This will be one element in a wider debate, which will consider the role the auto and equipment finance industry will play in the drive towards net zero. Jochen Jehmlich, former CEO of Societe Generale Equipment Finance will also lead a roundtable discussion where delegates can debate whether the industry will genuinely focus its use of finance products, and develop its asset management capabilities to drive sustainability; or whether it will simply enable finance for green assets (and perhaps withdraw a little from funding dirty assets). This is a sensitive debate about the choice between profit and planet. In another session Brit Schoenenberger with John Saffrett, global deputy CEO of Ayvens (the new name for the combined Leaseplan/ALD business) will consider the vexed question of who pays for the transition from dirty to green as regulators in France debate penalising finance companies who with too low a percentage of BEV in their ICE/BEV asset portfolios.

In his presentation Robertson examines the alternative: what it means to choose both. This presentation is a practical assessment of as-a-service (AAS) and other business models which the industry believes it should be able to leverage to optimise both environment and profit. As-a-service models have not always lived up to expectations – their successful application has been limited to niche areas and for customers who have a compelling reason to pay more for increased flexibility. Robertson and his team at Invigors have lead the way in building and implementing these solutions where they will work best.

GHG Reporting and Taxonomy – Moving from Compliance Mode to Business Opportunity:

• GHG led business models – fleet management and migration
• Value added reporting and analytics
  • Circular value creation
  • Proactive lifecycle management
• Second life value capture
• Enhanced value propositions – end customers and vendors / dealers
• Enhanced risk management

The Leaders’ Summit takes place as the tide seems to be turning on previous ambitious plans to drive more environmentally friendly businesses. Richard Knubben chair of Leaseurope will talk about the potential impact of a change in leadership in the EU, after the elections in June, that may reverse some of the challenging targets set by the incumbents. It also comes at a time when the head of the UN’s World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Saulo, issued a report that showed climate records had been not just broken but smashed in 2023, the hottest year on record. “The world” she said “is now warming at a pace that scientists did not expect and, alarmingly, do not fully understand.”

Asset Finance Connect Leaders’ Summit Europe is an invitation only one day summit taking place at the Steigenberger Icon Wiltcher's in Brussels on April 16, 2024.

Automotive and equipment finance companies who would like to attend this year’s event should write to louiseclavey@assetfinanceconnect.com or apply online at https://afcleadersummit.com/2024/en/page/submit-your-registration

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