The challenge/opportunity

A ‘quiet revolution’ is underway in the global financial system as its leaders’ wrestle with the challenges of transitioning to a sustainable economy. Expectations from clients and regulators are climbing steadily, causing financial institutions to rethink current operating practices and adopt longer term more forward-thinking strategies. This trend is set to continue as sustainability issues translate into ever clearer risks and opportunities. CISL’s Sustainability Leadership Lab helps delegates to understand the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the finance industry and identify the key levers for change to create a sustainable finance system.  

“Transformational change is inevitable, but the outcome of that change is in our hands. And if there is one factor that will determine whether the transition will ultimately prove positive or negative, it is the leadership we create to drive and shape it.”

Lindsay Hooper, Executive Director, Education, CISL

This Lab: How will this Lab help participants to address this challenge/opportunity?

The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Labs bring together professionals to test and challenge cutting-edge responses to global problems.

The Sustainability Leadership Labs offer an opportunity to learn from and network with other senior practitioners from across the finance industry and beyond. The programme includes elements of co-creation, group activity,  reflection time, peer to peer coaching and pair work. Participants will leave the course with a broader understanding of the risks and opportunities faced by finance in the transition to a sustainable economy, as well as an action plan on how they can shape their role and organisation.

Who should attend

This Lab is designed for individuals working in or with the finance industry who are seeking to enhance their impact on wider society. This includes those currently working in business, risk or strategy roles who are looking to develop their understanding of the financial risks and the opportunities of the transition to a sustainable economy. It will assist those who want to shape their organisation’s or finance partners’ response, as well as policy makers and regulators who want to understand the context shaping a key driver of the finance industry for years to come.

Learn from industry experts and thought leaders

The programme features speakers from a range of backgrounds including academics, experts in their fields and senior business leaders. Contributors for this Lab include:

• Lucy Auden, Senior Programme Manager, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Ian Ellison, Senior Associate, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Dr Paul Fisher, Fellow, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Dr Kayla Friedman, Programme Director, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Dr Theo Hacking, Director, Graduate Education, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Rishi Madlani, Head of Sustainable Finance & Just Transition, Natwest
• Dr Judith Plummer Braeckman, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Kaisie Rayner, Climate Change Lead, Royal London Group
• Dr Nina Seega, Research Director for Sustainable Finance, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• James Vaccaro, Executive Director, RePattern 
• Thomas Vergunst, Programme Director, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
• Nick Villiers, Director of Sustainable Finance, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership 

Keynote lecture, 12 May

As part of the two-day Accelerating Sustainable Finance Lab, Dr Paul Fisher will deliver the keynote lecture on the evening of 12 May.

Paul is Vice Chair of CISL's Banking Environment Initiative and CISL Fellow. After an initial career in academic research, Paul worked at the Bank of England for 26 years as an economist, including serving as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, the interim Financial Policy Committee and the PRA Board. From 2009-2014 he was Executive Director responsible for the Bank's programme of asset purchases for quantitative easing, and introducing the Funding for Lending Scheme – as well as routine management of the UK’s foreign currency reserves and the Bank of England’s balance sheet more broadly.

Paul is the editor of ’Making the Financial System Sustainable’, November 2020, published by Cambridge University Press.

Benefits of attending: what will delegates learn/gain/achieve by attending?

Participants will leave the course with a broader understanding of the risks and opportunities faced by finance in the transition to a sustainable economy, and with an action plan on how they can use that understanding to shape their role and organisation. In addition they will interact with peers from across the broader finance community, building networks and providing different perspectives, helping inform innovative solutions to shared challenges.

Further information, application and fees

Applications to the Leadership Lab are now open. You can apply here. Acceptance is by application and selection only. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with places offered at regular intervals.

To accommodate the uncertainty around travel during the pandemic, this Lab is being offered as an entirely virtual workshop. Attending virtually still requires a commitment of time to attend all sessions ‘live’ in GMT timing. Candidates attending virtually will be entitled to a fee discount equivalent to the direct cost of accommodation and subsistence.

In order to facilitate attendance, there are differential fees with discounts available for applicants from NGOs, the public sector, academia, self-funders and those based in developing countries.

There are group discounts available for organisations sending multiple participants, as well as individuals attending multiple Labs.

For further information, details of entry requirements, fees and how to apply, please visit our main Sustainability Leadership Labs page.

Join the Lab to become part of a learning community exploring what purposeful and impactful leadership looks like in a dynamic global context. Download the flyer and apply here.