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The corporate sustainability actions that reward investors

Lou Lee — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:14:02 +0000

The corporate sustainability actions that reward investors

Lou Lee Tue, 13/10/2026 - 12:14

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The corporate sustainability actions that reward investors

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US companies leading on transformative sustainability behaviours delivered an extra 4.56 per cent return above market expectations from 2016 to 2024, according to research by the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at ImperiaBusiness School
Investors can help drive transformation by directing capital towards companies making meaningful changes and using their influence to encourage further progress.
High environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings did not produce comparable returns: what drives value is embedding sustainability into operations and innovations, as opposed to philanthropy or communications.

For decades, corporate sustainability has largely been framed around ethics and public relations, with governments driving change through regulation and taxation. Against this backdrop, political opposition and scrutiny of ESG-labelled investments, particularly in the US, have fueled the narrative that sustainable investing is in retreat.

But new research by ImperiaBusiness School’s Leonardo Centre on Business for Society suggests the relationship between sustainability and financial performance deserves a fresh look. Rather than abandoning sustainability, the market may be repricing it. Investors are looking for evidence that sustainability can strengthen business performance and create shareholder value.

In A Behavioural Revolution, launched in 2025, researchers found that sustainability can generate financial value when companies embed it into how they operate, innovate and compete, rather than focusing only on external-facing commitments such as philanthropy and communications.

The findings are striking, particularly in the US. The US Finance for Impact Report, led by Dr Shuying (Melody) Wu, Research Fellow in Sustainable Finance at the Leonardo Centre, found that US companies most committed to transforming their businesses through sustainability generated an annualised alpha of 4.56 per cent between 2016 and 2024. Alpha means the extra profit or returns the portfolio made above the market average, calculated per year. It also proved that these companies are more resilient during market downturns.

The evidence base for ��’s Finance for Impact Research is a unique innovation in itself - the GOLDEN Sustainability Dataset - leverages the power of AI to identify more than 2.6 million sustainability initiatives from around 88,000 reports published by over 18,000 companies globally. Researchers then apply a second new and novel concept: the Leonardo Centre’s Business Impact Maturity framework, a methodology for classifying initiatives according to what companies do and how deeply sustainability is integrated into their business.

The research is still relatively young and has so far focused on finance, but the potential to explore other hypotheses about the relationship between identifiable corporate behaviours and the impacts they create is vast.

What counts as transformation?

Drawing on concepts from psychology, Business Impact Maturity provides a way to classify business behaviours according to their level of development, helping distinguish between actions that simply signal intent and those that drive meaningful real-world impact.

Advocacy includes externally oriented or philanthropic activity; preparation covers capability-building, such as employee development and sustainability processes. Transformation goes further, embedding sustainability into operations, innovation, products and business models. In the US analysis, transformation was the only category consistently associated with statistically significant excess returns.

Transformative actions can include investing in research and development, launching new products and redesigning processes. These changes can improve productivity and resilience and create growth opportunities. By contrast, activities that remain largely symbolic or external-facing may enhance a company’s reputation without changing the underlying economics of its business.

Conventional ESG ratings can provide information about companies’ disclosures, governance structures and management of sustainability-related risks. But they do not necessarily show whether a company is translating sustainability into business transformation. In the research, highly rated ESG portfolios did not generate the same consistent alpha as portfolios of companies transforming their operations and innovation.

The sustainability that pays differs by market

Across geographies, sustainability creates value when it changes the business, although the sustainability actions most closely associated with financial returns differ by market.

For instance, the Japan Finance for Impact Report, which covers fiscal years 2012 – 2024, finds that sustainability-led innovation, rather than transformation in its broadest sense, is the clearest source of value creation.

In Japan, companies that focused on sustainability-led innovation also outperformed the market, delivering returns 3 per cent above expectations annually. An investment strategy that bought shares in companies leading on innovation and sold shares in those lagging behind delivered annual returns 4.7 per cent above expectations..

Investors and CEOs hold the lever

The message for investors is clear: capital allocation can reward companies that turn sustainability commitments into meaningful business change.

