Sustainable Finance

Sustainable finance is an increasingly important consideration for those organisations making investments in projects, products and services. More and more, investors across the finance community are prioritising ESG (environmental, social and governance) in the decisions that they make.

The Sustainable Finance Network at ISEP is led by a member steering group, which enables the flow of information and knowledge sharing between investment and sustainability professionals in a way that helps address some of the most significant policy challenges concerning the natural environment, social inclusion and governance to be addressed.

Join the sustainable finance network

Opting to become a member of the network means you'll receive updates about developments in this sphere and the work of the steering group, invitations to apply to join the steering group or get involved in other ways, requests to participate in consultations and notification of relevant webinars and other ISEP or external events. Use the button below to navigate to the portal and select 'sustainable finance network' in your subscription preferences.

Go to MyISEP

Sustainable Finance Insight Journals

Sustainable finance practical guidance

Sustainable finance policy engagement

Useful definitions

Green finance

Green financing is to increase the level of financial flows (from banking, micro-credit, insurance and investment) from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to sustainable development priorities. A key part of this is to better manage environmental and social risks, take up opportunities that bring both a decent rate of return and environmental benefit, and deliver greater accountability.

Green finance definition source.

Green economy

A potential future state of the whole UK economy in which fundamental change in the way the economy functions, not unlike the first industrial revolution, has taken place. Growth will continue to be the essential motif of our economy but its measurement will be more holistic, more consistently factoring in people and planet alongside profit. For example, we will quantify and value biodiversity as we quantify and value domestic production. This is not a different or separate economy, but an evolved economy.

Sustainable finance steering group members

Adrian Barnes FISEP

Associate, Green Arch Consulting

Hayden Morgan

Partner and Head of Sustainable Finance Consultancy, Pinsent Masons

Albert Miguel

Sustainability Analyst, EcoAct

Chris Clarke

Climate Change and Sustainability Manager, UK Export Finance

Claire Cummins

Head of ESG, Climate Fund Managers B.V.

David Luck

Former Head of Sustainability, UK Financial Services

Harriet Parker

Head of Sustainability and ESG, Low Carbon

Neal Barker

Director, WSP UK

Tilly Shaw

Associate Director, Verco

Robert Adamczyk

ESG Advisor, EBRD

Satoshi Ishihara

Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank

Greg Chant-Hall

Director, Square Gain and member of the ISEP Sustainable Finance Steering Group

Emma Thornton

Head of Social Value, Capita Pension Solutions

Hussam Sultan

Head of ESG Solutions, Santander

James Dunham

Director (Sustainability), Dalmore Capital

My name is Emma Thornton, and I am Head of Social Value at Capita Pension Solutions, where I leads the delivery of social impact across major public sector contracts, including the Civil Service and Royal Mail Pension Schemes. With a background in local government and a passion for embedding social value into operational delivery, I am a n energetic strategic thinker who aims to make the sometimes-complex social value concepts accessible. I hold a Level 1 Social Value Practitioner certification from social value International, have completed SROI training with the institute of social value and I co-chair the BSA’s Social Value Working Group as well as the Institute of social Value design and innovation working group. I’m particularly interested in social mobility, equity, and the role of data in telling stories of impact. I bring lived experience of growing up in a working-class community and I’m driven by a commitment to help create inclusive systems that work for everyone