Coming from a background in social impact work and philanthropy, I have been interested in widening my knowledge in sustainable investing by enrolling in several SIRI courses, all of which I found deeply fascinating. Last semester, I took Sustainable Finance and Impact Measurement and Management, both offered at SIPA. These classes allowed me to broaden my horizons and engage more deeply with the evolving field of sustainable investing. The SIRI Practicum course therefore appeared as the ideal opportunity to put my learning into practice.
The project I am working on sits at the intersection of sustainable finance, biodiversity, and institutional investment stewardship. The work is focused on the growing field of nature-related financial risk and opportunity, an area that is gaining visibility as investors and policymakers increasingly recognize biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation as material financial concerns. Unlike climate risk, which has benefited from years of disclosure practices and standard setting, nature-related risk remains comparatively underdeveloped. This is the gap in which our project operates, researching and analyzing how institutional investors are beginning to integrate nature considerations into their decision-making, governance, and stewardship activities. The project relies on secondary research into investor action, with a particular focus on stewardship practices. Our work includes analyzing publicly available evidence such as stewardship policies, engagement materials, proxy voting guidelines, shareholder resolutions, and other indicators that demonstrate how asset owners and asset managers are addressing nature-related issues.
As I embark on this first consulting journey, I am realizing how foundational project and client management skills are, particularly in aligning stakeholder expectations and ensuring the delivery of impactful results. I took this mission seriously by dedicating the first few weeks to fostering a transparent and inclusive environment in which every team member felt involved and engaged. This approach helped us deliver an effective first presentation to our client. Alongside these early steps, I have also confronted the demanding and often overwhelming world of research. To develop a research-oriented consulting mindset, I am learning the importance of prioritization and effective decision making. Research is the starting point of any consulting reflection, and a strong methodological approach has proven essential so far: breaking our overarching goal into smaller components, applying critical thinking to each source, and extracting what is most relevant from large volumes of information. Now that we have clearly defined the problem we are trying to solve, my work increasingly feels like a treasure hunt, where each team member contributes a key piece to the bigger picture.
Through this experience, I expect to challenge myself by working on a project in an area where I began with little prior knowledge, while still contributing meaningfully through a fresh perspective. As I consider the possibility of starting my career in consulting, this practicum represents a valuable opportunity to combine my interest in sustainability with my desire to explore the consulting profession. I also see this course as an important space to strengthen my teamwork skills, as collaboration offers one of the most effective ways to learn from others and grow together. The methodological and analytical skills I am developing through this project will be valuable assets as I prepare to enter the professional world.