Index providers can create indices ranking companies on sustainability transformation, which passive managers can track. Passive investors can influence investment mandates, while long-term and public capital can direct funding towards companies driving transformation. Active investors can encourage change through board engagement, shareholder proposals and examples of best practice.

For business leaders, the implication is equally direct. Doing good and generating returns need not be a trade-off. But greenwashing and box-ticking to secure a better ESG score will not necessarily deliver either. The opportunity lies in changing how the business works — and demonstrating the value that change creates.

The Leonardo Centre on Business for Society advances responsible business through research and collaboration with scholars, businesses and global institutions. It is seeking partners to co-develop investment solutions and will present its research with investors and business leaders at COP31 (9–20 November 2026) and the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos (18–22 January 2027).

Should you like to explore collaboration with The Leonardo Centre directly, please contact Melody Wu, Research Fellow in Sustainable Finance at the Leonardo Centre on Business and Society.

“The conventional story, and there is some substance to it, is that firms face a clear trade-off: you can either do good or you can do well, but you cannot do both. … This new research tells us that story may no longer hold. It points to a fundamental shift in the way we should think about sustainability: sustainability is a source of alpha.”

— Richard Damania of the World Bank in a keynote at a Leonardo Centre–Ceres event 'Unlocking Shareholder Value Through Corporate Behaviour Insights.'

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Investing in nature: Why markets haven’t caught up yet

Pernille Holtedahl — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:14:02 +0000

Investing in nature: Why markets haven’t caught up yet

Pernille Holtedahl Tue, 13/10/2026 - 12:14

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2 November 2026 Knowledge

The corporate sustainability actions that reward investors

15 October 2026 Knowledge

Investing in nature: Why markets haven’t caught up yet

7 October 2026 Knowledge

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15 October 2026

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In a bid to uncover how public equity markets address nature and biodiversity loss, new research from Pernille Holtedahl and Iva Koci reveals that nature investing is currently focused more on managing risk than finding new investment opportunities.
While investors recognise that nature-related risks can impact a company’s cash flow and long-term value, equity markets have yet to fully reflect these risks in company valuations.
Despite limited public nature-investment opportunities, water management emerges as the clearest investable theme.

Nature and biodiversity loss are high on the agenda of corporates and financial players. But how are investors responding to nature-related risks and opportunities in public equity markets?

Drawing directly from the perspectives of early-adopter investors through a bespoke survey and a series of semi-structured interviews, our research uncovers both the limitations and opportunities of investing in nature.

Nature investing is still primarily about managing risk

Currently, nature investing is more about managing risk than finding new investment opportunities.

Most public equity investors take nature into account from a financial perspective, mainly to protect their portfolios from potential losses. This includes exposure to operational, regulatory or reputational risks.

Nature is viewed less as a strategic source of long-term value creation.

The nature data challenge

So, what is holding nature investing back?

The problem is not simply a lack of reliable data, but the challenge of translating data into information that investors can use to make investment decisions. Data on nature and biodiversity can be hard to measure, leaving investors uncertain about which data are useful and reliable.

Investors also perceive a lack of evidence that positive nature impact translates into financial performance.

Furthermore, our research identifies that public equities seem to offer investors relatively few ways of investing directly in biodiversity restoration or nature itself.

More than half of respondents (55 per cent) indicate they invest in nature “solution providers” – public companies whose activities directly contribute to solving nature and biodiversity challenges. Consensus amongst public equity investors on what qualifies as a nature solution remains limited, however, leading to a broad definition.

Public equity investors primarily invest in how products are made, rather than in what is produced. For example, they invest in beverage producers that have reduced plastic packaging, or clothing brands that recycle fabrics or have improved their supply chain.

Direct investments in nature and biodiversity – such as sustainable agriculture or forestry – are better suited to private markets.

Altogether, these challenges create investment barriers that will remain difficult to address without better risk models, coordinated policy or market interventions.

Previous research from ImperiaBusiness School found that businesses are more likely to act on biodiversity when nature-related interventions deliver clear and measurable financial value, pointing to a similar underlying problem.

"Investor awareness of nature is running ahead of market action."

Investors see the risk. Markets don’t.

