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15 May 2020 – Articles

Fiona Reynolds on the future of the green transition in light of COVID-19

Fiona Reynolds, CEO for Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) shares her view on what the future of the green transition will look like in light of COVID-19.

Through Nordic Summit 2020 - this year transformed into a series of virtual sessions - Danske Bank sheds light on the current COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for the global economy and the society as a whole.

Fiona Reynolds, CEO for Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), elaborates on the green transformation in light of COVID-19, and discusses questions like how the pandemic is linked with the climate and biodiversity emergency, and how companies and investors can be more prepared for future crises such a climate change.

The session is moderated by Ulrika Hasselgren, Global Head of Sustainability & Impact Investment at Danske Bank, and Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen, Senior Analyst at FI&C Research Danske Bank.



Watch a recap



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Key-takeaways from Reynolds

  • The changed biodiversity due to climate change will bring diseases to new places, which will create new health-related issues. When it comes to COVID-19, air pollution is a death multiplier, increasing fatalities by 15%, according to new research from Harvard University.

  • This means that these continued crises need to be treated as connected issues, and it puts the urgency of dealing with the great transformation and tackling climate change front and centre at what we need to focus on in the future.

  • The crisis is an acid test for the field of sustainability and ESG responsible investment - it's the wakeup call that the world needs, serving as a stark reminder that if you don't have healthy people and a healthy planet, you will not have a healthy economy.

  • The businesses that survive in the future will be those with very good governance and those who take ESG factors into consideration and build them deeply into their process.

About Fiona Reynolds

  • The PRI is a UN-supported investor network, with more than 3,000 signatories who collectively represent some $90 trillion in assets under management. The PRI’s mission is to create a sustainable global financial system and the organisation aims to bring responsible investors together to work towards creating sustainable financial markets that contribute to a more prosperous world for all.

  • Among other positions, Fiona Reynolds serves on the Board of the U.N. Global Compact, she is a member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Global Advisory Council on Stranded Assets at Oxford University, the UN Business for Peace Steering Committee, the Global Steering Committee for the investor agenda on climate action and the Steering Committee for Climate Action 100+ which is the largest ever investor engagement with listed companies.

  • In 2018, Fiona Reynolds was named by Barron’s magazine of one of the 20 most influential people in sustainability globally.

Nordic Summit - what you need to know

  • A recurring annual event for Danske Bank’s corporate and institutional clients, where we share a Nordic perspective on the most critical topics and megatrends.
  • The event includes a series of keynote speeches and panel debates with leading international experts, politicians and industry leaders on these subjects.
  • Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to transform this year’s event into a series of virtual sessions all focusing on COVID-19. We are making the insights from the day available for everyone here on our website.