BMO Professorship in Sustainable and Transition Finance

At KPMG Law, Conor leads a collaborative, cross-functional and inter-disciplinary team of legal, sustainability, environmental and regulatory professionals who advise clients on regulatory & legal compliance, disclosure risks (e.g. greenwashing), environmental reporting (e.g. PFAS / Federal Plastics Registry) major project development (e.g. Bill C-5 / Building Canada Act), supply chain due diligence (e.g. modern slavery), and related policy development and training.

Conor holds a Global Competent Boards Designation (GCB.D) in ESG and a Certificate in Sustainable Finance and ESG from UC Berkeley School of Law. Conor has been named a Top 40 Lawyer in Canada under the age of 40 by Lexis/Nexis, is listed as "Frequently Recommended" for ESG Law by Lexpert and has been twice named a Canadian Environmental Thought Leader by Mondaq.

Conor speaks frequently across North America on sustainability law topics, and has been featured in the Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Toronto Star, the Canadian Press, Canadian Lawyer, Industry West Magazine, the Canadian Bar Association National Magazine, Investment Executive, Advisor's Edge, Net Zero Investor, and Lexology, among others.

As part of the Sustainable Finance Group, Sarah works closely with the growing number of corporate and institutional clients globally who view Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors as important considerations in their corporate strategy and investment decision-making process.

Sarah joined RBC in 2011 as the bank’s first Green IT Manager. In 2013, she moved to RBC’s Corporate Sustainability Team to oversee enterprise-wide operational footprint reduction initiatives, produce ESG disclosure and support business units with the development of sustainable financial products and services. In addition, Sarah partnered with RBC’s Corporate Treasury Group to establish RBC’s Green Bond Program. The bank issued its inaugural Green Bond in April 2019 following the publication of its Green Bond Framework outlining the process for Green Bond issuance and reporting.

Sarah represents RBC Capital Markets on the Advisory Council of the Green and Social Bond Principles Executive Committee and is Vice Chair of the CSA Group Green & Transition Finance Technical Committee.

Sarah is based in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from McGill University and an MBA in Sustainability from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

Dr. Koskinen is the BMO Professor of Sustainable and Transition Finance at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary and the Research Director for the Institute of Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University. He serves as the Chair of the steering committee for the Canadian Sustainable Finance Network and is a research member at the European Corporate Governance Institute. He holds an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Helsinki, and a PhD in Management from INSEAD. His research has been published in leading finance and management journals, such as Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Management Science. His article on CSR and Firm Risk published in Management Science in 2019 is one of the most cited in sustainable finance literature. He is a frequent contributor to media, such as Globe and Mail, Financial Post, The Banker, and The Conversation.