8th - 12th November 2021
Future of Strategy 2021: Beyond Sustainability
The Future of Strategy 2021 online conference aims to bring together the world’s leading security and intelligence experts, policymakers and trade professionals to discuss what is beyond the sustainability narrative.
During each day our unique blend of specialists and practitioners will discuss and analyse the future of trade finance, ESG and political risk through and ask if and how sustainability efforts are indeed creating a more meaningful economy.
Download the event PDF, or scroll down to view the full programme.
The week long virtual conference program will take place from the 8th – 12th November 2021 coinciding with week two of COP26.
Missed some sessions? Catch-up and watch the latest sessions here.
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Monday 8th November
Day one: Creating a sustainable trade landscape.
The political and economic overview plus key challenges for business
Monday 8th, 9:30 – 10:15
Global Trends in Trade and Investment -Introducing sustainable trade
The centrifugal forces around trade have been evident for several years. There is an opportunity to reverse this with a clear and honest focus on climate change, addressing the iniquities of globalization, and regulation that sustains economic growth. This fireside chat discusses how trade (as opposed to globalization) can and should be the means of achieving this.
Speakers:
Monday 8th, 10:30 – 11:30
Opening panel: What is sustainable trade? A view from the top
Around the world storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying. Air pollution sadly affects the health of tens of millions of people and unpredictable weather causes untold damage to homes and livelihoods too. The worlds leaders meet at COP26 to discuss ambitions of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. But humanity is poised on a bridge of conflict between our human requirements and sustainability and the reality of the current state of trade is that the scope for fraud, environmental damage and poor employment standards is immeasurable. So we ask: what is sustainable trade and how can we define it in a manner that reflects the challenges of building supply chains across borders influenced by national rather than multilateral interests?
Speakers:
Monday 8th, 12:30 – 13:30
Working lunch: ESG – nothing standard!
How can we standardise sustainability in a meaningful way?
Climate change is the greatest risk facing us all. But while the impacts of climate change are devastating, advances in tackling it are leading to cleaner air, creating good jobs, restoring nature and at the same time unleashing economic growth. Banks and corporates are pulling together in droves as they prepare for impending ESG regulation aligned to the UN’s sustainability goals and the EU Taxonomy. But what exactly are the standards and rules and how can international business activity be incentivised in real trade terms?
Speakers:
Monday 8th, 14:00 – 15:00
Working group: Trade – A cry for help!
Images of empty shelves, queues at petrol stations and nervous rumbling from retailers that goods won’t be available for the Festive Season are dominating policy and business discourse. Greensill has demonstrated stark concerns in supply chain finance. Is this all a direct consequence of Covid-19 or Brexit? What needs to happen for the current situation to not become irreversable?
Speakers:
Monday 8th, 16:00 – 17:00
Fireside chat: Wargaming in the 21st Century
This session looks at the role of war gaming to develop scenarios and envision trade outcomes. It will explore how trade has become weaponised over the past five years and why it is now fully integrated into national security strategies around the world but particularly in the US. The actions of nation states are interdependent but economic nationalism and strategic competition have not diminished in their importance through the Covid pandemic nor since the new US administration took office. If trade finance professionals need to model what is happening in the world of geopolitics, then war-gaming may be a helpful tool in understanding how to go about this. This session will find out how.
Speakers:
Monday 8th, 17:00
Coriolis Technologies, Product demonstration
Coriolis Technologies is a leading producer of data and analytics for trade and trade finance. We provide clear intelligence and insight into trade flows, supply chains and disruptions.
Join us as we demonstrate:
- Coriolis Technologies MultiLateral data platform: Providing businesses and banks with a tool to identify opportunities, assess risks and access supply chain partners and finance globally.
- Coriolis Technologies Atlas: International SME onboarding offering personalised access to trade finance providers; SME “trade finance readiness” scoring against KYC, AML, dual use goods and SDGs
- Coriolis Technologies Kosmos: Environmental, Social, and Governance monitoring and passporting of the world’s companies, supply chains, and nations by trade product.
Watch the demo by joining the event above – Fireside chat: Wargaming in the 21st Century.
