The key note speaker of the EWoB Talent pool launch from EU Mrs. Salla Saastamoinen stated on October 25th in Brussels as follows: “Sustainability is very high on the political agenda today. Corporate governance needs to be improved on this level.”
Inspired by Mrs. Saastamoinen’s words, the Board Professionals Finland organised an event called “Money, responsibility and board work” on January 19th 2017 at The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra in Helsinki.
Today it is not enough that a company is profitable – it needs to be responsible and a good corporate citizen as well. Finance and insurance sectors are already aware of the importance of sustainability and responsibility, mainly because these values are very important to their clients, employees, partners and stakeholders.
The most important mission of a board of directors is to increase the value of the company and shareholder value of the owners. In addition, responsibility is one of the most important factors in reputation management – and it is indeed the board of directors who is responsible for company’s risk management and responsibility.
In this particular event almost 40 Board Professionals Finland members gathered together to hear “How can we increase wellbeing and optimise state budget by smart utilisation of Impact Investing eg. Social Investment Bonds”, by Mr Timo Lindholm, Director of New Work Life and Sustainable Economy at Sitra Fund.
We also had a pleasure to listen and participate a panel discussion on “Money, responsibility and board work”. First Ms. Riikka Sievänen, expert on sustainable investing at KPMG Oy Ab gave a short introduction on the difference between Impact Investment and Sustainable Investment
From left to right: – Riikka Sievänen, KPMG Oy Ab – Outi Helenius, Evli Bank Plc – Mika Leskinen, OP Financial Group – Minttu Jaakkola, Maj and Tor Nesslingin Foundation
After that we heard three different sustainability experts:
– Mr. Mika Leskinen, Head of ESG, OP Financial Group, Wealth Management
– Mrs. Outi Helenius, Responsible Investment Coordinator, Evli Bank Plc – Evli Fund Management Company Ltd, Wealth Management and
– Mrs. Minttu Jaakkola, Head of Research at Maj and Tor Nesslingin Foundation.
The moderator of the event Ms. Aija Bärlund concluded the event: “Board of directors do have a key role when leading their companies in the most sustainable and responsible manner. This includes e.g. good corporate governance, careful risk management, smart and sustainable investment strategy – and embracing equality and diversity in recruitment policy.”