sustainable investment Archives - State of the Planet

Martin Dietrich Brauch headshot

Putting People and Planet Before Profits: A Q&A With Martin Dietrich Brauch

The senior legal and economics researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment wants to overhaul investment policies in order to fight climate change and achieve sustainable development goals.

by |April 19, 2022
bruce kahn portrait

An Interview with Bruce Kahn, an Ecologist Who Became an Investment Banker

The Sustainability Management lecturer shares his views on how consumer demand could and should drive sustainability transformations.

by Sarah Hussain |September 16, 2020

Apply Now for Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s annual training session will be held in June 2020.

Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture: Applications Now Open!

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s annual training session will be held at Columbia University in New York City in June 2019. Applications are now open, and will be assessed on a rolling basis.

Accounting, Finance, and Modeling of Sustainable Investments

In Fall 2018, this course will examine traditional and emerging financial and cost accounting practices, non-financial sustainability performance metrics, and more.

by |July 12, 2018

Not So Sweet: Tanzania Confronts Arbitration over Large-Scale Sugarcane and Ethanol Project

The legal battle underscores the challenges that arise when governments, international investors, and the rights of local communities are at odds.

Columbia Alumni Making Sense of Sustainable Investing

While more institutional investors are factoring sustainability in their investment decisions, there is little agreement about what sustainability means, or how to measure it. Interviews with three sustainable investment professionals—all graduates of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management graduate program—indicate a growing demand for investing that accounts for sustainability performance, but also obstacles to discerning the best… read more

by |January 6, 2017
people working in rice fields

Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s annual Executive Training Program on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture will be held at Columbia University in New York City from July 12-21, 2017. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 31, 2017.

Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Resources

On Nov. 2-3, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment will host a conference on “Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources,” bringing together diverse stakeholders to explore the key challenges underlying the issue.

Federal Environmental Policy Can’t Find the 21st Century

The issue comes down to willingness to pay upfront for improved systems, rather than pay to address environmental emergencies later on, when pieces of the system fall apart. Both water and energy systems carry user charges, but weak, ideologically-bound politicians refuse to allow these fees to grow to pay the capital cost of modern infrastructure.

by |February 15, 2016