Charting a New Course: My Journey to Sustainable Investing

When I first received the email that the Sustainable Investing Consulting Project course was among the newly approved electives in my program, I was filled with excitement and a touch of apprehension. The opportunity to explore the intersection between sustainability and finance while collaborating with real-world clients was too good of an opportunity to pass up, but I also lack expertise in this field. Anticipating a lengthy waitlist, I wasted no time in adding the course to my wish list. Coming from a background in energy policy and ecology with little prior knowledge of sustainable investing, I did not have high hopes of getting accepted into the class. To my astonishment, I received the congratulatory email along with the list of potential clients. I eagerly read through each project description, and by the end of the first class, I knew my top choices. I patiently awaited the email revealing my assigned client and team members, and when it finally arrived, I was thrilled.

During our initial team meeting, the diversity of our skill sets became apparent, and we all shared the excitement of being on a team of all women. The following day, we held our initial client meeting, which left me both excited and overwhelmed. The purpose of our project is to facilitate the exchange of information between companies and investors via stock exchanges in order to enhance transparency, promote market compliance, and encourage voluntary participation. This continues to excite me as it signifies our contribution to helping investors and public companies become more sustainable through consolidating the wealth of available information. On the other hand, I was overwhelmed, particularly because I had never worked on a sustainability project before—except for when I wrote an op-ed advocating for sustainability over fast fashion. The various acronyms for the names of the frameworks were like alphabet soup, and these jumbled letters made it difficult for me to categorize which criteria belonged to which framework. However, it did not take long to realize that like any new venture, this has a learning curve.

Fortunately, one of my team members is quite familiar with these frameworks and has kindly guided me through the intricacies of a few of them. Thanks to her, these once-daunting acronyms can roll off my tongue with ease now. Try saying IFRS S1, IFRS S2, and TCFD three times fast! Reflecting on this course, I can confidently say it has been a pleasantly surprising journey thus far. I have learned that the strategy component of these frameworks aims to provide investors and stakeholders with insights into a company's future performance, operational practices, and strategic choices regarding sustainability and climate related risks and opportunities. At the same time, I have learned how to lean on my team members for support and how important it is to have a strong team dynamic. Our recent dinner was a great chance to connect on a personal level, and I look forward to similar experiences in the future. Embracing this ongoing work in progress, my sustainable investing journey is a path I approach with enthusiasm, ready for continued growth.