of climate change are growing more apparent with each new year. Although we expect innovation to play a substantial role in helping to mitigate the consequences of a warming planet, addressing global challenges through innovation will require organizational, social and economic changes. While the deployment of low-emission technologies available today is crucial to lowering GHG emissions, fostering innovation in new technologies will help accelerate the decarbonization processes, create new market opportunities for businesses and help escalate the widespread adoption and diffusion of technological innovations.

In this webinar, we will explore how key stakeholders are working in partnership to incentivize, support and accelerate the efforts of technological innovation and adoption needed to tackle the climate change emergency.

Speakers

Namit Nath Bhargava - Market Unit Lead – Canada, Sustainability Services: AccentureLouis-Philippe Gagné - Manager, Net-Zero Challenge: Environment and Climate Change CanadaPaige Whitehead - CEO and CoFounder: NYOKATom Chervinsky - External Affairs & Social Capitalism, Public Policy Team: TELUS

Session 4 – Overcoming Barriers: How Protecting Nature Can Future-proof Business and Mitigate Climate Change

Date: Thursday, November 24, 2022
Time: 3 PM to 4 PM ET
Recent data shows that biodiversity is declining at a rate unseen in human history. Current extinction rates are 1,000 times higher than natural background rates, with models suggesting future rates of extinction are likely to be 10,000 times higher. These rates are unsustainable for the net-zero, nature-positive world that we want and pose significant biodiversity-related risks to businesses. Ecological risks on operations, liability, regulatory, reputational, market and financial risks are just some of the difficulties businesses face without prioritizing greater environmental responsibility.

In this webinar, we’ll take a look at how businesses are navigating these risks to build and scale a more nature-positive future. We’ll bring together key stakeholders to discuss the challenges of mitigating biodiversity loss and the opportunities of nature-based solutions in the lead-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) held later this year in Canada.

Speakers

André-Martin Bouchard, ing. / P. Eng. - Global Director Earth & Environment & Global Executive Director ESG: WSP Global Inc.Paul-Emile McNab - VP, Business Development & Membership Experience: Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business