Climate Safe Lending Fellowship

The Climate Safe Lending Fellowship is unlike any other typical training course in sustainable finance.

In the words of an alumnus, with more on the testimonials and impact page,

“The Climate Safe Lending Fellowship programme is a deeply transformative, engaging and impactful undertaking for global sustainable finance leaders. It is a safe platform to probe, reflect and contribute ideas on progressing the ‘just transition’ dialogue. Highly recommended.”

The Fellowship is for climate leaders who:

• Currently work in a bank - we welcome applicants from all banks regardless of size, or the stage of its journey towards a credible and just climate transition. Applicants from non-bank lending institutions and development finance institutions are also welcome.

• Are actively working to progress the climate agenda  within their institution. We are looking for applicants from a diverse range of roles and functions, both within sustainability teams, back office functions and in core business areas.

• Want to develop new skills, insights and networks to accelerate their bank’s transformation towards climate-safe banking, and can demonstrate that they have the courage to do so.

Is this you? Then find out more about the Fellowship and apply now. Applications close 2 February 2024.

Here are our top tips for submitting your application

1. Consider how you meet our three assessment criteria.

   • Courage, commitment and demonstrated action We are looking for individuals who are committed to influencing a credible and just transition to a safer climate from within banking institutions over the medium-term, and are able to demonstrate evidence of recent or current work towards this - within your day job or side-of-desk. We are also interested in you as a person, and what motivates you in this work.

   • Potential for systemic impact Systemic impact means transforming the heart of business as usual. We want to support individuals who show the potential to influence meaningful shifts in core business strategy, operational structures, relationships and culture. Please tell us the Critical Shift you would like to work on during the Fellowship, explaining how this might help to create systemic impact and advance a just transition to climate safe lending in your bank. (NB: You are not expected to have a finalised Critical Shift at this point - we are looking for a rough indication of your area of focus. You can find more information on what we mean by “Critical Shift” in our FAQs.)

   • Appetite to learn and grow The work of creating systemic change involves an ongoing journey of adaptation and growth. We seek individuals who are eager to adapt and change, stretch into new areas of growth, and actively support the development of others in a peer learning community. 

2. Completing your application should take around one hour. Once you start your application, you won’t be able to save your progress and return later, so you may want to begin by drafting your responses in a word document. The application form includes a number of multiple choice questions confirming your eligibility, as well as three open-ended questions for you to tell us how you meet each of our three assessment criteria (max 250 words each).

3. You don't need to have received employer approval before applying. That can come later and we can help. There are discounts available for multiple colleagues from one institution (10% off for 2 or 3 places) - so we encourage you to find others in your organisation to apply to the Fellowship together - we recommend a mix of people from sustainability, front office and back office roles (we can take in up to three individuals from each organisation for each cohort). Finally, partial bursary places are available if organisational sponsorship is a barrier to your participation - just select this option when applying.

Have questions? Send us an email  fellowship@climatesafelending.org.