Investors overwhelmingly recognise that nature-related risks can negatively affect a company’s future cash flows and long-term value (financial materiality). Yet they report that these risks are not adequately reflected in current equity prices (market materiality).

This disconnect can be explained by the fact that nature-related exposures are difficult for markets to price because they are often long-term, uncertain and difficult to observe through standard valuation models.

The pricing picture is not the same across all sectors. Nature-related risks are more likely to be incorporated into equity prices in sectors that are directly dependent on natural capital. This includes land-intensive industries, such as agriculture, paper, pulp and timber, and utilities. Nature risks are more immediate and operationally relevant in these sectors, and therefore can have a more direct effect on a company’s cash flows.

Nevertheless, 63 per cent of respondents expect nature-related risks and opportunities to become more fully priced over the coming decade.

Why water stands out

Public nature-investment opportunities are emerging in areas where investment models are well established and available. Water management has emerged as the most highly rated opportunity amongst respondents, with nearly 80 per cent rating it as “very important”, followed by forests and other provisioning industries.

The sector has many characteristics that make investors comfortable. This includes a large number of listed companies, established business models, clearer revenue streams and stronger links to financial value, which help to attract investor attention.

Water-related challenges are also more immediately quantifiable, data-driven and actionable than other nature themes, making them easier to incorporate into existing investment processes.

What does this mean for markets?

Structural and informational barriers currently make it difficult for investors to incorporate nature considerations into public equity investment decisions. This early stage of nature investing is similar to where climate risk integration was in its early years: investors are increasingly aware of the risks, but markets have yet to fully price them in.

Nevertheless, growing awareness, regulatory developments and better measurement frameworks may help nature-related risks and opportunities become more fully incorporated into asset prices over the coming decade.

For now, investor awareness of nature is running ahead of market action.

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Nature is gaining investor attention, but markets are still struggling to price its value. New research reveals why investors remain cautious, what must change to unlock opportunities, and why water is emerging as a key area to watch.

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Next-Generation Climate Finance Solutions Take Centre Stage at the 2026 Climate Investment Challenge

Evie Burrows-Taylor — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:43:50 +0000

Next-Generation Climate Finance Solutions Take Centre Stage at the 2026 Climate Investment Challenge

Evie Burrows-Taylor Wed, 01/07/2026 - 14:43

1 July 2026

Two teams took the top prizes: AquaRisk Horizon, a marine risk-analytics platform from New York University, in the Climate Data Analytics track, and the Specialty Crops Resilience Fund, a blended-finance pilot for Indian smallholder farmers from ��, in the Innovative Financing Mechanisms track. Now in its seventh year and organised by ImperiaCollege Business School students and the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment, the Challenge held its 2026 final in London on 11 June, where the eight finalist teams pitched to a panel of expert judges.

The Challenge could not have happened without its generous sponsors (General Atlantic, Hitachi, Morgan Stanley and the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment (CCFI) and Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance (CSEP), both at ��).

Following a rigorous evaluation process, the teams had been shortlisted across two tracks: Climate Data Analytics and Innovative Financing Mechanisms.

New for 2026, the Climate Data Analytics track focused on tools, models, and decision-support systems that help investors assess climate-related risks and opportunities with greater precision. The Innovative Financing Mechanisms track continued the Challenge’s focus on investable structures, including funds, bonds, securitisation vehicles, and blended finance models designed to deploy capital at scale. Together, the two tracks showcased the breadth of innovation emerging across climate finance, from analytics platforms and transition risk tools to financing vehicles for infrastructure, agriculture, and nature-based solutions. The two-track structure reflects where climate finance is heading: better data and new financial instruments increasingly advance together, since capital follows credible risk measurement, and risk measurement matters only when it helps unlock investment.

The Innovative Financing Mechanisms finalists included Tilo Cooperativo Fund from UC Berkeley, Social Housing Infrastructure Project from University College London, Geopulse Syndicate Fund from Copenhagen Business School, and Specialty Crops Resilience Fund from ��. The Climate Data Analytics finalists included AquaRisk Horizon from New York University, Climate360 from ��, SIGDRI from University College London, and the Climate Transition Financing Ratio Tool from Columbia University.

