Doing good while doing well

Growing up in Delhi, India, I witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of pollution. Every year during Diwali, farmers would burn residual crop waste to clear land for the next harvest. Acrid smoke would fill the skies for days, and my sister’s lungs would flare up, triggering her asthma. As she struggled to catch her breath, panic would ensue and we would call doctors. The hospitals told us, “don’t worry, this is a normal case”. I refuse to accept climate change as normal. 

Later, when I entered the world of finance, I was determined to use my career to drive positive change. Over 4 years in impact-focused investment banking, I saw how sustainable finance could be truly transformative in meaningfully empowering communities. 

This led me to pursue a masters degree at SIPA. Through SIRI Consulting class, I got the opportunity to work with a wonderful team on a project seeking to raise USD 3-5 billion over the next decade to launch more than 30 projects to reverse the decline of migratory birds in the Americas. The project was announced in COP15 in Montreal and pilots have been launched with an initial offering of USD 150 million to develop concrete scaled-up nature and community-based solutions. Birds are considered as the best indicator species for the health of nature. The United Nations has stated that due to human pressures, one million species may be heading towards extinction in the coming years, underscoring the urgent need to work towards their protection. 

Being a part of the SIPA team has been an enriching experience. We work together to navigate opportunities, challenges, and limitations faced by sustainable and impact investors to finance a more sustainable world. Our role involves fine tuning the financial structure of the bonds, making recommendations to the issuers on how the facility can be self-sustainable by running scenario analysis. We are also working towards analyzing project-specific priorities/sectors like clean energy and waste management, proposed indicators for the categories, to align these priorities with the use of proceeds with the Biodiversity Conservation Linked Green-Bond. Further, we will analyze successful funding structures from similar projects, focusing on stakeholder engagement and financial instrument structuring. Moreover, our most crucial responsibility as consultants to the project is to ensure capital reaches those areas, businesses, and economies which are contributing to combating climate challenges.

Throughout this experience, I have focused on continual learning and growth, expanding my skill set to drive positive change. By working closely with diverse stakeholders, I've developed strong interpersonal skills while also deepening my technical finance knowledge into new domains like biodiversity bonds. Adapting to ever-evolving sustainable finance landscapes has taught me the critical ability to be flexible and think creatively when faced with new problems. 

Every step in my career I have asked myself: “Is my work meaningful? How does it contribute to the world?” When I am making a positive impact, I feel motivated to work even harder. By working at the intersection of finance and climate, I strive to ‘do good while doing well’.