Our blogs offer timely perspectives from CISL experts and our global network, exploring how leaders are responding to market shifts, managing risk and turning insight into action.
Nature can still become central to the world's thinking in 2020
14 April 2020 – As resilience takes more prominence post-coronavirus, restoring nature will be of utmost importance, argues Dr Gemma Cranston, Director, Business and Nature at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
The power of a network for built environment professionals
30 March 2020 – A wide, interdisciplinary network enables professionals from across the built environment sector to hone their skills and competencies, whilst stimulating new ideas, approaches and innovations, according to Dr Kayla Friedman, Course Director for the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment Master's and Postgraduate Certificate.
Knowledge, motivation and mindset: How the IDBE Master’s opened doors and broadened my horizons
11 March 2020 – Andrew Martin works in the Major Bridges International department of consultant COWI A/S in Denmark. He looks back upon the impact that his time studying for the Master of Studies (MSt) in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) had in empowering him to develop an interest in sustainability in parallel with his established career in bridges and civil engineering.
29 January 2020 – Having spent the first days of the new decade escaping the smoke of Australia's devastating bushfires, Amelia Moulis assesses the potential for business leadership to drive climate action in this critical year.
Focusing on social sustainability and changing my life trajectory
21 January 2020 – Mike Rogerson is a chartered accountant with a decade of experience working in finance and operational management across three continents. He shares his experience of studying the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Value Chains, and how his time with CISL nurtured his interest in social sustainability and led him to pursue a PhD focusing on corporate accountability.
10 questions to ask when aligning purpose and strategy
28 June – Ben Kellard, Director of Business Strategy, CISL, explores the challenges of aligning purpose and strategy with the transition that is required to enable a business to succeed into the future.
Five common challenges faced by social entrepreneurs
CISL Faculty Dr Nicky Dee and Lisa Smith have been involved with the Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards since the Awards began in 2013. As well as being lead faculty for the accelerator programme, Nicky and Lisa work closely with every winner to provide mentoring for them and their businesses. Here Nicky shares her insights into the challenges facing young innovators seeking to use their initiatives to create positive change.
8 May 2019 – To stay within the boundaries of the Paris Agreement, Europe needs to accelerate efforts to achieve a carbon neutral future and put climate change at the top of the EU agenda. Frank van der Vloed highlights five key steps that are critical for businesses to make the transition.
10 lessons for embedding sustainability across the business
18 December 2018 – Sue Garrard, CISL Senior associate and Unilever’s former EVP Sustainable Business, was responsible for leading and embedding the company’s ambitious USLP (the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan) into the business and ensuring progress against its 70-plus time bound targets. Here she provides 10 lessons for embedding sustainability across the business
How can financiers be encouraged to invest in hydropower for the future?
17 December 2018 – Following a recent roundtable discussion hosted by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the FutureDAMS consortium, Dr Judith Plummer Braeckman, CISL Senior Research Associate, discusses the risky reputation of hydropower projects and the potential solutions that could help to drive investment in this sector.