The judging panel included: Ashley Edwards (Morgan Stanley), Cornelia Gomez (General Atlantic), Robert Kosowski (��) and Rowan Douglas (Centre for Climate Finance and Investment, ��). The quality of submissions impressed the panel of senior leaders and academics from across the climate finance ecosystem. Cornelia Gomez, Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability at General Atlantic, reflected on the calibre of the participants: “Judging this challenge was a genuine reminder of the talent and quality of the next generation of leaders entering this field; the command of financial and sustainability-linked thinking from the teams was exceptional.”

Robert Kosowski, Professor at ImperiaBusiness School, added: “I was impressed by the quality of the presentations, students’ passion for their topics and how students leveraged their work experience and classwork to propose novel solutions. I wish the candidates all the best and hope that their ideas will have the impact they envisaged.” In addition to the judges’ constructive feedback, the winning teams will receive mentoring and technical feedback from Hitachi’s R&D lab.

The winning team in the Climate Data Analytics track was AquaRisk Horizon, developed by Juyeon Kim and Jangho Lee from New York University. AquaRisk Horizon addresses a critical blind spot in aquaculture finance: while many physical risk tools assess damage to fixed infrastructure, they often fail to capture how changing ocean conditions affect living aquatic assets. The platform translates location-specific marine stressors into biological risk indicators and lender-facing credit metrics, including asset-level climate risk scores, debt service coverage impacts, and climate-adjusted probability of default.

The team brings together strong scientific and commercial expertise. Jangho Lee is a postdoctoral researcher at NYU with a background in Earth and Environmental Science from Seoul National University and a PhD from Texas A&M University. His research experience in climate modelling, climate impacts, Python, AI, and diffusion models supports the technical foundation of the platform. Juyeon Kim brings engineering, strategy, and business experience, including prior roles at Samsung Electronics and Daelim, alongside MBA training at NYU Stern. Together, the team combines climate science, biological risk modelling, and financial translation.

The winning team in the Innovative Financing Mechanisms track was Specialty Crops Resilience Fund, developed by an Imperiateam led by Dwaipayan Chakraborty, with Summer Hong, Sofian Kurniawan, Snigdha Kyathari, and Rajeshwari H S. The proposal is a £5 million blended finance pilot designed to support Indian smallholder farmers growing climate-resilient specialty crops, beginning with makhana (fox nut) in Bihar and later expanding to saffron and turmeric.

The fund tackles a structural financing challenge faced by smallholder farmers: limited access to bank-recognised collateral often forces farmers into distress sales, reducing income and weakening incentives to maintain climate-positive agricultural systems. In essence, the fund pays farmers a fair price for their crops up front and shares in the gains when those crops sell well, so growers are not forced to sell cheaply after a poor season. Specialty Crops Resilience Fund proposes a structure combining advance purchase agreements, warehouse inventory collateral, escrow waterfalls, parametric insurance, and a Convertible Revenue Right mechanism. The model aims to improve farmer liquidity and income while preserving carbon-stable agricultural landscapes and creating an investable pathway for climate-resilient agriculture.

Together, the two winning teams illustrate the ambition of the 2026 Climate Investment Challenge. AquaRisk Horizon strengthens the information layer behind climate finance by translating ocean stress into actionable credit metrics. Specialty Crops Resilience Fund demonstrates how blended finance can unlock capital for underserved agricultural communities while supporting farmer resilience and climate-positive land use. Their solutions highlight the role of student-led innovation in advancing practical, investment-ready responses to climate challenges. From risk analytics to investable financing structures, the 2026 cohort points to a wider trend: the practical tools needed to move capital toward climate solutions are increasingly being built by the next generation of finance professionals.

Find out more about the Climate Investment Challenge here.

