Watch the webinar | Australian Sustainable Finance Institute Capability Workstream with Kristy Graham
The Centre was pleased to host Kristy Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI), for a one-hour webinar on ASFI’s capability workstream.
The Centre has a strong working relationship with ASFI, with knowledge and insights exchanged regularly, to enable the transition to a resilient, net-zero future in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.
The Australian Sustainable Finance Roadmap recommends building skills and capabilities in sustainable finance to help realign Australia’s financial system with a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive Australia. This aligns with our own Sustainable Finance Forum 2030 Roadmap, which identifies raising capability through education and training as a key enabler in transitioning to a sustainable financial system for Aotearoa.
In this webinar, Kristy gave an overview of ASFI’s capability workstream which has made great strides over the past year and includes:
Developing principles for the accreditation of high-quality sustainable finance courses in Australia via a Sustainable Finance Capability Reference Group
Mapping the work of existing sustainable finance courses to identify gaps in the market
Connecting finance professionals to help them develop their skills and knowledge, and building a directory of sustainable finance courses to help participants understand available training options.
Some key takeaways from the webinar:
Despite moderate to high demand for financial services professionals with ‘green’ skills in Australia, recent research indicates that there is a significant skills and capability gap among sustainable finance professionals. This gap is a significant impediment to progress and prevents the sector from taking a leadership role in the transition to a more sustainable financial system.
An industry-wide approach to developing an accreditation system is an efficient and effective way to fill these information gaps. Ideally, the sector needs one course designed to meet the needs of a broad range of people, whether its finance professionals upskilling in sustainability, or sustainability professionals upskilling in finance.
Sustainable finance professionals need a mix of technical skills and professional capabilities; the latter being the ability to think at a systems level and apply adaptive leadership skills. Cultural capability training, for example, would equip sustainable finance professionals with the ability to consider how first nations voices and expertise can inform the development of a sustainable financial system.
Applicability for Aotearoa New Zealand
ASFI’s competency framework and accreditation standards will have broad applicability across other jurisdictions, with the flexibility to adjust for local policy and regulation. In addition, ASFI’s professional network will be open to New Zealand practitioners who operate within the same talent pool as Australian practitioners, and ASFI’s course directory – the majority of which can be taken online - will also be accessible to New Zealand practitioners.