Grow London’s Post

🌍 Calling all sustainability professionals in my network! 📣 I'm reaching out to gather insights and recommendations on #sustainability-related #courses or #training that you have attended. Whether online or in person, paid or free, I'm interested in courses focused on sustainable finance, sustainability management, or any other topics related to creating a greener future. 🌱💼 Why am I asking? Well, I'm not only seeking courses for my own consideration, but also to benefit the community of the Green Fintech Network. 👥💚 So, if you have taken a course that you found valuable and would like to recommend to fellow sustainability enthusiasts, please share it in the comments below! I believe that by exchanging knowledge and experiences, we can help drive change and shape a sustainable future together. 🤝📚 Feel free to like and share this post to help spread the word and encourage more responses. The more recommendations we receive, the richer the knowledge base we can build. 📣🔗 Thank you in advance for your inputs and help! 💡🌍 #SustainabilityProfessionals #SustainableFinance #Education #SustainabilityManagement Oliver Marchand Dr. Jan-Alexander Posth Gwen Jettain Julian Osborne Dr. Christian Spindler Frederic Fournier Julian Sommer Christoph Baumann Katherine Foster Thomas Puschmann Michael Gloor Paul Morgenthaler Mathias Wikström David Lais Lubomila Jordanova Adrian Bührer Elena Walder-Schiavone GreenBuzz Zurich GreenBuzz Geneva

"Let’s face it--virtue signaling was the trend from 2020-2023.  But like all trends, the tides have begun to turn."--Amy Nauiokas I've wanted to write a post about #ESG for a long time, explaining why I think it's total BS. Won't be doing it-- a new post from Amy Nauiokas, CEO of Anthemis Group, is better than anything I could come up with. Key points from her post on the Empire Startups - Everything FinTech newsletter: 1️⃣ "It is clear to many of us working for impact, that ESG in its original concept and formation was largely dead on arrival. A novel concept that almost instantaneously became its own side-show." My take: It might have been clear to many that the original concept was DOA, but not a lot of them were stating that publicly. 2️⃣ "ESG was a box: something that companies [and] investors do for the sake of checking it off, easily packed up and pushed off to the side when it’s no longer en vogue." My take: This is true with many [most] trends du jour. Why haven't people called this out? Perhaps the fear of being ostracized. 3️⃣ "Since 2020, more than $1 dollars has flowed into funds in support of ESG goals. Yet, the positive impact of how that money was invested and what the outcomes have been remains unclear." My (cynical) take: With no mechanism to measure the outcomes, maybe the primary intention was virtue signaling and not impact. 4️⃣ "Impact investing should be about taking accountability for doing what they say they are doing--and proving it." My take: Agree. But the hard part is the "proving it" part. ------- Amy's comments about the "turning tide of virtue signaling" dovetails nicely with the recent Davos event. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the event--which has been the showcase of ESG support--has "gently turned to the right." The article points out that "businesses on both sides of the Atlantic are discovering that ESG investing and stakeholder capitalism work much better with zero interest rates than in a world where money doesn’t grow on trees." As Amy says, the tides are turning. Check out her full post here: https://lnkd.in/eW4UD99r Jon Zanoff

Major take-aways from Day 1 at #BuildingBridges23. What are the impediments for impact investment scaling? ⚠️1) It is risky. o You are investing in nascent solutions to age-old problems. o Solutions often represent additional costs to companies, making their implementation uncertain. o Volatile geo-political and economic context creates additional pressures on assets like green energy. 🗓️ 2) It is a long-term game. o Financial markets are short-term focused: 12-18 month window with quarterly reporting in between. Hence sustainable investment with the average of 3-5 time-horizon is at disadvantage. o Lack of liquidity could be both regulatory hurdle and private client risks. o Regulations often take years to be adopted and implemented. 🤔3) It is complex. o There is no common KPI set that is reported consistently and on the same basis. A patchwork of regulatory frameworks and standards, as well as company’s proprietary assessment methodologies blurs the picture. o Many metrics are intangible, especially in the social area. o Interdependencies of environmental, social and governance matters increases intricacies of investment decision-making. What could be done to overcome those challenges? 🧩 1) Simplify: o Having less requirements and more clarity can ease the decision burden. o Social investment area calls for a common standardized set of metrics based on best practices. o Innovation, such as mainstream ESG investment products, can attract hesitating investors. 🗣️2) Educate: o Not turning “green” fast does not mean being bad. Some industries may be carbon-heavy by nature, but need to be recognized for their efforts towards sustainability (#Holcim) o Businesses should help financial analysts to better understand sustainable business models, supply webs and pay-off periods of their ESG investments (#Mercedes) o Success stories shall be communicated broadly. #LeroyMerlin consistently invested in its employees over years. As a result, all company stores went digital in less than 3 weeks after covid-outbreak, thanks to the employee grass-root initiative. 🤝 3) Engage: o Regulators need to work with NGOs, industry associations, academia. Switzerland can share its lessons learned from multi-stakeholder negotiations on ESG. o SMEs represent 95% of EU economy. Their concerns about transition plans, impact of new technologies etc. have to be addressed to get them onboard alongside corporates. o Financial institutions can foster higher involvement of their clients by offering them a “voting choice” to express their voices at the general assemblies of sustainable businesses. All in all, only joint action of all stakeholders in the society can bring a systemic change to the economy, leading to the increase in sustainable investment. #ESG #sustainablefinance #impactinvestment #economy #geneva

