WEBVTT

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Tom, Douglas, welcome.

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Tom, If I could start with you,
just tell me if you would, the

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work that you're doing at UBS,
because it's pretty unique.

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Thank you, and great to to be
here today.

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UBS is the world's largest
wealth manager.

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We have about $5 trillion worth
of capital under management,

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about a million high-net-worth
individuals.

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And 95% of our clients around
the world say that they want to

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use their wealth to try and
solve some of the pressing

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social,

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and obviously, we're here at
COP, so environmental problems

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the world's facing. My team is a
response to that, really.

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And this is not a new thing,
this is something that's been

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happening for the last two
decades.

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We have about 150 people
dedicated to supporting our

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clients to maximize their
impact, to really think about

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how they can do that in a
measurable way that really does

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drive change.

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So clearly the appetite is
there. Doug, last time we spoke

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on BCG's podcast, you spoke
about how banks can be more than

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just intermediaries, they can
actually be agents of change.

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Explain that it was a bit more,
if you would.

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Yeah.

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I think banks have, probably
more than any other industry, an

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I think banks have, probably
more than any other industry, an

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opportunity to create positive
social impact.

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I mean, Tom was talking about
wealth management.

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But, in addition to that, in a
retail bank, the opportunity for

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financial inclusion. In the
corporate bank, the opportunity

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to integrate social
considerations into bonds and

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into loans. Just like there's a
Scope 1, 2, and 3 for climate,

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we think of Scope 1, 2, or 3 for
social.

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Scope 1, what you can do with
your employees.

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Scope 2, what you can do with
your direct clients, and Scope

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3, what you can do with the
customers of your clients.

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And you have opportunities
across all three areas.

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One of the issues in this space
is measurement, especially

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social.

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Yours is a very data-led
approach, isn't it?

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Look, at the end of the day,
you're not going to achieve net

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zero or (my SDG pin here),

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meet the Sustainable Development
Goals, unless you prove that you

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are, which requires impact
transparency.

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And what do we mean by that?

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We mean, when you make a
donation or an investment to

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drive impact in an attributed
way, can you prove it?

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Is it causal?

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The best example is probably
we're all back here at COP

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because vaccines went through a
clinical trial like nobody would

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take those things if we didn't
believe in that efficacy and

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proof.

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We then need to measure who is
being impacted.

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And I think particularly in
relation to the social impacts,

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we just had a a fantastic
roundtable talking about just

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transition, what are the social
impacts of climate change going

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to be for communities of
disadvantage?

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And if we're not driving capital
into those communities, at

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scale, then we're not going to
see the kinds of sustainable

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change towards both the
Sustainable Development Goals

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and net zero that we all want to
see.

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Ultimately, that's about really
clear impact measurement and one

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of the things that me and my
team are working on is using our

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global footprint and the fact
that we are one of the largest

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global banks, with the wealth
management industry at $103

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trillion worth of capital. 81%
of which says it wants to have

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impact alongside that.

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That's not happening today.

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And one of the reasons that's
not happening is because people

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don't fully trust the data.

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But if we could have a simple,
almost a bond rating for impact,

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that was like, this is
definitely causal, this is

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definitely targeting inequality,
this is definitely at-scale, or

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here's the work that needs to be
done.

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We think one of the killer apps
that will really start to move

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capital at scale.

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Because as I said earlier, we
know investors care.

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Yeah, you know, investors care.

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Look, Doug, you've been doing a
lot of research into this space.

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You've surveyed hundreds of
leaders and what have you found?

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So I think a few key outcomes of
this survey that we did.

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I think one is: we asked about
the relative importance of the

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focus of a bank on climate
versus social.

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And I think historically,
they've thought of social being

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very important.

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I think more recently, there's
been more emphasis on climate.

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But looking forward, again the
bankers are saying that we need

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to redouble focus on social.

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I think the second point is that
what is driving the focus on

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social is a little bit different
than it is on climate.

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We surveyed them and they said
the number one factor driving

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their climate programs is about
regulation,

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and particularly in Europe. The
number one factor in the social

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side of things is the other
stakeholder.

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So it's about the employees and
it's about the clients, right.

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And I think the third thing is
that more and more bankers are

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saying we are going to be
addressing social issues, not as

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part of a traditional CSR or DEI
program, but integrating into

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the core of our business and
integrating into the core of our

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business model.

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Does that resonate?

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At the end of the day, trying to
solve these huge social issues

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with a few donations off the
side as part of your CSR program

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isn't going to cut it.

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We have to integrate them into
the way the entire economy

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works.

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Ultimately, that's what we've
been talking about is the need

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to transition to an impact
economy which actually includes

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net zero, that properly prices
not just the negative

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externalities of the planet in
investment decisions, which is

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what COP is all about, but also
the social and economic

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contribution of people.

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I believe that there will be no
net zero without it being

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community-led.

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You have to take communities
with you.

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And we see that both in terms of
you know, the potential

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political backlash against some
of these things.

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If communities elect governments
and they're not happy with

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what's happening and
understanding the upsides and

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the opportunities for them, then
you'll get backlash there.

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But also, just at a practical
level, you know, avoided

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deforestation is one of the most
important parts to net zero.

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It's communities trying to feed
themselves that are deforesting

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more mangroves and rainforests
than anything else.

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And unless we find ways for them
to prosper in those landscapes,

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then we are not going to achieve
the goals we want to achieve.

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So, social and community is
inextricably linked with the

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pathway to net zero.

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Tom, Douglas, thank you so much.

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Thanks, Georgie.