Institute for Sustainable Finance

💡 Did you miss our recent webinar on circular finance? Watch the recording now! Finance is a powerful enabler of the circular economy, and in our latest webinar, we unpacked how innovative financial strategies can reshape industries and drive the transition to circularity. Featuring international thought leaders from who shared their insights, the discussion covered: 🔑 Breaking finance system barriers to support circular business models 🌟 Success stories from initiatives pioneering circular investments 📈 Opportunities for investors, businesses, and policymakers to lead the charge If you're looking to understand how circular finance can scale impact - and what we need to get us there - this webinar is for you! 🎥 Access the recording now: https://lnkd.in/ddbREPHV

New reporting standards from the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) are a welcome step forward for sustainable finance in Canada. Read ISF's full statement here: https://lnkd.in/g3Gb758Q Quotes from ISF's leadership: “Congratulations to the CSSB for delivering on its mandate. Canada’s institutional investors have been waiting for the kind of quality information on sustainability from issuers that will be enabled by these new standards,” said Jim Leech C.M., O.Ont., LL.D, CD, ISF Advisory Board Chair and former President and CEO of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. “This is a really important step for sustainable finance in Canada,” said ISF Director of Research Ryan Riordan. “Having consistent, comparable reporting coming from Canadian firms is vital for investors and will help keep Canada competitive in the global race for climate capital. While companies should be encouraged to start reporting according to these standards right away, voluntary reporting can only take us so far. Now we need to see these rules swiftly translated into securities law.” “Along with the taxonomy, climate-related disclosures are a necessary piece of the sustainable finance framework in Canada,” said ISF Interim Executive Director Maya Saryyeva. “While this is progress, we’re still lagging behind other jurisdictions in the race for climate capital. Canada needs to build on this momentum.”

📚 Get started on your holiday reading with the year's Top 10 Stories from Business Insight at the Smith School of Business at Queen's University https://lnkd.in/gR4M63VM. For one of this year's best stories, Deborah Aarts interviewed ISF's Ryan Riordan about why too few companies understand the value of biodiversity — to the planet and their competitiveness. Read more in the article titled "Your Firm’s Most Undervalued Asset? Try Nature". And check out the other Business Insight articles that have helped readers "lead, innovate and succeed in this topsy turvy world" over the last 12 months, at the link above.

Can accountants save the world? A good start would be to incorporate the enormous value of natural assets on public lands in Canada into public sector accounting, according to Joanna Eyquem PGeo. ENV SP. CWEM. CEnv., Peter van Dijk MBA, LLM, SCR, ICD.D and James (Jason) Stewart, writing for Policy Options: https://lnkd.in/gr2Q6uA3 They cite ISF research showing, "Canada’s wetlands alone provide services valued at around $225 billion annually – roughly 8 per cent of Canadian GDP. Yet, accounting for these types of services is conspicuously inadequate in Canadian financial reporting." "Given the limits of public finances and the rapid escalation of climate change threats, one of the most cost-effective and impactful strategies for adaptation is the preservation and enhancement of natural assets such as wetlands, forests and grasslands," the authors write. Learn more at the link above 🔗 Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) Smith School of Business at Queen's University

What are the next steps to support sustainable finance in 2025? Environment Journal profiles Maya Saryyeva of the Institute for Sustainable Finance at Smith School of Business at Queen's University, with a Q and A in the latest Market Watch column. https://lnkd.in/gayMT_Rt In the article, Maya covers: ✔️Upcoming ISF projects on natural assets, voluntary carbon markets, transition finance and sustainable finance data. ✔️Dealing with challenges to sustainable finance and net zero targets including high-emitting sectors, the need for disclosure regulations and a taxonomy, dealing with Scope 3 emissions, undervaluing nature, and a lack of "circularity" in most industries. ✔️What the new administration in the United States could mean for progress on sustainable finance. ✔️Transitioning the economies of oil and gas producing provinces and states. ✔️Dealing with anti-ESG backlash, greenwashing and greenhushing. "ISF shares a sense of urgency with the sector for meeting Canada’s climate targets," said Maya. "There has been some notable progress, but a lot of investment is required, fast, to get to net zero by 2050, and the longer we wait, the harder it will be." Thanks Connie Vitello and James Sbrolla, for the opportunity to contribute! Canada Climate Law Initiative Circular Economy Leadership Canada Canadian Climate Institute / Institut climatique du Canada Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) Global Risk Institute Sustainable Finance Forum Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)

In partnership with GLOBE Series, the Institute for Sustainable Finance is excited to participate in #GLOBExCHANGE 2025 (Feb. 11-13)! We’re joining hundreds of North America’s foremost climate and sustainability leaders to advance solutions for a more sustainable, regenerative future. Building on #GLOBEForum 2024, this year’s conference program represents our greatest sustainability opportunities: Reaching #DestinationNetZero; Building #ResilientCommunities; Ensuring #WaterSecurity; and Restoring and #ProtectingNature. Register today and join us in #Toronto, ON to transform our organizations, our economy, and our planet for a net-zero future: https://bit.ly/4fH3D8e

