The Institute for Sustainable Finance is a multi-disciplinary network of research and professional development that brings together academia, the private sector, and government to shape Canada’s innovations in sustainable finance.
The Institute is at the intersection of sustainability and finance. Our Mission is to align mainstream financial markets with Canada’s transition to a prosperous sustainable economy.
The Institute for Sustainable Finance (ISF) today announced that Canada’s big five banks — TD Bank Group, Scotiabank, CIBC, BMO and RBC — have committed $5 million to support ISF’s mission.
ISF releases a blueprint for Canada's low carbon transition, highlighting the critical changes necessary to secure investments needed to meet Canada's 2030 climate targets.
The Canadian Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance defines it as: capital flows, risk management activities, and financial processes that assimilate environmental and social factors as a means of promoting sustainable economic growth and the long-term sustainability of the financial system.
In its simplest form, this means aligning our financial systems and services to promote long-term environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. Learn more about Sustainable Finance through our Primer Series.
Ryan Riordan, Distinguished Professor of Finance at Smith School of Business and director of research at the Institute for Sustainable Finance explains sustainable finance.
March 1, 2021
"Ryan Riordan, an associate professor of finance at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. "It could be easy being green, but how much will it cost? Riordan—a lifelong environmentalist at heart —is quite literally crunching the numbers in his industry-leading research, despite initial skepticism from the business community about its usefulness. That is, until the publication of his widely referenced recent report, “Capital Mobilization Plan for a Canadian Low-Carbon Economy,” which is the first to tally the costs of meeting Canada’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030."
February 25, 2021
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its lending operations by 2050 and has committed C$500 billion ($400.64 billion) toward its sustainable finance target, Canada’s top lender said on Thursday. The move comes at a time when investors have stepped up pressure on major banks and insurers to drop financing and insurance for fossil fuel companies.