Rethinking the Intersection of AI and Sustainability

12 Sep (Fri) Day 2 : 14:30 – 16:00

Full Programme
Roundtable A

As sustainability reshapes investment, AI is emerging as both a catalyst and a challenge. From processing ESG data to forecasting climate risks and detecting greenwashing, AI has the potential to transform sustainable finance. However, firms are still grappling with ethical concerns, responsible adoption, and building the right skillsets.

Join CFA Institute for a dynamic roundtable exploring how professionals can harness AI to drive sustainable value while maintaining transparency, trust, and sound judgment. Drawing on global expertise, the session will highlight practical ways to balance innovation with integrity.

Additionally, we’ll also consider the sustainability of AI itself, including its energy demands, carbon footprint, social impacts, and the need for ethical oversight. By addressing both how AI can advance sustainability and how we can ensure AI is sustainable, this roundtable fosters a holistic dialogue on the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for the future of finance.

Together, we’ll examine how organizations can responsibly integrate AI into sustainability strategies, elevate decision-making, and prepare for a future where human and machine intelligence must work in concert.

Learnings

  • Explore high impact use cases: Understand how AI is transforming climate modeling, ESG screening, impact measurement, and portfolio optimization.
  • Address ethical blind spots: Learn how to identify and mitigate risks around data bias, model opacity, and accountability in AI-driven decisions.
  • Build future-ready teams: Gain insight into the new capabilities finance professionals need to lead at the intersection of AI and sustainability—and how credentialing and continuous learning can close the skills gap.
  • Develop a responsible AI roadmap: Discover practical steps to build governance, transparency, and risk controls into AI implementation across investment functions.
  • Learn from global leaders: Hear real-world examples of how asset managers and institutions are embedding AI into their sustainability strategies—while maintaining investor trust and regulatory alignment.

Post-Event Actions

  • Evaluate your organization’s use of AI in ESG and sustainability workflows—identify where gaps in transparency, skill, or oversight may exist.
  • Start a dialogue with data and tech teams to align on responsible AI principles and sustainability goals.
  • Use learnings to shape your professional development roadmap, focusing on emerging intersections of finance, sustainability, and data science

Speakers

Mary Leung

CFA Institute

Senior Advisor, Research and Advocacy, Asia Pacific

Mary is a distinguished advocate and speaker for a range of capital markets-related topics, including fund raising, shareholder rights, corporate governance, diversity,
sustainability, and ESG. She has over 20 years of experience in the global financial industry, with expertise in corporate finance, wealth management advisory and institutional fund management, having worked at institutions such as UBS and Coutts.

Prior to her current role as a Senior Advisor at CFA Institute, Mary served as Head of Policy, Registration and Oversight at the Accounting and Financial Council, the independent audit and accounting regulator in Hong Kong. In that role, she was responsible for policy development and the delivery of statutory functions relating to the registration of audit practitioners, and the oversight of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. From 2016 to 2022, she was Head, Advocacy, Asia Pacific at CFA Institute, leading research and advocacy efforts that drive market integrity, investor protection, and industry professionalism

Mary is a CFA Charterholder and a recognized thought leader in market integrity and
investor protection.

David von Eiff

CFA Institute

Director, Global Industry Standards

David von Eiff has a combined 13 years of experience in environmental compliance, research, and sustainability. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy at the City University of Hong Kong and his Master of Science in Environmental Economics and Public Policy at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. His main research areas address the economic, sustainability and climate change issues associated with water supply management decisions. He has conducted extensive research projects and authored several works including publications on a range of topics. Most recently, he authored a public-facing report which analysed and recommended potential changes for Hong Kong’s water management framework. His work has focused on the carbon footprint of the water supply, using a life-cycle analysis approach to analysis various public policy decisions and water mixes. He has also studied the importance of governance and the governance capacity of the Water supplies department on achieving long term sustainability.

Speaking at 2026 sessions:

Day 2

Rethinking How Capital Markets and Lenders Evaluate Sustainability Performance, and What That Means for Financing Decisions

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