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The 2026 Climate Investment Challenge brought together student-led climate finance solutions from more than 30 institutions across five continents

Participants in this year's Climate Investment Challenge. Source: ImperiaBusiness School

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Leonardo Centre takes sustainability research to Wall Street investors during New York Climate Week

Lou Lee — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:15:24 +0000

Leonardo Centre takes sustainability research to Wall Street investors during New York Climate Week

Lou Lee Mon, 14/04/2025 - 10:15

23 October 2026 News

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21 September 2026

ImperiaBusiness School's Leonardo Centre on Business for Society will bring its latest sustainability research directly to institutional investors this month, co-hosting an invitation-only roundtable during New York Climate Week. The Investor Case for Transformation takes place on 24 September at the World Climate Summit in New York, convened with Natixis Investment Managers and the World Climate Foundation.

The 60-minute closed-door session will bring together around 30 senior asset owners, asset managers and private-market investors to test a practical question: can observable evidence of corporate transformation give investors a more decision-useful signal than intentions, disclosures or sustainability labels alone? For the Leonardo Centre, it is a chance to take its research out of the report and into the room where capital allocation decisions are actually made.

The discussion draws on the Centre's GOLDEN Sustainability Dataset, which tracks more than 360,000 initiatives across around 3,000 US-listed companies between 2015 and 2024, part of a global dataset covering 2.6 million initiatives at more than 23,000 companies. Using a behavioural maturity framework that distinguishes advocacy, preparation and transformation, the research found that a portfolio of US companies leading on transformative, innovative sustainability action generated 4.56% annualised alpha over the period studied, without taking on more downside risk than the market.

The roundtable is structured around four themes: identifying transformation, strengthening investment decisions, translating evidence into practice and mobilising capital for transformation. It combines a short presentation of the findings with a moderated discussion and audience Q&A.

The confirmed panel is moderated by Laura Kaliszewski, Global Head of Client Sustainable Investing at Natixis Investment Managers, and includes Livio Scalvini, Executive Director of the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society; Richard Damania, Chief Economist at the World Bank; André Schneider, Chairman of the World Climate Foundation; Manon Salomez, Impact & ESG Specialist at Mirova US; and Hua Cheng, Portfolio Manager at Mirova US.

“This is about collaborating to enable real adoption, and translating that into impact.”

Livio Scalvini

Executive Director of the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society

Livio said the research was built to be used rather than filed away: "This is not an academic paper for citation. It has to be simple, it has to be clear, and it has to come with guidance on how you apply it. Nobody else has this data, so this is about collaborating to enable real adoption, and translating that into impact."

He added that scale depends on the network built around the research, not a single pilot: "The network of actors is the way to scale this. It is not about one pilot application, it is about impact at a systemic level. Value chain, scalability, and doing that through data networks and global platforms, that is our contribution."

The roundtable is one of several events Livio will take part in during New York Climate Week, spanning behavioural transformation, sustainable finance, Scope 3 decarbonisation and market mechanisms, reflecting the Leonardo Centre's wider push to connect rigorous sustainability evidence with the investors, companies and policymakers who can put it into practice.

Further research and reports from the Leonardo Centre's Finance for Impact work are available on the Centre's publications page.

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Global experts explore new ways to navigate an uncertain future

Lou Lee — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:15:24 +0000

Global experts explore new ways to navigate an uncertain future

Lou Lee Mon, 14/04/2025 - 10:15

23 October 2026 News

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8 September 2026

Researchers from across the world gathered at ImperiaBusiness School on 1–2 September for the Risk Sciences Annual Conference 2026, hosted by the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment (CCFI) in partnership with Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management.

The two-day conference explored how new approaches to risk analysis can help decision-makers navigate an increasingly complex world – from climate change and biodiversity loss to financial instability, cyber threats, artificial intelligence and supply chain disruption.

Bringing together expertise from economics, finance, mathematics, computer science, engineering and the life sciences, the programme highlighted the value of looking beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. Sessions examined topics including sustainable finance, nature-related risks, voluntary carbon markets, AI and machine learning, macro-financial risks, insurance, and climate finance.

A series of plenary and parallel sessions featured leading researchers from leading universities and research institutions across Europe, Asia and North America. Discussions ranged from monitoring tropical forests and quantifying cyber risk, to understanding how AI can be made safer and how financial systems can better share and manage risk.

“The risks we face today are increasingly interconnected, and understanding them requires us to look beyond traditional boundaries. This conference brought together researchers from different disciplines to share ideas, challenge assumptions and develop new approaches to managing uncertainty.”

