ATHENS – The 13th Annual Capital Link Sustainability Forum, titled “Financing & Investments Spearheading Sustainable Growth,” will be held on Thursday, June 8, as an in-person event at the Divani Caravel Athens Hotel, under the auspices of the Attica Region.

Over the past three years, unprecedented challenges and substantial transformations have upended our daily lives. Companies and financial institutions have adjusted their roles in the economy and society, with ESG criteria now prevalent in business, investment, and financial decisions. These criteria are not only mandated by regulators but also demanded by trading partners, business associates, and society as a whole.

Achieving a sustainable future is a significant undertaking that requires the collective effort of all stakeholders. By adopting effective mechanisms, we can pave the way for a new approach to finance and the overall economy and society.

FORUM OVERVIEW

Sustainability is a key parameter for attracting investments. Applying ESG criteria is an increasingly important factor in the investment strategy of several companies all around the world. Businesses are required to comply with a number of new regulations regarding the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Criteria. Today more and more companies and investment funds are adopting programs or policies based on these criteria in an effort to increase profitability and improve their access to financing. Regulators around the world are engaged in writing and implementing new disclosure policies, while investors are pushing for more and more accurate information as they develop and improve ESG-based investment strategies.

The 13th Annual Capital Link Sustainability Forum, with the participation of senior representatives from both the public and the private sectors, taking into account new trends but also challenges for Sustainability, Financing & Investments, will cover these crucial topics as well as initiatives undertaken in this context.

More information is available online: https://shorturl.at/wQ019.

The 2023 Capital Link Sustainability Leadership Award will be presented to Vassiliki Lazarakou, JSD, Chair of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, Member of the Board of Supervisors and the Management Board of ESMA, Member of the Board of Directors of IOSCO, and Chair of the ESAs Joint Sub-Committee on Securitizations.

Lazarakou is being honored both for her impressive professional achievements – especially given her position at the highest supervisory Market Authority, a position of particular responsibility and significance, which by definition plays the most influential role in the field for the smooth operation of the market; and for her status as a representative of all women in the effort to reinforce the presence and recognition of the contribution of women in business, with the recent example being the provision included in the legislation to increase the percentage of women on the Boards of Directors of listed companies (Law 4706/2020 on Corporate Governance of Societes Anonymes). She is the first female Chairperson in the 30 years that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission has been operating.