I recently participated in the 3rd annual Sustainable Finance Forum, a gathering of leaders and changemakers dedicated to advancing sustainable finance frameworks and policies in Canada. One of the highlights was joining a panel focused on tangible next steps to bolster Canada’s economic competitiveness in the sustainable finance space. A particularly impactful moment was a frank and open discussion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and MP Ryan Turnbull, exploring Canada’s future in sustainable finance. These candid conversations are essential as we navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.   The forum also featured a Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) roundtable unpacking the 2024 benchmarks (https://lnkd.in/gUkRw949), providing an important platform to align on priorities for the coming year. Across the forum, there were invaluable conversations with leaders from diverse sectors and industries, highlighting the shared commitment to continue driving progress in sustainable finance. My thanks to MP Turnbull and the Institute for Sustainable Finance , The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) - Le Réseau canadien de DÉC (RCDÉC), and the Table of Impact Investment Practitioners for convening such an important event.

There is a mismatch between Canadian companies’ positive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) messaging on social media, their actual environmental performance, and their cost of capital. https://lnkd.in/g6bt5igt That is the key finding of new research summarized in an ISF white paper by Dhruv Baswal, CFA, FRM, a PhD candidate at Smith School of Business at Queen's University, and his supervisor Dr. Sean Cleary, a professor of finance at Smith, titled “Are investors liking corporate Canada’s ESG tweets?” “Our findings indicate that despite firms increasing their ESG communication on social media, it garners limited engagement from social media users compared to other topics,” said Dhruv Baswal. “Companies might want to rethink their approach to these communications channels.” “The results confirm that words alone are not enough to impact capital providers, unless supported by actions,” said Sean Cleary. Read more at the link above. 🔗

The video is available for “Financing the Circular Economy: Emerging trends and opportunities for Canada.” https://lnkd.in/gACiwHRe Check it out to hear from some of the leaders in this burgeoning field, including a presentation by Diego Bermudez, PhD of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and a panel discussion with ISF's Maya Saryyeva, Roanne Weyermars of Coast Capital Savings, and Patrycja Drainville, MBA of Scotiabank, moderated by Garrett Jones of Delphi. Maya spoke about the potential to better connect climate finance efforts and the circular economy. As Canada looks to align with global sustainable finance frameworks such as Europe’s and rolls out decarbonization pathways for industrial sectors, “that’s where circularity will become increasingly important” and the guidance document created by Circular Economy Leadership Canada “will really complement net zero goals.” Going forward, sustainable finance in Canada “will be about more than climate change mitigation, it will be about how we act as stewards for our society and our environment,” she said. Special thanks to Paul Shorthouse of Circular Economy Leadership Canada and Peggy Lefort of United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) for hosting! #circulareconomy #climatefinance

Sharing more moments from our #SFF2024 last week at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa.  There were so many rich moments that it was too tough to squeeze into just 1 post.  Here’s more of our favourite moments below: 🌎 As Dr. Victoria Hurth stated in her closing keynote: “Finance directs energy and changes the world. The decision of financial institutions – and the companies they invest in – dictates the impact we see on the world.” 📃 As the Prime Minister made clear on Day 1, the Forum has been instrumental in advancing sustainable finance priorities like a taxonomy and disclosures framework. He told the crowd, "people like you have said, this is about clarity, this is about transparency, this is about accountability," and have shown that "we should stand up strongly and lead and demonstrate how successful it is." 🪠 Arti Freeman, Definity Foundation in relation to capital flowing to where it would be most impactful:  “We don’t have a capital problem, we have a plumbing problem.” 🤝 Wáhiakatste (Wahi) Diome-Deer, Raven Indigenous Outcomes Funds:  “You need to start with what you’re actually trying to achieve, and really be accountable to that.  It’s not the effort, and the money and the input that’s going in, it’s how accountable you are to the people that you’re working with.”  📈 Aligning corporate interests with sustainability: Smaller players, particularly #SMEs, often lack the awareness and resources to effectively pursue sustainability and #decarbonization. It is essential to demonstrate how aligning sustainability with corporate goals can enhance productivity, drive profits, lower costs, and mitigate risks, creating a win-win for businesses and the environment. 🏆 A panel championing the resilience, capacity, and determination of rural, remote and small communities. The panel emphasized the need to go beyond scarcity mindsets and empower communities to lead their own advancement. 🌿 A closing panel moderated by Julie Segal where MP Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and Elizabeth May MP, Leader of the Green Party, both pledged to work hard for climate action, specifically to align our financial system with climate.  We would like to extend our gratitude to The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) - Le Réseau canadien de DÉC (RCDÉC), Institute for Sustainable Finance , Table of Impact Investment Practitioners, MP Ryan Turnbull, Carolyn Hunter from Hunter-Courchene Group, photographer James (Hyungcheol) Park, our 50+ person SFF Advisory Committee, our speakers, our sponsors, especially Clean Economy Fund, Coast Capital Savings,Co-operators & Addenda Capital, SunLife and TD, and everyone who attended and supported the Sustainable Finance Forum this year. Looking forward to how these conversations, ideas and pledges will translate into concrete action moving forward! #SFF2024Ottawa #SFF2024 #sustainablefinance #socialfinance