Professor Enrico Biffis

Professor of Actuarial Finance and Academic Director of CCFI

The conference also saw the inaugural Ken Seng Tan Award, recognising outstanding interdisciplinary research that advances the field of risk sciences. The award went to Fabio Maccheroni, Massimo Marinacci, Ruodu Wang and Qinyu Wu for their paper Risk Aversion and Insurance Propensity, which offers a new way to understand how people respond to uncertainty through their willingness to use insurance.

By convening leading academics and experts from around the world, the conference underlined ImperiaBusiness School’s commitment to research that is rigorous, relevant and connected to real-world challenges.

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From climate change to AI, leading researchers explored how better risk analysis can help build a more resilient future.

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Climate resilience in focus at London Climate Action Week

Lou Lee — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:15:24 +0000

Climate resilience in focus at London Climate Action Week

Lou Lee Mon, 14/04/2025 - 10:15

23 October 2026 News

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22 October 2026 News

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9 October 2026 News

Making clean energy pay off for the communities that host it

29 June 2026

Delivered in collaboration with General Atlantic, the event reflected the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment's (CCFI) growing role as a convenor of interdisciplinary expertise on climate risk and finance. Discussions explored how climate-related risks such as extreme weather are increasingly affecting economic stability, infrastructure, and investment decisions, and how organisations are adapting their approach to managing these risks over the long term.

The event opened with a keynote from Abigail Ng, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), who highlighted climate resilience as a key part of protecting economic security. This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Rowan Douglas CBE, Honorary Practice Fellow at CCFI, and featuring Kemal Erçevik (Bank of England), Natasha Fowlie (General Atlantic), Paul Munday (S&P Global), Julian Wentzel (HSBC).

A central theme throughout the conversation was the need to integrate climate and nature risks into the core functioning of financial systems, rather than treating them separately. Speakers highlighted the importance of better data, shared standards, and clearer ways of measuring risk in order to improve decision-making across banking, insurance, regulation and investment.

“This is what CCFI is all about: a platform that brings together scholarly excellence and leading market participants to deliver effective solutions at scale.”

Dr Enrico Biffis

Academic Director of CCFI and Professor of Actuarial Finance

Rowan Douglas commented: “We now have our resilience priorities confirmed and an excellent community of financial-sector partners to mobilise with CCFI and ��’s School of Convergence Science. Our mission is to help retrain the invisible hand to value resilience and better protect exposed assets and communities in the years and decades ahead.”

In closing remarks, Dr Enrico Biffis, Director of CCFI and Professor of Actuarial Finance and Academic, said: “This is what CCFI is all about: a platform that brings together scholarly excellence and leading market participants to deliver effective solutions at scale.”

The event underscored CCFI’s role within ImperiaBusiness School as a bridge between academic research and industry practice, and highlighted ongoing collaboration with MAS and other partners to strengthen resilience in the face of growing climate challenges.

Panel speakers (from left to right): Natasha Fowlie (General Atlantic), Kemal Ercevik (Bank of England), Julian Wentzel (HSBC), Paul Munday (S&P Global), and Rowan Douglas (ImperiaBusiness School).

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The Centre for Climate Finance and Investment (CCFI) brought together leaders from finance, insurance, law, technology, policy and academia for an event on Climate Resilience & Economic Security during London Climate Action Week (20-28 June).

Abigail Ng and Rowan Douglas at London Climate Action Week

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“Representation influences capital allocation” says Lara Cathcart at ��’s third annual Women in Finance event

Shamita Harsh — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:15:24 +0000

“Representation influences capital allocation” says Lara Cathcart at ��’s third annual Women in Finance event

Shamita Harsh Mon, 14/04/2025 - 10:15

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3 March 2026

Once characterised as a “boys’ club”, the finance sector is undergoing a cultural shift that is reshaping how decisions are made. Greater representation at senior levels is increasingly recognised as influencing how capital is allocated.

ImperiaBusiness School’s third annual Women in Finance event explored how women are influencing capital markets and redefining leadership across sustainable finance.

