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.
22 May 2015 – Over the next 15 years, approximately $93 trillion will be needed for investment in low carbon infrastructure across the world. Success would mean mobilising more private capital behind public goals, delivering economic growth and putting us on the path to a net-zero emissions global economy. This paper makes a series of recommendations to achieve this goal.
Should investment in Africa consider sustainability?
August 2015 – A comparison between South African and Chinese business experiences. This exploratory working paper considers how foreign investment by Chinese companies could be used to promote strategic leadership around sustainability in South Africa.
Food Security – Closing the food gap: opportunities for investment?
15 April 2015 – ‘Food Security: Closing the food gap: opportunities for investment?’ investigates three particular categories of food security solutions that can actively contribute to sustainable food security. A focus on postharvest losses illustrates the differing profiles of solutions in developed and developing countries. Biotechnology, especially the area of GM seeds, is an issue that inspires confusion and hot debate. Water management was selected because it is closely tied to climate change, and critical to human health.
2 March 2015 – The ‘Financing the Future of Energy’ report launched yesterday at the Global Financial Markets Forum in Abu Dhabi, setting out the changing nature of the global energy system over the next decade and highlighting the growing demand for sustainable energy in the Gulf region.
The role of private capital in building a low carbon Energy Union
February 2015 – With Commission cabinets, the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership identified the need for additional thinking on the role of private capital in building an Energy Union. This brief discussion paper addresses the necessary systemic and regulatory reforms that would stimulate private capital flows into the proposed European-wide Energy Union. It has been divided into two parts: a high-level strategic assessment of the challenge, and a formula for unlocking private capital.
Business opportunities from natural capital challenges
17 February 2015 – The 'Business opportunities from natural capital challenges' infographic depicts the alarming degradation rates of the quantity and quality of water, biodiversity and soil. The infographic identifies the key business opportunities that can arise from the sustainable management of these three natural capital elements.
Doing Business with Nature: Opportunities from Natural Capital
17 February 2015 – This report aims to engage industry in a review of the global challenges around water, biodiversity and soil and showcases the extent to which companies are working together to develop new interventions in the face of natural capital degradation. The report shares some business responses to these challenges while also highlighting the barriers to long-term and sustainable management of natural capital.
27 January 2015 – These case studies illustrate that members of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group have found that action to reduce emissions can deliver growth and benefits to consumers.
Better Growth, Better Climate – Business Briefing on The New Climate Economy Synthesis Report
January 2015 and September 2014 – This briefing presents the findings of The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate as documented in their New Climate Economy Synthesis Report, ‘Better Growth, Better Climate’ as a short and relevant summary for a business audience.