Tuesday 9th November
Day two: The trade after tomorrow
How technology is reshaping global trade
Tuesday 9th, 9:30 – 10:00
Fireside chat: Space wars: Security, strategy, and sustainability in Space
In the past year alone, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the world’s first amateur astronaut crew into Space, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin completed its second human flight to Space and back, and Richard Branson beat them both in the Billionaire Space Race, becoming the first billionaire to ride into Space aboard a rocket he helped fund through Virgin Galactic. Activity in Space is on the rise more than ever before. But what does this mean for sustainability and security? As Heads of State come together at COP26 to urgently work out how to solve the ever-escalating climate crisis before it’s too late, should we only be focussing on Earth-side pollution? Are we making the same mistakes? Space has always been militarised and is increasingly becoming more weaponised with more anti-satellite weapons entering Space each year, but what is the trade-off between defending Earth and protecting Space? Can we do both?
Speakers:
Tuesday 9th, 10:30 – 11:30
Panel discussion: Creating a digital trade ecosystem around the world
Data suggests that accelerating legal reform to will enable digital and paperless trade will create higher revenues and lower costs for banks, offer greater market access and greater access to trade finance for SMEs, and substantially reduce risk for all. So what challenges do we face to move this agenda forward and create a more efficient and more sustainable international market?
Speakers:
Tuesday 9th, 12:30 – 13:30
Working lunch: Appetite for Production – Building sustainable food supply chains
An increasing number of countries face growing levels of acute food insecurity. Surging food prices reflecting strong demand, along with weather uncertainties, macroeconomic conditions, and COVID-19-related supply disruptions have driven up food prices. This combined with reduced incomes, mean more and more households are having to cut down on the quantity and quality of their food consumption. At the same time sustainability goals aim to transform mainstream agriculture and raw material supplies, and evolve existing manufacturing and procurement systems to build high quality working standards and more sustainable and local food supply chains. How can we approach such a complex challenge and how the industry can adapt? Do SMEs offer more viable solutions and how can cities develop more sustainable food sources?
Speakers:
Tuesday 9th, 14:00 – 15:00
Working group: Can digital and paperless trade help the ESG agenda?
Successful ESG measurement will need to be geospatial, micro and product specific as it evolves, which prompts the question: is it possible to measure ESG without a digital solution? In this panel we will look to join the dots between what is going on in the digital world of trade finance and the whole area of ESG.
Speakers:
Tuesday 9th, 16:00 – 17:00
Fireside chat: How is technology changing trade?
Trade has always been shaped by technology but the rapid development of digital technologies in recent times has the potential to significantly transform international trade in the years to come. In this session we talk about how new technologies will impact the future of trade with the potential to disrupt and improve so many aspects of the industry.
Speakers:
Tuesday 9th, 16:00 – 17:00
Wargaming: Live simulation of a real world scenario
Exclusive invite-only focus group with the next generation of wargaming experts from King’s College London. In this session, we will present, explore, and conceptually develop our upcoming wargame, Primacy.
Invite only
Tuesday 9th, 17:00
Coriolis Technologies, Product demonstration
Coriolis Technologies is a leading producer of data and analytics for trade and trade finance. We provide clear intelligence and insight into trade flows, supply chains and disruptions.
Join us as we demonstrate:
- Coriolis Technologies MultiLateral data platform: Providing businesses and banks with a tool to identify opportunities, assess risks and access supply chain partners and finance globally.
- Coriolis Technologies Atlas: International SME onboarding offering personalised access to trade finance providers; SME “trade finance readiness” scoring against KYC, AML, dual use goods and SDGs
- Coriolis Technologies Kosmos: Environmental, Social, and Governance monitoring and passporting of the world’s companies, supply chains, and nations by trade product.
Wednesday 10th November
Day three: Open SeSME
Levelling the playing for SME participation in global trade
Wednesday 10th, 9:15 – 10:00
Working Group: Future-proofing SME supply chains in emerging markets
This year alone supply chains have been hugely impacted by a wide range of factors that include material shortages, Brexit and the pandemic, food & energy security, and regulations to advance sustainability. How do we ensure that SMEs can build supply chains that can cope and overcome the difficulties of global trade?
Speakers:
Wednesday 10th, 10:30 – 11:30
Panel: Ask a banker: How can SMEs achieve success?
