The finance sector has a critical role in supporting our transition to a sustainable future. However, it's widely recognised that today's system does not reward long term thinking. Often, it can actually work against efforts to build a sustainable economy.
Through our convening, research, education, and innovation we help financial institutions, and businesses, and governments build a more sustainable financial system. Our work is underpinned by insights from CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance’s sector groups, made up of leaders from over 50 financial institutions across five continents.
Collaboration for Transformation
Working with over 50 global financial institutions across banking, insurance and investment, the Centre for Sustainable Finance is in a unique position to co-create opportunities to challenge current assumptions and lead change. We work with our members to translate high-quality research into practical solutions to advance both market and regulatory practices.
Our key collaborations:
Banking Environment Initiative
Some of the world’s largest banks working
to lead their industry in directing capital towards environmentally and socially sustainable economic development.
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Investment Leaders Group
Leading investment managers and asset owners with over $9 trillion under management working to help shift the investment chain towards responsible,
long-term value creation.
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ClimateWise
Comprised of leading insurers, reinsurers, brokers and industry service providers who share a commitment to reducing the impact of climate change on society, as well as the insurance industry.
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Sustainable Finance Insights
Horizon scanning research
Our thought leadership translates high-quality research into
practical solutions and frameworks for the finance sector.
Insights from sustainable finance experts
Our experts share their thoughts on building a sustainable financial system.
Education programmes
Our education programmes are designed to help the finance sector support the transition to a sustainable future.
Focus areas
- Integrating nature into financial decision-making: Working with key actors across the finance sector on identifying, assessing and manging nature-related risks (banks, investors, and insurance), addressing financial materiality and catalysing capital (re)allocation that protects and restores nature.
- Climate risk and resilience: Embedding resilience to environmental risk in routine financing decisions, including identifying and incorporating impacts of climate risk and disclosing these to be able to proactively understand and respond to these impacts.
- Enabling a just and equitable transition: Ensuring the transition to a net zero, nature positive economy is inclusive and equitable, including investing in quality jobs, small-medium enterprises, and across supply chains.
- International financial architecture: Developing an enabling environment to unlock private finance for nature and climate, identifying targeted actions and groups for mobilising public- and private-sector resources, with a special emphasis on Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs), where the need for such mobilisation is most acute.
- Shaping global frameworks: The Centre for Sustainable Finance is an official knowledge partner and early adopter of the Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures, has contributed to the NGFS Conceptual Framework for Nature-Related Financial Risks to guide policies and action by central banks and financial supervisors and is a partner of the Africa Natural Capital Alliance.
Executive Education
Our education programmes are designed to bring rigour, clarity and confidence for leaders to respond to the sustainable finance challenges within organisations:
Sustainable Finance Foundations: Banking, Investment, and Insurance
This self-paced online course is designed for those working across banking, investment, and insurance looking to develop workplace skills to root their practices in long term, positive impact.
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Sustainable Finance 8-week online course
For professionals within the finance sector,
as well as others interested in harnessing sustainable finance initiatives to bring
about positive change, seeking to unleash transformative change by leading with sustainability-aligned decision-making.
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Custom programmes
Our customised programmes help organisations within the finance sector and beyond translate complex sustainability trends into strategic business decisions, enabling them to lead with purpose and create new forms of value.
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Fostering Innovation for Sustainable Finance
Through our Canopy and Accelerator team, we support groundbreaking innovation that has the potential to accelerate change across sustainable finance systems, from the application of AI to measure climate and nature risk for economic assets, to platforms that enable greener investments. Through convening our network of impact investors, we help high potential startups get the investment they need to scale.
Find out more about how we work with startups
Our experts
Dr Nina Seega, Director, Centre for Sustainable Finance
Sid Miller, Programme Director
Elizabeth Clark, Programme Manager, Investment Leaders Group
Sara Taaffe, Senior Project Manager
Thomas Vergunst, Programme Director, Finance Sector Education
Robert Barker, Programme Director, Sustainable Finance
Contact our press team
Resources and reports
The coming deluge: Scenario analysis for underwriting in a changing climate
23 March 2022
28 March 2022 – ClimateWise members unpack the implications of scenario analysis for underwriting with UK flood example.
Nature-related financial risks
24 January 2022
What are nature-related financial risks? Leading companies recognise that a prosperous business relies upon nature and the ecosystem services it provides. They also recognise that the ‘E’ in ‘ESG’ is about protecting our biodiversity and natural capital, as well as our climate, and that the two are...
How soil degradation amplified financial vulnerability – Nature-related financial risk use case
22 January 2022
January 2022 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) in collaboration with Robeco has published the first nature-related financial risk use case, showcasing how the vulnerability of degraded soil extreme weather can deliver a blow to asset value.
The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2021
14 January 2022
20 January 2022 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2021 sees scores continue to increase across the membership.
Leadership Strategies for Client Engagement: Advancing climate-related assessment
10 January 2022
13 January 2022 – Building on work by the Banking Environment Initiative, CISL has published recommendations for advancing climate-related assessments that enhance client engagement strategies for financial institutions.
10 January 2022
13 January 2022 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise leads paper on integrating climate-related risk assessment.
10 January 2022
13 January 2022 - CISL's Centre for Sustainable Finance, together with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, publishes two reports aiming to assist financial insitutions to implement the TCFD framework, building on projects exploring climate risk assessment frameworks and leadership strategies for client engagement.
20 December 2021
23 December 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has published a business briefing for understanding corporates’ transitions to net zero based on a quantitative industry survey.
Insurers in Paris-aligned climate transition: Practical actions towards net zero underwriting
8 December 2021
13 December 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise initiative has published a new report on net zero underwriting commitment and the practical actions.
Beyond net zero: People, nature and climate
2 December 2021
3 December 2021 - Nick Villiers, Director of CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance, reflects on the role of the finance industry in taking a more active and assertive role in supporting, enabling and accelerating the transition to a more regenerative economy.
