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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Sustainable Finance Hub

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.

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Insights from sustainable finance experts

Our experts share their thoughts on building a sustainable financial system.

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Innovation

Exploring new pathways to enabling a net zero, nature positive and just future.

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Education programmes

Our education programmes are designed to help the finance sector support the transition to a sustainable future.

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Focus areas


  1. 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.  
  1. 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. 
  1. 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
  1. 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. 
  1. 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


Read more at: Banking beyond deforestation

Banking beyond deforestation

January 2021 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has published a new report detailing how the banking industry can contribute to halting and reversing deforestation.


Read more at: Walking the talk: Understanding consumer demand for sustainable investing

Walking the talk: Understanding consumer demand for sustainable investing

22 October 2019 – This study, commissioned by the Investment Leaders Group (ILG), provides insight into how decision-making behavior is influenced by the availability of information on the environmental and social impact of funds alongside standard financial data.


Read more at: Financing sustainable hydropower projects in emerging markets: an introduction to concepts and terminology

Financing sustainable hydropower projects in emerging markets: an introduction to concepts and terminology

30 September 2019 – This working paper is the first in a series of working papers emerging from the CISL’s contribution to the FutureDAMS project, with a specific focus on the questions around sustainable finance for sustainable hydropower projects in developing countries.


Read more at: Trado: New technologies to fund fairer, more transparent supply chains

Trado: New technologies to fund fairer, more transparent supply chains

17 September 2019 – There is a growing understanding of the transformative potential of harnessing digital innovation and financial technologies to improve the sustainability of global supply chains. This report details the learnings and methodology of the collaborative project Trado, convened by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).


Read more at: Embedding environmental scenario analysis into routine financial decision-making in Mexico and South Africa

Embedding environmental scenario analysis into routine financial decision-making in Mexico and South Africa

November 2018 – Following on from its work as a knowledge partner to the G20’s Green Finance Study Group, CISL's Centre for Sustainable Finance has published reports on embedding environmental scenario analysis into financial decision-making in Mexico and South Africa.


Read more at: G20 approaches to implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

G20 approaches to implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

May 2018 – This report; Sailing from different harbours: G20 approaches to implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, reviews the progress made by the national regulatory agencies of G20 members in making the TCFD recommendations relevant to their national contexts. It considers actions taken by the national (and international in the case of the EU) regulatory authorities in underlining the relevance, and taking steps towards potential implementation, of the TCFD recommendations.


Read more at: Environmental risk analysis by financial institutions – a review of global practice

Environmental risk analysis by financial institutions – a review of global practice

September 2016 – The G20’s new Green Finance Study Group asked the Cambridge Centre for Sustainable Finance to serve as Knowledge Partner and make recommendations on how to integrate environmental risk into mainstream financial decision-making.


Centre for Sustainable Finance

Sustainable finance online course

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If you are a potential research partner, funder or could shape and use the Centre’s outputs, please use this contact form to start the conversation.

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