In a unique Q&A style panel, members of our Kosmos Consortium take the stand to answer key questions from SMEs regarding the efficiencies of trade finance and the fundamentals of building unique supply chains. Have a question you would like to ask a trade finance provider? Get in touch…
Speakers:
Wednesday 10th, 12:30 – 13:30
Working lunch: Growing roots: Facilitating accessible international trade routes for SMEs
The globalisation of business has increasingly drawn SMEs into global value chains through different types of cross-border activities. How do all players in the supply chains ensure that they promote entrepreneurship and innovative SMEs in a global economy and create more responsible and inclusive supply chains? What is the perfect mix of cross border activity from the full range of factors that include international investment, open participation in strategic alliances, partnerships and networking arrangements that affect a variety of business functions ranging from research and product development to distribution?
Speakers:
Wednesday 10th, 14:00 – 15:00
Fireside chat: Strategy and Sustainability – the challenges ahead
Core foreign policy priorities depend on SDG progress, and foreign policy makers also have a critical role to play in supporting implementation and managing the challenges associated with transformational change. But have the foreign policy dimensions of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda been sufficiently broached by foreign ministries to date? Does the US supply chain review mean real moves towards more supply chain sustainability or is it just an attempt to exclude China, and what does European Open Strategic Autonomy really mean?
Speakers:
Wednesday 10th, 17:00
Coriolis Technologies, Product demonstration
Coriolis Technologies is a leading producer of data and analytics for trade and trade finance. We provide clear intelligence and insight into trade flows, supply chains and disruptions.
Join us as we demonstrate:
- Coriolis Technologies MultiLateral data platform: Providing businesses and banks with a tool to identify opportunities, assess risks and access supply chain partners and finance globally.
- Coriolis Technologies Atlas: International SME onboarding offering personalised access to trade finance providers; SME “trade finance readiness” scoring against KYC, AML, dual use goods and SDGs
- Coriolis Technologies Kosmos: Environmental, Social, and Governance monitoring and passporting of the world’s companies, supply chains, and nations by trade product.
Thursday 11th November
Day four: Taking the risk
Trade security in the 21st Century
Thursday 11th, 9:30 – 10:00
Coriolis Technologies, Product demonstration
Coriolis Technologies is a leading producer of data and analytics for trade and trade finance. We provide clear intelligence and insight into trade flows, supply chains and disruptions.
Join us as we demonstrate:
- Coriolis Technologies MultiLateral data platform: Providing businesses and banks with a tool to identify opportunities, assess risks and access supply chain partners and finance globally.
- Coriolis Technologies Atlas: International SME onboarding offering personalised access to trade finance providers; SME “trade finance readiness” scoring against KYC, AML, dual use goods and SDGs
- Coriolis Technologies Kosmos: Environmental, Social, and Governance monitoring and passporting of the world’s companies, supply chains, and nations by trade product.
Thursday 11th, 10:30 – 11:30
Panel: My word is my Green Bond – Beyond the securitisation of sustainable energy
The demand for sustainable solutions across industries are increasing exponentially. How do we ensure that these initiatives are protected and secured in-line with global targets? Is the current system of financing alternative energy projects viable and sufficient especially when compared to the framework for participating in oil and gas ventures? Does the solution lie in borrowing accepted energy business practices and adapting them to solar and wind energy projects?
Speakers:
Thursday 11th, 12:30 – 13:30
Working lunch: Rise of the Blockchain – Can decentralised technology facilitate more secure and efficient trade?
The field of cryptocurrencies is ever expanding. There currently are more than 6,000 cryptocurrencies in existence. Crypto is trendy, innovative and the market is expected to grow from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $2.2 billion by 2026. But what is the impact on trade? How do you track origination? Is cryptocurrency a viable solution for trade fiunance and better global transactions? Can blockchain help facilitate growth and can it be measured?
Speakers:
Thursday 11th, 14:00 – 15:00
Working group: Tech Wars: How does digital trade open threats to security?
Trade and cybersecurity are increasingly intertwined. The global expansion of the internet and increased use of data flows by businesses and consumers for communication, e-commerce, and as a source of information and innovation are transforming international trade. Global data flows enable artificial intelligence, the “internet of things,” (IoT) and cloud computing. Such digital technologies accelerate the global connectivity of businesses, governments, and supply chains. But what are security threats do these innovations bring? How are we protecting our supply chains from cyber Attacks? What does the future hold for such a rapidly expanding field?
Speakers:
Thursday 11th, 16:00 – 16:30
Fireside chat: What does sustainable SME financing actually mean?
