Greenwashing Outlook: Legal & Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management Approaches

Alicia Kedzierski is the Head of Department for ESG at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is responsible for setting the regulatory ESG strategy and leading policy and technical work. This includes embedding ESG across the FCA’s activities. Alicia has led the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) Policy, the Vote Reporting Group, as well as the FCA's work on Transition Finance, Transition Planning, and other high profile projects. She is also Co-Chair of the IOSCO Assurance Workstream on Sustainable Finance. 
 
Alicia previously led critical projects for the FCA, including the regulatory response to the Cost of Living Crisis. Her experience spans the UK and working across the Middle East and Africa, including development projects. Previously, Alicia worked at Deloitte, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Bank of England. Her background is in Law.

Dora Blanchet is head of unit in charge of sustainable finance at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Her unit coordinates and oversees the Authority’s work related to the various actors of the sustainable investment value chain with the objective to implement ESMA’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2022-2024. In this context, ESMA published a Progress and a Final Report on Greenwashing as well as an Opinion on the Functioning of the Sustainable Finance Framework.

Dora joined ESMA in 2016 as team leader of supervisory convergence in which function, she designed and managed various initiatives to deal with Brexit related supervisory matters or conduct peer reviews. She started her career at the European Commission and worked for several years at the French Autorité des marchés financiers.

Fayyaz Muneer is the Deputy Director for Prudential and Sustainability in the Financial Services Group of HM Treasury. His team is responsible for the regulatory framework for sustainable finance, including sustainability-related disclosures, the UK Green Taxonomy and transition plans, as well as the prudential regime for banks and investment firms. Fayyaz has been at the Treasury since 2012, and has worked in policy roles across public spending, tax, and financial services.

Hayley Fletcher is the interim Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, responsible for its consumer enforcement work and preparation for its new enforcement powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA). She was previously a Director working across the CMA's enforcement and markets tools, including its recent work on AI Foundation Models.

Prior to joining the CMA, Hayley worked at a number of regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Hayley holds an MSc in Regulation from the London School of Economics.

Mark Manning is an independent advisor on sustainable finance. He works with a number of organisations across policy, academia and civil society, with a focus on transition planning, system change, sustainability reporting and sustainable investment. Among his engagements, Mark works with the London School of Economics and Political Science (Grantham Research Institute, Centre for Economic Transition Expertise), the IFRS Foundation, the World Bank, Chapter Zero, the International Organization for Standardization, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the Transition Plan Taskforce.

Mark spent much of his prior career working in the official sector, holding various senior policy and research roles in central banking and securities regulation in London and Sydney – with the Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. For many years, Mark represented these organisations in international policy committees, including at the Bank for International Settlements and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Mark holds Master’s degrees in Economics and Finance, from University College London and London Business School, respectively.

Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project, and Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. The Belfer Center – which includes more than 300 scholars, practitioners, and former policymakers and consistently ranks as the world’s top academic think-tank – advances policy-relevant knowledge in the areas of international relations, security, technology, science, and energy and the environment. Dr. O’Sullivan draws on her broad experience in government, diplomacy, academia, and business to contribute insights that benefit her students and colleagues, the U.S. government, global businesses, and the public debate. She takes pride in teaching and mentoring the world’s future leaders as a member of the

Harvard Kennedy School faculty since 2008. O’Sullivan has served in multiple senior policymaking roles and has advised national security officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her public service, including the U.S. Defense Department’s highest honor for civilians (the Distinguished Public Service Medal) and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (which she has received three times).

Vanessa is leading the UK Government’s Transition Finance Market Review and is a board member of UK Export Finance and chair of the UK Export Guarantee Advisory Group. Vanessa led Linklaters’ sustainability practice until her retirement in 2023 and still consults for the firm..