Details
Speakers
This session will introduce systems mapping tools and techniques that can help investors accelerate engagement on real-economy decarbonisation across complex value chains. Participants will explore how corporate engagement approaches on climate can be enhanced with broader systems stewardship when individual companies reach the limits of climate action they can take alone.
Through practical examples, the workshop will demonstrate how systems thinking can reveal structural barriers to decarbonisation, interdependencies across sectors, and shared leverage points for accelerating the net zero transition. Brought to you by our friends at Investor Group on Climate Change, through this workshop you will gain an understanding of:
- how systems mapping can support investor stewardship when decarbonisation challenges extend beyond the influence of individual companies.
- practical systems mapping tools and techniques to identify leverage points for decarbonisation and high-impact leverage points for change
- sector-based case examples and peer learnings to strengthen climate engagement strategies
- actionable insights for engaging with companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders to address interconnected climate and transition risks.
This workshop will help participants build systems mapping skills using two practical case studies:
1. Data centres, AI and climate risk
2. Investor action on methane emissions
Senior Manager at Investor Group on Climate Change
Donna is a passionate sustainable finance practitioner and researcher dedicated to driving climate progress through her role at the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC). She completed a PhD at UTS on the superannuation sector’s net zero transition, using systems theory to highlight the need for a coordinated climate response and advance sustainable finance. Donna plays an active role in investor engagement initiatives, facilitating Climate Action 100+ groups and contributing to its global net zero company benchmark and engagement progress committees.
Prior to joining IGCC, Donna worked at Morningstar in the Manager Research team, where she developed a strong focus on ESG and sustainable funds research and provided thought leadership in these areas. Her diverse professional background also includes practice as a commercial interior designer, where sustainability was a consistent thread - applying passive design principles, embodied energy considerations, and lifecycle analysis in her projects.
Donna holds a PhD from UTS, a Master of Finance from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Interior Design from RMIT University.'
Chief Research Officer at The Shareholder Commons
Dan has spent more than a decade developing innovative frameworks for managing corporate and investor impact through multi-stakeholder processes. He most recently served as Chief Research Officer at the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI), which grew out of the Impact Weighted Accounts Project of Harvard Business School. Prior to that, Dan was Head of Standards and Insights at the international non-profit, B Lab.
At B Lab, Dan oversaw the performance standards for B Corp Certification and the B Impact Assessment, a social and environmental performance measurement and management tool that has been used by more than 100,000 businesses globally. At IFVI, he led the creation and development of the only independently governed public good methodology for impact accounting, which quantifies social and environmental impacts in monetary terms to increase comparability and decision-usefulness and makes it possible to understand links and tradeoffs between impact and financial performance.
Head of Stewardship at Aware Super
Chris Newton is a leading expert in ESG and sustainable investment strategy, currently serving as Head of Stewardship at Aware Super. With a distinguished career that includes founding his own ESG advisory business and leading Responsible Investment teams at prominent fund managers, he integrates ESG considerations into core investment and asset management processes to deliver both robust financial returns and positive social outcomes. Chris holds board roles across major water utilities and sustainability-focused organisations—including South East Water, Parks Victoria, and Nyamba Buru Yawuru—leveraging his deep governance expertise to shape investment, audit, and risk strategies.
A proven history of senior leadership roles within Australia Post, the Victorian Government, Transurban, and Deloitte he has a proven record in policy development, economic advisory, and driving large-scale social innovation initiatives. Chris is regularly recognised as a speaker and thought leader—most recently at RIAA Conference Australia 2026—and has been instrumental in high-impact industry workstreams such as the PRI’s climate and human rights groups. He holds advanced governance and climate credentials, including certifications from Wharton Executive Education and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is known for his strategic leadership at the intersection of finance, ESG, and community impact.
Methane Expert Consultant at Environmental Defense Fund
Yvette Manolas is an independent consultant, senior executive and globally recognised climate expert with more than 20 years experience spanning strategic and technical roles including leading a businesses with revenue $3billion/annum. She won the WeQual 2024 Sustainability Award, is a Fellow of the UK Energy Institute and a Non-Executive Director of the CO2CRC. Yvette works as a strategic advisor for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the UNs International Methane Emissions Observatory, MiQ Methane Certification, and is an Executive in Residence at Deloitte.