How much of the debate around SME financing and sustainability is actually just noise? How difficult is it for banks to provide finance to the very smallest companies around the world and can banks genuinely afford to work in this space when the costs of compliance and measuring sustainability themselves are so high? John and Rebecca will talk frankly about why SMEs find financing difficult, what else they need in terms of non-financial support and whether or not banks are doing enough to help their SME client base to grow through sustainable trade.
Speakers:
Thursday 11th, 17:00
Coriolis Technologies, Product demonstration
Coriolis Technologies is a leading producer of data and analytics for trade and trade finance. We provide clear intelligence and insight into trade flows, supply chains and disruptions.
Join us as we demonstrate:
- Coriolis Technologies MultiLateral data platform: Providing businesses and banks with a tool to identify opportunities, assess risks and access supply chain partners and finance globally.
- Coriolis Technologies Atlas: International SME onboarding offering personalised access to trade finance providers; SME “trade finance readiness” scoring against KYC, AML, dual use goods and SDGs
- Coriolis Technologies Kosmos: Environmental, Social, and Governance monitoring and passporting of the world’s companies, supply chains, and nations by trade product.
Friday 12th November
Day five: Beyond sustainability
When global trade is transparent what can you see?
Friday 12th, 9:30 – 10:00
Fireside chat: Did trade finance learn anything from COP26?
Do the ambitions of trade finance mirror the direction of movement from COP26? We take a deeper look into the practicalities of sustainability requirements in the world of trade finance. As we move to establish sustainability as a core criteria in a global market how do we balance the intricacies to ensure it is fair for all participants? What are the consequences for human security/economic and political migration impacts of a more automated trade landscape? Can and should banks make money out of preferential treatment of ESG compliant clients?
Speakers:
Friday 12th, 10:30 – 11:30
Panel: Social Sustainability – A wake up call
The ongoing regulatory push will compel business and financiers to think more about sustainability in their supply chains. The incoming EU taxonomy is game changer because it measures environmental impact against sector codes and activities and outside of the EU alone, it is estimated that this will affect some $3tn of global trade. What is the practical solution for all players within a global supply chain to ensure social and governance efforts are successful?
Speakers:
Friday 12th, 12:15 – 13:00
Working lunch: 2030 Beyond sustainability: What next?
If we can successfully track and assess global sustainability and meet COP26 ambitions of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, how will this effect trade. How will companies be held accountable? What will cross country supply chain look like? What will be the next post-sustainability challenge to overcome in the world of trade?
Speakers:
Friday 12th, 13:00 – 13:30
Fireside Chat: The last word in Sustainability
As COP26 and FOS21 draw to a close, this session is, quite literally, the last word on sustainability. Rebecca and Daniel review the key lessons that we have learned about making trade finance sustainable against a backdrop of the post-pandemic global trade climate. The session will summarise the geopolitics of sustainability, the challenges of using digital technologies to streamline trade, how to overcome supply chain blocks in a sustainable way, and sustainability compliance. This tour de force of the whole week will end with an overview of the role of banks in enabling sustainability amongst their clients.
Speakers:
14:00 – 16:00
Kosmos Consortium working group (members only): How do you practically measure the future of ESG and move beyond tier two?
By tracking and assessing trade data specifically aligned to ESG goals we can build a realisitic picture of the sustainability of supply chains. But what does this mean in practice? How do we move beyond IAEG-SDGs Tier 2 and regularly produce data from country, company, regulatory systems and products, while creating standardisation tools that are conceptually clear and have an internationally established methodology? How do we measure ESG in emerging markets?
*Members will receive session details separately
What to expect
- Insight into the key trade trends that underpin strategy in a post-Covid world
- Access to leading-edge speakers and keynote addresses in an “on-demand” format
- An opportunity to shape the agenda and address key trade challenges through “interactive lunch sessions”
- Keynote speeches from global leaders in the military and national security arena
- Breakout sessions and an opportunity to hear world class thought-leadership and access academic research from the strategy and economics space and their approaches to trade, intelligence and national security
- The potential to arrange small group briefing sessions with top practitioners from the military, intelligence, and economic spheres. These sessions would run in parallel to other aspects of the event and give you or your clients an off-the-record space to be briefed on current issues specific to your business
- A unique networking opportunity combining thought leaders, academics, policy makers, trade professionals and security and intelligence practitioners
Highlights from the Future of Strategy 2020
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