Today, the Sustainable Finance Education Charter (SFEC), the foremost coalition for sustainable finance capacity building, released its third Annual Progress Report. The document outlines the contributions of its 13 primarily UK-based, international professional organisations in 2023, aimed at integrating sustainable finance principles and practices into the educational frameworks for finance professionals and associated fields globally. The publication coincides with a heightened international focus on the critical role of capacity building in securing the sustainable finance necessary to attain worldwide sustainability ambitions.
Key achievements include:
- More than 110,000 finance and supporting professionals trained in sustainable finance during the year;
- Curated sustainable finance content viewed more than 600,000 times by finance professionals and others;
- 16 new sustainable finance qualifications, modules and courses launched in 2023.
Importantly, professional organisations play a pivotal role in providing external verification of learning to guard against the threat of “competence greenwashing.” This ensures that finance professionals are equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills pertinent to their roles, enabling them to consider climate change and sustainability issues in their financial decisions.
The SFEC, a unique consortium comprising the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), numerous mainly UK-based global professional bodies, and the Green Finance Institute, was the inaugural global alliance to recognise the importance of capacity building as a fundamental element in achieving international and national net zero and sustainability commitments, and in driving sustainable finance. Finance professionals are instrumental in developing and maintaining appropriate professional standards and norms that are in harmony with sustainability goals. They further support their clients and customers in navigating sustainability challenges and in planning and executing effective transition strategies.
With the 2023 introduction of key sustainability standards by the new International Standards Sustainability Board (ISSB) and the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), SFEC members have effectively incorporated the tenets of green and sustainable finance into their professional qualifications and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes. Despite these advancements, much work remains to meet our enduring Charter commitments in the UK and globally. This report reaffirms our ongoing commitment to widen the SFEC’s membership, to increase support for the Charter, and to encourage other regions to employ our pioneering approach as a blueprint for global capacity building.
“We’re seeing increased demand for sustainability skills training and the adoption of sustainability reporting standards around the world, which is encouraging. But it’s only a start and we need to build more skills capacity and further sharpen our focus.”