An investment narrative that is rooted in embracing change

The keynote address was delivered by Hortense Bioy, former Head of Sustainable Investing Research at Morningstar Sustainalytics, who focused on building a more sustainable and inclusive financial future. She explored how geopolitical uncertainty has reshaped sustainable investing strategies, creating both complexity and opportunity.

“The media often debates whether ESG is dead,” Bioy observed. “What we are witnessing right now is an evolution of practices, a recalibration by businesses and investors alike. What’s fading is a version of ESG that relied heavily on labels and was often disconnected from financial outcomes, to make room for pragmatism and realism.”

Her message underscored the importance of data-driven research and thoughtful analysis in navigating rapidly changing markets. She also offered advice to young women entering the sector, encouraging attendees to embrace opportunity: “Step beyond your comfort zone. Visibility and persistence matter. No is rarely the end.”

“Through events like Women in Finance, ImperiaBusiness School reaffirms its commitment to advancing women across the financial sector, creating space for leadership, visibility and meaningful dialogue.”

Lara Cathcart

Professor of Finance, Academic Director for MSc Finance and MSc Risk Management and Financial Engineering

Improving gender inclusion in sustainable finance

The panel discussion, moderated by Fiona Frick, Finance Advisory Board Member and Founding Partner at Circe Invest, examined how female voices are shaping sustainable finance, impact investing and fintech.

Lise Renelleau, Head of Research and Innovation for the IQ Lab at HSBC Asset Management, reinforced the importance of measurable impact. She expressed optimism that as access to high-quality data improves, ESG – once perceived as a top-down imposition – is increasingly being integrated into portfolio construction and reporting. While AI and advanced technologies can enhance data analysis, she stressed that human judgement remains essential in translating information into meaningful insight.

Kamini Banga, Chair of the Banga Family Trust, reflected on her experience working in India, where workplace equity was less established when she began her career. From identifying public healthcare investment needs in rural communities to overseeing family enterprise, she highlighted the importance of a just transition in emerging markets.

Zoe Jankel, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody’s Ratings, spoke about cultural change within organisations. She noted a shift away from expectations that women must conform to traditionally masculine leadership styles. Increasingly, authenticity is recognised and valued at senior levels.

The evening concluded with remarks from Lara Cathcart, Academic Director for MSc Finance and MSc Risk Management and Financial Engineering. Acknowledging the significant evolution in the finance industry, she reflected that there are still male-dominated pockets, especially at the senior leadership level:

“Representation is not simply about equity; it directly influences how capital is allocated, how risk is assessed, and how innovation is fostered. Through events like Women in Finance, ImperiaBusiness School reaffirms its commitment to advancing women across the financial sector, creating space for leadership, visibility and meaningful dialogue.”

Note: This article's headline was updated from: “Representation influences capital allocation” says Professor of Finance at ��’s third annual Women in Finance event on 05.03.2026.

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ImperiaBusiness School’s event showcased female leaders driving sustainable investing, ESG innovation and long-term value creation.

Main image: ImperiaBusiness School | Fergus Burnett

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Balancing climate ambition and energy security: The case for renewable acceleration in Indonesia

Milica Fomicov — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:14:02 +0000

Balancing climate ambition and energy security: The case for renewable acceleration in Indonesia

Milica Fomicov Wed, 15/01/2025 - 12:14

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21 July 2025

For a nation rich in natural sources for renewable power generation and with aggressive targets to decarbonise, Indonesia currently exploits just a fraction of its potential renewable power – could it accelerate the transition?

Indonesia harnesses just 0.3 per cent of an estimated 3.7 TW of potential renewable electricity. Yet the Southeast Asian nation has ambitions to slash its use of coal by 2040 – well ahead of a previous 2056 target. By then, the government aims to generate 75 GW of renewable energy, reaching climate neutrality by 2050 – a decade earlier than previously pledged.

These are highly ambitious targets for a nation reliant on coal for 67 per cent of power generation, compared to 12 per cent from renewables. Indonesia is the world’s fifth largest operator of coal fuelled electricity and seventh largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

But if the region’s largest economy can overcome barriers to adopting clean energy, could it become a trailblazer for other emerging economies in balancing energy security, economic growth and climate action?

