Who creates value in sustainable finance

Sustainable finance means pursuing financial goals while considering environmental, social, and governance factors, connecting finance with the economy and its populations in pursuit of growth. The lessons answer who creates value in sustainable finance and help readers understand how different participants shape it. They trace the roles of public and private finance, financial products, institutions, and advisers.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 49 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   sustainable finance · Wikipedia · 38 min read

   The European Commission uses green bonds, bonds used to raise money for green investments, to finance part of NextGenerationEU. Its main project is the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which provides grants and loan funding to EU member states for reform and investment; each plan must dedicate at least 37% to the green aspect and 20% to digitalization. Green bonds apply their proceeds or an equivalent amount exclusively to finance or re-finance, in part or in full, new and/or existing Green Projects. Their aim is to encourage financing of green projects by attracting more capital to support sustainable development. Mongolian financial institutions raised approximately US$2.6 billion from international sources in 2025. According to one estimate, 72 percent of these funds went to inclusive and sustainable lending for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and environmentally focused projects.

2. Read
   

   Climate finance: the challenge of 'shifting the trillions' · Carbon Brief · 6 min read

   CPI's Buchner says, "Public finance is the engine behind private finance. Private finance is dominating and it should be dominating," as private and domestic investments dominate climate finance, with investors looking for policy environments that are perceived to be less risky.

3. Watch
   

   New Rules of Business Sustainability | Big Think · YouTube · 5 min watch

   Blair Sheppard, dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, discusses how sustainability became embedded in global business plans and where to look for future opportunities.

4. Book
   

   The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy · Bookshop.org

   The Value of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato challenges conventional economic thinking by exploring how value is created and who benefits, providing a fresh perspective on finance's role in sustainable development.

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