Our latest thought leadership and research aims to inform and equip decision makers across business, finance and policy to lay the foundations for a sustainable economy.
4 November 2024 – The United Nations’ COP29 conference in Azerbaijan is taking place against a backdrop of geopolitical turbulence and growing urgency. Our four policy ‘asks’ set out what the globe needs in order to secure a safe and stable future for all.
Is reaching net zero a growth and prosperity plan? Economics, tools and actions for a rapidly changing world
24 October 2024 – A policy briefing by the University of Cambridge Zero Policy Forum and London School of Economics (LSE), with contributions from Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, argues the UK government should invest in green infrastructure now or watch productivity lag behind China, the United States and other countries already running away with the benefits.
22 October 2024 – With a CISL delegation attending COP16 to shift the dial on nature, our COP16 briefing urges leaders to move from greater transparency and commitment to action from governments, business and finance.
Better business: Re-thinking business models for nature positive outcomes
15 October 2024 - Tweaking business practices such as procurement decisions is not addressing the impact of business on nature at the speed and scale required to meet 2030 nature targets. Transitioning to nature positive aligned business models can accelerate the action needed while addressing companies’ risks and enabling new economic opportunities.
15 October 2024 - Private capital can play a critical role in closing the US$700 billion annual biodiversity finance gap and addressing nature’s decline. The report uses the mitigation hierarchy as a lens through which to view how nature finance can contribute towards the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Africa’s Gas Road to Nowhere: South Africa’s Policy Debate on Using Gas to Accelerate the Energy Transition
25 September 2024 – Our CLG Africa policy paper examines the complex debate on gas use as transition fuel to accelerate South Africa’s renewable energy transition
Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation - The 2030 Sustainable Aviation Goals report by the AIA
23 September 2024 - Today the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) , Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the Whittle Laboratory released its groundbreaking report, ‘Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation’, outlining an ambitious plan calling for leaders to make structural changes to the aviation sector in order to meet net-zero by 2050.
Survival of the Fittest: From ESG to Competitive Sustainability
18 September 2024 – It is time to move on from trying to put ‘sustainability thinking’ into business and instead start putting ‘business thinking’ into sustainability. In our latest report, CISL Interim CEO Lindsay Hooper and CISL Fellow Paul Gilding argue for the need to shift to an agenda of competitive sustainability.
Examining the place of supermarkets in mitigating local household food insecurity
10 September 2024 – Caroline Lee and Dr Catherine Hammant explore how supermarkets can play their part in mitigating local food insecurity through strategic and place-based partnerships in this new working paper from the CISL Foresight team.
The Catchment Management Declaration: a renewed, collaborative commitment to water
12 August 2024 - Leading organisations have signed and renewed their commitments to the Catchment Management Declaration, which aims to accelerate action for a multisector approach to water catchment management.
