Sustainable finance sponsorship opportunities

The Net Zero Delivery Summit will take place in early June 2024. This will be the third iteration of the event, now established as a key milestone in the sustainable finance calendar. The City of London Corporation is seeking sponsors from across financial and professional services. This document sets out more information on the event and the opportunities for sponsors to help shape the agenda, share their perspectives and be profiled on this prominent platform.
 
Background
In 2022, the City of London Corporation hosted an inaugural Net Zero Delivery Summit (NZDS) in partnership with the UK COP Presidency and GFANZ. This event has now been established as an annual occasion, with the 2023 iteration being delivered in partnership with the COP27 Presidency. The Summit brings together nearly 200 leaders in climate finance, from industry, policy makers and regulators.
 
Previous speakers have included: Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; Mark Carney, GFANZ co-Chair; Alok Sharma, COP26 President; Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, COP27 President; HE Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England; Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, Director-General, COP28; Elizabeth Mrema, United Nations Assistant Secretary General and many more, including numerous C-Suite representatives from major financial and professional services firms.
 
The event serves as a defined mid-point between each COP around which the wider business community can rally. It gives global financial and professional services an opportunity to come together with policymakers and take stock of actions committed at the previous COP, while looking forward to the next.
 
Each Summit focuses on different themes to reflect the given priorities of the COP Presidencies, outcomes of the discussions at COP itself and the evolving nature of the debate on climate action. A firm focus on the important role of finance and its enabling role in combatting climate change connects the various Summits over the years.

2024 – Summit Format
Date: The event will take place on Tuesday 4th or Wednesday 5th June 2024. The confirmed date will be selected by City of London Corporation no later than Friday 22nd December 2023.
 
Location: Mansion House, London, EC4N 8BH (and online).
 
Format:
A full day hybrid conference consisting of a series of series of keynotes speeches, panel discussions and fire-side conversations. The value of NZDS also goes beyond the publicly available content as, alongside the main stage, we can host private roundtables on the day of the event where more sensitive issues can be discussed away from the spotlight.
 
Audience:
High-level in person audience of approximately 200, consisting of representatives from across financial and professional services, NGOs, policymakers, and the wider economy. The Summit is additionally live streamed to reach as wide an audience as possible.
 
Indicative Themes:
The overarching theme will be agreed in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency but is likely to sit under the umbrella of innovation and practical progress. This allows for a wide range of topics to be discussed throughout the day.
 
We expect that the agenda will include four headline panel discussions. The precise direction of these will be discussed and agreed in collaboration with our confirmed partners and sponsors in the governance meetings for the event. Expected topics to be featured are:

• The scaling of a credible voluntary carbon market.
• Nature finance – leveraging financial resources, expertise and innovation.
• Transition finance – the role of transition finance in reaching net zero goals.
• Innovation – the role of finance in driving and scaling innovative climate solutions.

The agenda will also include shorter deep dive sessions in the form of fireside conversations, with possible topics including:

• The Road to COP29 – taking stock of progress made since COP28 and looking towards priorities for COP29.
• Adaptation finance – unlocking private sector finance for adaptation.
• ESG disclosures – interoperable accountability mechanisms that support capital flows for tangible results and promote transparency.

All sessions will be international in outlook, with a strong focus on the need to ensure the deployment of private finance prioritises a just and inclusive transition.

Sponsorship Details
We are seeking sponsors, each representing a different sub-sector of financial and professional services.
 
Sponsorship Opportunity

• Prominent position on a significant platform from which you can reinforce key messages on sustainability, showcase your sustainable finance leadership and share your perspectives on the major challenges to be overcome to deliver Net Zero.
• One place on the Strategic Steering Group (the main decision-making body that brings together all partners and sponsors on a regular basis), which will provide an opportunity to help shape the direction and content of the summit.
• Expand and consolidate relationships with senior practitioners from key initiatives on sustainability, both in the UK and globally.
• Nominate a senior speaker to participate in a discussion in a prominent position within the agenda. (NB. City of London Corporation to have final decision in speaking slot available).
• Inclusion in promotion and branding connected to the Summit, including but not limited to invitation, website, selected social media posts and on the day material.
• Opportunity to submit thought leadership article in consultation with City of London Corporation, to be used to showcase expertise and drive interest in the Summit.
• Opportunity to propose topics for roundtables in the margins of the Summit. (NB: City of London Corporation to have final decision in confirmed roundtables).
• Five places for attendees at the Summit.
• Two places at high level dinner to take place the evening of the Summit.
• In return, the City Corporation require the following contribution to the event:

Sponsorship Ask

• Financial contribution of £55,000 + VAT
• Promotion of the Summit through your media channels and platforms, with a particular focus on raising the profile of the event and driving livestream sign ups. To include at minimum:
• Social media post announcing sponsorship of the event
• Additional 4 x Twitter/X posts and 4 x LinkedIn posts (e.g. promoting livestream, announcing speakers etc.)
• Inclusion of event in newsletter / targeted email to your contacts.
• Listing of event on your website with link to registration page (if applicable).
• Post event social post sharing on demand content with your audience.
• Agree to allow City of London Corporation to use your logo on event collateral and promote the participation of your senior speaker.
• Commitment to sending senior level speaker (C-Suite) to the event.

Selection Criteria
The City of London Corporation is committed to conducting a fair and transparent selection process to ensure companies are given equal opportunity to be involved with our key sustainable finance initiatives annually.

To aid this, consideration will be given to the following:

• Up to four companies to be selected in total, with each representing a different sub-sector across financial and professional services. (NB: The City Corporation reserves the right to include other voices from across FPS within the agenda. The Strategic Steering Board will be updated on these additional speakers).
• The key perspectives you would look to put across at the Summit. We are seeking voices who can demonstrate best practice and leadership, and bring impactful, real-world examples that speak to the Summit’s focus on deliver rather than thought leadership.
• Reach and avenues of promotional channels to help drive online registration, profile of Summit and media interest.
• Proposed senior level speaker.
• Past and existing involvement with City of London Corporation sustainable finance and projects.

Next Steps
If you are interested in sponsoring the Net Zero Delivery Summit in 2024 please email nzds@cityoflondon.gov.uk with a short expression of interest. This should be no more than two pages long and must include reference to three sustainable priorities you will be seeking to amplify throughout 2024.
 
While it will not be possible to involve all interested parties in this Summit, the City Corporation will have other key sustainable finance engagements throughout the year for which will provide additional opportunities to be involved.