ABOUT US
Helping Sustainability Professionals to influence finance, investment, and strategy development
We need to use the tools of finance to enhance sustainability
Finance and sustainability people use different words and think differently. We write about sustainability from a finance perspective, bridging the gap between sustainability, finance, investment, and strategy.
Sustainability professionals want to drive real change - making their business and their investments more sustainable. They want to mobilise finance, in massive amounts, to deliver sustainability outcomes. But the 'how' of this is tough. There can seem to be an unbridgeable gap between sustainability and finance.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
There are two levers to pull in making a business more sustainable, and still generate fair financial returns. It's better if we use both, in a coordinated way.
- Improve the business itself = the finance world of investment and returns
- Improve the broader system = the political world of regulation and incentives
You can visualise this by thinking about a filing box sitting on top of a truck. If you wanted the box to move further away from you then you can either move the box along the roof of the truck or move the truck away from you or ideally both.
We can either use the tools of finance to make a business more sustainable or we can lobby for appropriate systems change to enable change to happen faster. Or we can do both!
If we do this in a coordinated way we can deliver more change faster.
Sustainability Strategy Finance.
What we don't write on
We do not cover ESG scoring and ESG reporting, and the reasons for action (climate change, environmental destruction, habitat loss, social dislocation) etc. These are well covered by other publications. Our focus is on viable private sector led solutions.
What we do write on
How sustainability professionals can best influence change by using the tools of finance. Finance and strategy people have a distinct language and way of thinking. Sustainability Professionals need to learn to communicate with them in a way that best captures their attention. This includes looking at the provision of government aid, tax breaks and Blended Capital.
The specific issues within the sustainable transitions, so agriculture, natural capital, mining, energy, industry, transport and our built environment. Here we explore how best to link the options we face with the long term financial case for change.
Team with decades of experience
Steven Bowen
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