Today, Indonesia’s energy sector requires not only hefty investment, but also radical reform.

These climate targets require an estimated 1.2 trillion USD by 2050 for clean energy generation, storage and transmission as per the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

But despite its vast potential, investment in renewables in Southeast Asia has been scant to date. Funds have poured into Vietnam, with Indonesia lagging, despite its huge potential. For every USD invested in Southeast Asian renewables, another goes into fossil fuels – well above levels of Latin America at 0.2 USD and China at 0.3 USD.

Huge investment is also required to modernise distribution grids and energy storage across the islands to meet growing demand. Many islands and remote communities would benefit from the creation of local microgrids

What are the barriers to renewable investment?

Spread across a huge archipelago of some 17,000 islands, Indonesia faces logistical and political hurdles as well as financial. Renewable energy is often far from where it’s most required by industry.

State owned energy utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) holds a monopoly over energy generation, transmission and distribution. While the grid – currently designed around central coal fired stations - needs to modernise, private investment is hampered by PLN’s control of licences even in locations where it doesn’t currently operate, but might do so in the future.

There is also a shortage of renewable procurement possibilities. Industrial consumers could potentially generate their own green power from localised renewables rather than relying upon the centralised grid. But such projects might be dispersed far across the archipelago, and investors are often deterred by small scale, distant projects.

While renewable energy technology has improved and prices have fallen, the cost of financing remains high, partly down to uncertainty over energy policy. This reluctance will continue as long as Indonesia’s existing subsidies on coal and gas continue to influence energy prices.

Huge investment is also required to modernise distribution grids and energy storage across the islands to meet growing demand. Many islands and remote communities would benefit from the creation of local microgrids, but again this is constrained by PLN’s control of operations.

Progress has also been slow from Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Plan (JETP), unveiled in 2022, which targets 20 billion USD to help Indonesia cut emissions. Although the US has withdrawn as a partner, the remaining nine international partners maintain this won’t hinder commitment, although only a fraction of funds pledged have been disbursed to date.

Policy priorities – how to unlock Indonesia’s renewable energy

Indonesia’s existing subsidies for fossil fuels should be addressed to create a level playing field for renewable energy. Contracts with fossil fuel power plants are too inflexible and could be renegotiated to accelerate the move away from coal.

More efficient and transparent costing for renewables, assisted by improved clean energy auctions would benefit the market. New feasibility studies and the acquisition of land would help improve the pipeline of new renewables projects.

Better mechanisms for international finance and a healthy domestic finance market would help drive investment.

State utility PLN could press ahead with ‘power wheeling’ – allowing private companies to sell renewable electricity directly to corporate customers using state-owned transmission and distribution infrastructure. This could unlock private investment for renewables and accelerate their development, as well as generating income for PLN – access to renewable energy can help attract investment from major global firms.

Positive steps towards innovation

An innovative ‘de-dieselisation’ (or diesel replacement) programme is underway to help Indonesia’s islands shift to renewables - some 2,000 islands currently rely upon diesel or have no energy supply. Since 2022, PLN has begun replacing more than 5,000 diesel power plants with renewable energy with the aim of bringing reliable cheap and clean power to communities. A first wave saw solar power installed in 94 locations, enabled by private investment, and future sites will also use biomass and mini-hydro generation. Ultimately the project aims to deliver 265 MW of renewable energy and provide 1.1 million new and improved connections, as well as creating some 350,000 jobs.

Further positive steps have been identified in our ImperiaBusiness School and IEA ASEAN renewables report, including a JETP supported pledge to accelerate the closure of coal power plants and the announced early closure of a plant in West Java scheduled for this year. New policy initiatives in motion such as the New and Renewable Energy Bill could pave the way for more private investment.

Collaboration among international investors, the Indonesian government and the private sector is critical – but this can’t happen without policies to open Indonesia’s energy sector to competition and level the playing field for renewables, ultimately creating a more diversified energy market.

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With vast untapped resources and bold climate goals, Indonesia stands at a crossroads in its clean energy transition

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