About Climate Safe Lending Network

Who we Are

The Climate Safe Lending Network is an international multi-stakeholder collaborative dedicated to accelerating the decarbonization of the banking sector to secure a climate-safe world. The Network brings together a diversity of senior leaders and changemakers both within and influential to banks: including financial institutions, civil society, academics, investors, businesses, and policy experts.

Individuals are invited to participate for their ability to work in collaboration with others, even those with whom they disagree. We are learners and leaders, and we leverage our position and connections to accelerate action in our sector related to the shared goal. Whether its participating in a subject-specific workshop, or engaging more deeply in the leadership development fellowship opportunities, together we explore how we can play our optimum role in accelerating change.

What we do

Our Goal: Transform the banking system in alignment with decarbonizing the economy, staying below a 1.5°C global temperature increase, and creating the conditions for resilient ecosystems and the societies and economies within them

We believe that banks have a critical role to play in the fight against climate change, and we are committed to working with them to transition to a socially just, climate-safe world.

CSLN recognizes that effective climate action in the financial sector requires a multifaceted approach, including knowledge dissemination, leadership development, policy engagement, capacity building, collaboration, and data-driven assessment.

We are a convening space, advisory, and nexus for the sector and all associated stakeholders who can advance bold climate action.

Our Focus Areas

Developing Climate Action Leaders

We invest in leadership development, capacity building and change management skills for individuals and teams. We also provide resources and support to build internal climate action capacity within financial institutions.

The Fellowship is our flagship leadership development programme that cultivates the leadership practices of bank climate champions to help them bring about the deep shifts that will align their institutions with a just transition to a climate safe world. It is an immersive leadership development programme for finance professionals who are leading or influencing the climate transition within their institutions. Fellows access sector insights and emerging new practice in climate finance. They leave the programme with new tools, skills and multi-stakeholder networks gained in a pre-competitive, collaborative environment.

Advancing Strategies
for Change

Climate Safe Lending Network Members collaborate to uncover important insights on the financial sector’s approach to the climate crisis, and transform these insights into practical recommendations for raising ambition and taking action.

Learn about our strategic resources, ideas and information in our Resources and Reports, including:

  • Climate Finance Catalyst Contest

  • Banking on Climate Justice

  • Taking the Carbon out of Credit: The Three Horizons Model for Climate Safe Lending

  • The Good Transition Plan

Supporting Progressive Policy

The Climate Safe Policy Initiative injects thought provocation into the debate on financial regulation to reframe the design of the financial system consistent with social and environmental objectives. This initiative influences financial policies by identifying ways that climate change can be integrated into the policies and operations of the Federal Reserve system.

Learn about our policy ideas and information in our Resources and Reports, including:

  • Fat Tails Tipping Points and Asymmetric Time Horizons

  • Financial Stability in a Planetary Emergency

  • Seeds of Change

Founding Members

Key Organisations

CSLN Design Team

  • Fran Boait, Executive Director, Positive Money

  • Lauren Compere, Director, Shareholder Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management

  • Ivan Frishberg, Director of Impact Policy, Sustainability Banking, Amalgamated Bank

  • Alisa Gravitz, CEO/President, Green America

  • Lydia Hascott, Head of Intrapreneurship, The Finance Innovation Lab

  • Leslie Harroun, Executive in Residence & Senior Fellow for Strategic Initiatives, The Democracy Collaborative

  • Tjeerd Krumpelman, Global Head of Advisory, Reporting & Engagement, ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

  • James Vaccaro CEO, RePattern: Systems, Strategy, Sustainability

Additional Contributors

The Climate Safe Learning Lab is an initiative supported and advised by an international group of climate finance practitioners and sustainable innovation experts. In addition to design team, we appreciate the sort of:

  • Amara Gossin, Vice President - Legal, Barclays

  • Rebecca Self, Founder and Managing Director, Seawolf Sustainability Consulting

  • Jon Dennis, Head of Climate-Safe Banking, Finance Innovation Lab

  • Celine Suarez, Head of Corporate Sustainability and Reporting, Morgan Stanley