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.
Learn sustainable investing strategies that are transforming finance.
This program will provide the key components and considerations for sustainable investing and ESG assessment, including deeper dives into integrating ESG into securities selection and portfolio management processes, and best practices for stewardship and engagement.
A new briefing note from the ISF clarifies the challenge of financing adaptation and resilience infrastructure to protect Canadians from the effects of climate change, and proposes a plan to find the solutions.
A new ISF study takes a close look at the state of climate-related risk disclosures by Canadian firms and finds they are often lacking in terms of quantity and quality.
A new report by the ISF and CPA Canada finds that while the GHG Protocol has been wildly successful, its expanded role in securities law requires a rethink.
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.
The past year has been a time of growth and change for the Institute for Sustainable Finance.
From opening the TSX to attending COP26, we have been where the action is, helping mobilize capital to fight climate change. Our hard-hitting research has informed decision makers in finance, industry and public policy. We captured the attention of the media, and led a lively discussion on social media. And we have contributed significantly to making sustainability a mainstream issue that investors and firms must pay attention to.
We hope you enjoy this video tribute to the many accomplishments of our great team. For more on ISF’s activities and accomplishments, check out our latest Progress and Impact Report.
December 6, 2022
Significant financial “capacity building” will be needed to meet global biodiversity targets, says ISF Research Director Ryan Riordan in a setup for the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Bloomberg News. “We need to develop the tools, and the methods, and the technology to value this stuff better,” he says. “It’s really easy for us to take a look at balance sheets and income statements of firms. How do we do that for habitats, or salt marshes, or peat bogs or coral reefs?" Ryan’s research team has embarked on a Nature Data project, one of ISF’s key strategic projects for this coming year.
December 6, 2022
There's growing interest in commercial property ESG says ISF Research Director Ryan Riordan in a story by David Israelson in The Globe and Mail, but while “we’re making strides on the construction side of ESG ... it takes a lot of time to retrofit and replace buildings with ones of higher standards."