Imperial has joined forces with Singapore Management University to open a new research centre dedicated to green finance and talent development.

The Singapore Green Finance Centre is backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and several leading global financial institutions.

It will draw on the respective strengths of Imperial College Business School and Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) in climate finance and risk, market economics and sustainable investing. The centre aims to equip institutions and professionals with the information and skills needed to develop the scope of activities and priorities of green finance in Asia.

The centre also aims to develop a strong pipeline of green finance talent, and its multi-disciplinary research and training will help enable the transition of capital markets in Asia towards a low carbon future.

The new research centre will be jointly led by Professor David Fernandez, Director of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics at SMU, and Dr Charles Donovan, Executive Director of the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College Business School. 

Driving green finance research in Asia

The centre will pursue multi-disciplinary research into the factors of an orderly market transition to a low carbon future, which will help develop approaches for policy makers and financial institutions to support Asia’s low carbon transition. The research will be co-created with industry to ensure applicability and relevance, and will cover three key themes:

• Transforming businesses by integrating climate-related data and environmental, social & governance (ESG) considerations into decision-making
• Designing policies and new initiatives that can improve the efficiency of green finance markets
• Measuring the impact of green finance instruments and products

Developing talent

The centre aims to equip professionals with skills in climate finance and an understanding of how to apply these skills to the Asian market. It will offer a range of programmes at all levels – undergraduate, post-graduate, and continuing professional education. This will help develop a strong pipeline of green finance talent which financial institutions and service providers can tap as they expand teams and deepen green finance capabilities to serve the growing needs of Singapore and the region.

“Asia could lead the world into a low carbon future so Asian capital markets need to grasp the opportunity." Dr Charles Donovan Executive Director of the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment

Dr Charles Donovan, Executive Director of the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College Business School said: “Asia could lead the world into a low carbon future so Asian capital markets need to grasp the opportunity. This new research centre will bridge the gap between investors and policymakers on climate change to ensure that companies in Singapore and other parts of Asia are better equipped to address the sustainability challenges facing their organisations.”

This new initiative builds on Imperial’s reputation for tackling the sustainability challenges facing businesses through its research and teaching. The Business School already offers a Masters in Climate Change, Management & Finance, a one-year degree that provides students with the skills required in business on issues relating to climate change and sustainability.

The Singapore Green Finance Centre is supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and nine financial institutions as founding partners - Bank of China Limited, BNP Paribas, Fullerton Fund Management, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Schroders, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and UBS.