Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Recent sustainable finance publications

61 results

Broadening the horizon: How CFOs and Finance Functions can help drive corporate sustainability

1 February 2024 – A business briefing produced by CISL and Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) examines the implications for CFOs and Finance Functions in supporting their businesses to become aligned with a sustainable future. Download the reportAboutConsensus is growing that businesses must become more sustainable and move away from short-term pr…
Financing Africa’s Low Carbon Transition

30 January 2024 - A policy briefing by CISL examines how there is a $1.8 trillion gap to fund the transition to low carbon economies in Africa. Download the policy briefingThis brief is intended to provide a basis for engagement on the key question for African climate finance: how much money do African states need to meet the transition commitments…
Sustainable Finance

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…
The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2023

23 January 2024 - The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2023 sees scores continue to increase across the membership, ahead of the introduction of a more ambitious set of Principles for 2024. Download the ClimateWise Principles Independent ReviewDownload the ClimateWise Principles Independent Review 2023 (Japanese translation)AboutThe Cl…
Risk sharing for Loss and Damage: Scaling up protection for the Global South

21 November 2023 - The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) launches a Loss and Damage action plan to scale up protection for the Global South. Read the briefingCISL’s new briefing Risk sharing for Loss and Damage: Scaling up protection for the Global South offers a breakthrough in the design of the global architec…
Everything, everywhere, all at once: how can private finance be unlocked for nature and climate in the international financial architecture

13 November 2023 – CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance has published a new policy brief that dives deep into how the private sector can scale up finance for both climate and nature. Download the Policy BriefAboutThe policy brief, developed by CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF), lists immediate asks of the upcoming COP28 and the actions t…
Bank Action Guide: Towards a just transition for small–medium enterprises (SMEs)

30 October 2023 - CISL’s Banking Environment Initiative has published a new Bank Action Guide to help banks begin to facilitate a just transition for acutely vulnerable SMEs and assert their role as key partners to communities and civil society, contributing to a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable global economy. Download the GuideDownload…
Let’s Discuss Nature with Climate: Engagement Guide

9 October 2023 – Building on the nature-related finance collaboration between the Banking Environment Initiative (BEI) and Investment Leaders Group (ILG), CISL has published a new Engagement Guide to support the market-wide transformation towards a net-zero and nature-positive economy by evolving the interaction between banks and investment manager…
Primer on the financial materiality of Nature-based Solutions (NbS)

8 August 2023 – Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL)’s ClimateWise showcases a new primer on the financial materiality of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Download the primer.NaturanceThe main objective of the Naturance project, funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, is to examine feasibility…
Planning decisions, adaptive capacity and insurability: Findings from a case study of flooding in Somerset, UK

1 August 2023 - The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) ClimateWise has published a new report on planning decisions, adaptive capacity and insurability. Read the reportAboutThis study aims to assess whether planning practice delivers protection from flooding for 100 years. If there are conditions where it does …
Roadmap: Identification and integration of nature-related risks and impacts in underwriting and insurance brokerage

12 April 2023 – New roadmap from CISL’s ClimateWise charts a path for the insurance sector towards nature-positive underwriting and explores the industry’s role in supporting the transition of its clients towards a sustainable economy.  Download the roadmapA path towards nature-positive underwriting To avoid irreparable damage to the natural world…
The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2022

23 January 2023 – The ClimateWise Principles Independent Review for 2022 sees scores continue to increase across the membership.Download the ClimateWise Principles Independent Review AboutThe ClimateWise Principles have provided a framework for the insurance industry to disclose climate-related risk and opportunity since 2007. All ClimateWise membe…
Financial innovation for SME net zero transition: Role of banks and buyers

17 January 2023 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the We Mean Business Coalition (WMBC) and the SME Climate Hubhave published a new report highlighting the role of commercial banks and multi-national corporations in helping small and medium sized businesses (SMEs…
Integrating climate and nature: The rationale for financial institutions

27 September 2022 – Building on the nature-related financial risks collaboration between the Banking Environment Initiative (BEI) and Investment Leaders Group (ILG), CISL has published a new report detailing the importance of an integrated approach to addressing environmental challenges, encompassing climate and other nature-related issues.Download…
Investing in quality jobs for a just transition

22 September 2022 - Building on the ILG's Sustainable Investment Framework, the group have published two reports exploring the key concepts, initiatives, and investment impacts on decent work. This paves the way for the development of a simple, robust, and transparent metric for investors to measure and report both the quantitative and qualitative …