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.
UK business and policy leadership for net zero: analysis of progress to reduce emissions
May 2021 – A report from University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership analyses the progress the UK has made towards reducing emissions and meeting its 2030 targets, and looks at the role that policy and clear, sector-specific ambitions have played in supporting the transition.
Let’s Discuss Climate: The essential guide to bank-client engagement
The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) Banking Environment Initiative has published a new guide to bank-client engagement, which aims to address the need for a market-wide transformation in how banks and their corporate clients interact.
Brexit and UK climate leadership: The emerging opportunities and challenges
A report from University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership examines the opportunities and challenges for climate leadership in the context of Brexit.
Policy opportunities on the road to net zero underwriting: Highlighting three key areas of influence for the insurance industry
This paper from ClimateWise highlights the role of insurance underwriting in mitigating climate risks and supporting the transition to a resilient net zero economy.
An analytical framework for understanding risk and risk mitigation in the context of financing large hydropower projects in low-and lower-middle-income countries
February 2021 – The purpose of this framework is to provide potential financiers and investors with a better understanding the risk profile of these projects to improve their likelihood of obtaining sustainable finance.
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.
Accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy in a post-Covid world: what has changed, what have we learned, and what can business do now?
December 2020 – The landscape of business has been radically transformed. Discussions about business action on sustainability are now taking place against a Covid-shaped backdrop of geopolitical and economic shifts, growing – and increasingly visible – inequality, heightened awareness of systemic flaws and human vulnerability, and societal fractures and polarisation. In addition, many businesses are operating in regions with high levels of government, corporate and private debt and growing levels of unemployment.
Leading with a sustainable purpose: Leaders’ insights for the development, alignment and integration of a sustainable corporate purpose
November 2020 – This report from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) distils shared insights into how four leading multinational companies developed, aligned and integrated a purpose and strategy to transition to a sustainable economy.
Developing the EU’s ‘competitive sustainability’ for a resilient recovery and dynamic growth
17 November 2020 – This thought-starter paper has been prepared with a view to sharing some initial ideas on the a concept of ‘competitive sustainability’, which lies at the heart of the European Green Deal (EGD) and the EU’s growth strategy. Upcoming investment and policy decisions, such as those on the Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) and the new EU Industrial Strategy need to focus on this new approach to competitiveness to ensure the EU stands to secure advantage and benefit from the economic opportunities, jobs and emissions reductions from the transition to climate neutrality.
