FES: Sustainable Finance in the Virtual Era

Authored by Sundara Bhandaram (MEM Candidate, Class of 2020)

As F&ES students returned from spring break to online courses, the community has found creative ways to continue engaging with industry thought leaders! This past Friday, the Business & Environment Learning Community hosted “Financing Sustainability: The Citi Bank Way”. This Zoom session was led by Bruce Schlein who is the Director of the Citi Impact Fund and F&ES alumn Eliza H. Eubank the Global Head of Environmental and Social Risk Management. They spoke with students about their experience working at the largest global bank on sustainable finance. 

Bruce and Eliza spoke with students about their transition from community development and environmental nonprofit backgrounds into the sustainable finance world. The biggest change for the industry has been a shift away from shareholder driven policies to a more entrepreneurial and proactive policy approach. They provided students with key insight into how the industry has evolved over time, driving factors pushing investors to consider climate risk in their portfolios, and the adoption of ESG metrics such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). For students looking to get involved in the space, they encouraged students to focus on gaining technical skills and soft skills related to finance, environmental economics, climate accounting, team building, and graphic communications.

As the period of virtual meetings continues, the F&ES community has found a way to thrive and create meaningful engagements!