Industry titans discuss the future of the UK Digital Economy in Parliament Raising the issue of sustainability, Ben Golub CEO of Storj and Co-Founder of the Digital Sustainability Alliance, said: “Digital sustainability is the biggest untold story out there. Politicians and environmental activists often warn of the existential threat of global warming, but few know about and truly understand the extent of the issue that digital sustainability presents and its impact on the Digital Economy. The Digital Sustainability Alliance has been formed to open the eyes of policy makers, big tech companies and industry to the stark reality of the carbon impacts of data consumption and the urgent need for digital sustainability.” https://lnkd.in/eX5vEPpR Andrew D. Geoff Garrett - Co-Founding Director of Henry Dannell Sid Sarangi Steven George-Hilley Dean Russell MP Emily Utton Clare George-Hilley Adam Perry #FFNews #Fintech #FintechMagazine #FintechFinance #Paytech #PaytechMagazine #Insurtech #InsurtechMagazine #KYC #Lendtech #Regtech

Here's an idea for a sustainability quick win... It's an aspect of organisational sustainability that rarely gets mentioned when and yet it's one where a small change can have a HUGE IMPACT... 👉 Where your organisation holds its money 👈 You probably already know that where you bank has a huge impact on your company's indirect emissions... For example, £125k invested in Barclays is associated with 29.7tCO2e/year. If you were to switch that to the best performing bank on environmental impact (Triodos), that same money would be associated with 3.96tCO2e. So a switch from Barclays to Triodos would result in a ✨ 87% ✨ reduction in CO2e from those investments. Of course, when we're talking about commercial banking it's not *quite* that straightforward, which is why I LOVE what MotherTree are up to. They've put together a service to make it easy for businesses to reduce the biggest chunk of their indirect emissions AND save money. We talk about the power of voting with our wallets as consumers - the same is true for business and MotherTree are making that easier to do... Through their beta service they worked with everyone from Gocardless, advising how to decarbonise their financial holdings, to Bloomsbury and for one client, made a £30k saving AND a 450tCO2e reduction, per year. If you fancy finding out more, they've got an event coming up on Tuesday 21st November at 1pm GMT. ➡ You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eQJ5HsND Pop a long to find out more 🤓 P.S. I have a policy of never receiving payment to promote a service. It would risk losing focus on what my clients need to do more impactful work. I'm sharing this for a few reasons: 1) It feels like a quick win when these are hard to come by in sustainability. The kind you can celebrate and use to create momentum for other actions 2) I believe that changing financial flows is critical way we transform our economy and effect systemic change 3) I know Dan Sherrard-Smith behind MotherTree and he's as awesome as the many reviews I've had on what he offers

The sustainable finance market continues to grow as banks and investors do their part to support sustainability. For small businesses and startups, access to capital will increasingly be contingent on performance across environment, social and financial dimensions. In a recent article by Caffeine Daily , Renzhu Zhang, project coordinator for the Centre, shares why greenwashing imposes challenges for investors, and shares some advice for how startups can avoid making false or misleading claims. #sustainablefinance #greenwashing #ESG

One week to go! 📈 Join us on March 7th for "Sustainable Portfolio Strategies" event powered by Innosuisse, at responsAbility Investments AG with strategic partners Green Fintech Network and Alternative Bank Schweiz. We explore questions such as: • How can individual investors effectively integrate (ESG) factors into their investment strategies to contribute to sustainability goals? • In the rapidly evolving landscape of sustainable finance, what emerging trends or opportunities should investors be aware of? • What role do regulatory frameworks play in shaping the landscape of sustainable investing, and how can investors navigate these frameworks to ensure compliance and ethical investment practices? • In building a sustainable portfolio, how can investors balance financial returns with positive environmental and social outcomes? What strategies and tools are available to optimize this balance? • What are challenges in making sustainable investments mainstream for retail investors? 👉🏽The event is now sold out but you can join the Waiting List here: https://lnkd.in/d6Ejg33H #greenbuzz #zurich #sustainability Andrew Douglas, CFA Erik Gloerfeld

In an ambitious move reflective of its commitment to both profitability and sustainability, Spin Ventures is delighted to announce a forthcoming panel discussion, poised to redefine the consumer and retail landscapes. Under the astute moderation of General Partner Nic Gorini, this initiative promises to merge financial acumen with ecological responsibility, setting a new benchmark for the climate tech sector. The panel is meticulously designed to cater to a discerning audience of investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, aiming to dissect and disseminate strategies that ensure the dual achievement of enhanced profitability and effective decarbonization. This is not merely an event but a pivotal moment for stakeholders across the spectrum to coalesce around the transformative potential of climate technology. It represents a unique opportunity to engage with the forefront of innovation, driving growth while championing sustainability. We invite the global community of forward-thinkers to join us in shaping the trajectory of consumer and retail industries towards a more sustainable and profitable future. #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Innovation #Finance #Retail #SpinVentures

We're proud to be featured in France FinTech's 2023 Sustainable Fintech Panorama, which highlights innovators tackling today's toughest sustainability challenges. 👉 What's ours? Ensuring transparent and efficient carbon removal. Carbon removal has become strategic for companies on their path to net zero. Yet it remains risky and complex to put these goals into action. That's why we created Carbonable: to give companies the tools to turn their net zero and ESG ambitions into measurable and proven results. Recognitions like this from France Fintech only affirm our team's work in bringing trust to every decision and integrity to every contribution. 🌱 Are you ready to start your carbon removal journey? Get in touch and let us be your trusted partner along the way. 🌳 View the full panorama via the link in the comments.