Climate Safe Lending Fellowship
Testimonials and Impact
Our previous cohorts of Fellows have come from across the world. They represented global and domestic banks ranging in size, including globally significant financial institutions with more than $1T in total assets, as well as a range of other lending institutions.
Here’s what our Fellows say about the programme and the impact they achieved.
“The Fellowship has offered a level of introspection I wasn’t expecting. I’m enjoying the programme so much, it’s a safe space where I can be vulnerable and also challenged.
It was helpful to have upfront, honest conversations with other Fellows working in front-office and who control Profit and Loss, seeing their challenges from a frank perspective. Internally, we never quite have honest conversations, they don’t want to disclose the full reality as it might come back to bite them. “
Vice President, Risk
Globally significant financial institution (>$1T assets)
“What struck me most was the diversity of individuals in the Fellowship. It made me realise, bit by bit, that I could allow myself to show my differences a lot more and worry less about being accepted in my professional world as a person like them, but just as me. By doing that, I think it really helped me engage with people in a different and more authentic way. I also learned from the programme different ways to engage and influence other people. I now find myself being more intentional, systemic and genuine about my action within my firm, as well as within the wider system.”
Chief Risk Officer
Mainstream global bank (>$10bn assets)
Impact examples from our Fellows include:
Successfully influenced the global group risk function to adopt the climate risk management framework they created at the regional level
Used what they learnt on the Fellowship to craft a new sustainability-focused role in their institution, which put them in a position to better influence and accelerate their bank’s climate transition.
Integrated climate risk considerations into the client and transaction onboarding due diligence process.
Advocacy resulting in the setting up of a formal governance structure in their bank to drive climate progress, with two sustainable finance goals now embedded into the bank’s business goals for the year.
Successfully influenced top leaders of their bank (with the majority of its lending in high carbon sectors), resulting in buy-in to embed climate into core strategy.
Integrated diversity, equity and inclusion concerns into climate risk under the umbrella of “emerging thematic risk”.
Influencing and educating relationship managers to gather data to assess where clients are with sustainability and enable benchmarking and impact assessment.
Becoming the go-to person for sustainability and a catalyst for change in the department. Moving away from doomsday messaging to offering information in a way which is useful for colleagues.
Kick-started a new role at a new bank, by identifying what I can do to help other teams act on sustainability.
“This has been an amazing journey. Over this period, we’ve realised we’re all in the same sea, have varying challenges and need to develop both intellectual and emotional capacity for ourselves and people around us so change can happen. It’s not a one day job, I have to persevere along. ”
Head of Sustainability
Mainstream domestic bank from the Global South (>$200bn assets)
“Framing our Critical Shifts using the Three Horizons has helped me to be more strategic and impactful in my role - allowing me to expand the scope of my remit. What has been good about the whole process is being able to take a step back and think about things - making that time and putting the work in.”
ESG Senior Vice President
Globally significant financial institution (>$1T assets)
One of our 2022 Fellows, Scott Beckerman, shares his experience on the Fellowship.
Interested? Visit the Climate Safe Lending Fellowship webpage for more information and resources, including: