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Sustainability at CFA UK

Growing Talent Through Purpose

CFA UK’s mission is to educate, connect and inspire the investment community to build a sustainable future. Our brand promise ‘WE GROW TALENT’ articulates how we realise our mission in helping our sector grow their competence in investing, their skills and their knowledge.

Creating a sustainable future involves fostering an investment ecosystem that is not only economically sound, but also socially and environmentally resilient. It’s about making decisions today that positively impact generations to come.

Our most impactful work centres around education and sustainability advocacy. We collaborate with professionals in the field, fostering discussions on sustainability. A key focus has been nurturing talent by enhancing sustainable investing expertise. Our educational initiatives, including the development, over the past six years, of the Sustainable Investing Certificate (formerly called the Certificate in ESG Investing), the Certificate in Climate and Investing and the Certificate in Impact Investing have helped build upon the strong foundation laid by the Investment Management Certificate’s inception 30 years ago.

The timeline below illustrates some of our key initiatives over the past six years.
 
CFA UK Sustainability Timeline to 30 June 2025


 
Sustainability timeline

 

 
Growing Talent through Skills & Knowledge

CFA UK has built a reputation in the UK, and beyond, as a leading developer of sustainable investment certificates. We launched the former Certificate in ESG Investing (now the Sustainable Investing Certificate) in 2019 and transferred the administration and ownership of the certificate to CFA Institute in 2021 to enable the certificate to be offered globally. To date, more than 61,528 people have registered for the certificate since its launch.
 
In 2022, we launched the Certificate in Climate and Investing to provide investment professionals with the new skills and knowledge needed to see the investment universe through a climate lens. In 2024 we issued an improved version of the certificate. Now in its third iteration, the certificate has generated approximately 1,900 registrations since launch. A two-hour certificate refresher learning plan is also available to ensure certificate graduates are fully up to speed with the latest curriculum and practice developments. Unfortunately CFA UK has decided to no longer offer the Certificate in Climate and Investing in its current form. CFA UK continues to believe that a robust foundational program in Climate and Investing holds tangible value for investment professionals, however, the way investment firms are addressing the risks and opportunities presented by climate change is changing. Regulators are refining their approach and the approach learners favour is evolving, most notably with the growth in shorter form micro-credentialling. 


In January 2024 we launched the Certificate in Impact Investing which combines current climate science with practical investment techniques and has generated over 550 registrations since launch. An accompanying refresher learning plan for members was launched in April 2024.
 
In each case, we have worked with the leading bodies in the field (PRI, IIGCC, GIIN and the Impact Investing Institute, respectively).
 
Growing Talent through Thought Leadership

As a thought leader on sustainable investing, CFA UK regularly produces events, articles, podcasts, and videos to support the continuing education of investment professionals on sustainability. In the past financial year, we ran 13 sustainability events, including our fourth major conference with the theme ‘Investment Talent’ (in June 2025), featuring a workstream on the practical skills needed for sustainable investing, which generated more than 321 registrations. We also broadcast six sustainability-related podcast episodes, through our climate change podcast series and In Conversation with Sustainability Community champions, with a total of 4,375 listens, and published two articles relating to our bio-diversity report and survey, which generated 381 views.

In 2024, CFA UK amplified its impact by partnering with Content With Purpose (CWP) to produce a range of expert interviews, and short films, ‘Investing for Tomorrow’s Environment’. The films explored the urgent need to integrate climate change and natural capital considerations into investment decision-making.   We will partner again with CWP for the new member year, planning has started for activity in 2026, to build on the topics we explored in 2024.

Growing Talent through Connecting

In July 2023, we launched our Sustainability Community bringing members and experts together through engagement, events, networking, shared experiences and debate. The community has since grown to over 494 members and has a vibrant series of ongoing in-person events, pub meets and live webinars. 

An active group of 20 Sustainability Champions support and promote the community. The champions are volunteers with subject matter expertise in different areas of sustainable investing who have highlighted systemic issues - low levels of sustainability literacy, fragmented regulation, and unreliable data. The gap between corporate disclosures and investor needs, along with persistent greenwashing, continues to erode trust. Without clearer standards and purpose-led regulation, ESG risks becoming a box-ticking exercise rather than a driver of meaningful change.

Investor interest in ESG has recently waned, driven by economic pressures, inconsistent performance, and growing doubts about the credibility and impact of ESG claims. Against this backdrop, investment professionals with sustainability expertise are essential to restoring confidence and impact. The CFA UK Sustainability Community and its Champions are leading the way by driving debate, advocating for change, and promoting a sustainable future. Central to this mission is a commitment to professional learning and competence, ensuring ESG practices are informed, credible, and effectively applied across the sector.

Growing Talent through Governance and Leadership

While encouraging investment professionals to build their sustainable investment competencies through education and networking, we’re conscious of CFA UK’s own need to operate sustainably.
 
That work is overseen by the Society’s Sustainability Committee, a committee of the Board whose purpose is to make recommendations to the Board on the development and communication of CFA UK’s sustainability goals to serve members, the investment profession, and Society. The committee’s priorities are:

  • Mapping CFA UK activity to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Ensuring that CFA UK is a diverse and inclusive workplace; and
  • Recommending updates to CFA UK’s investment policy for its investment reserve portfolio.

 
In the financial year to June 2025, the committee has:

  • Continued its work on the materiality assessment with key society stakeholders,
  • Overseen the Society’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Continued to ensure that sustainability considerations are embedded into the investment process of the Society’s reserves.

  
Growing Talent through Careers
CFA UK works to improve the investment management profession by promoting inclusion, diversity, and equity balance within the industry to serve the best interests of our increasingly diverse society. The Society is committed to helping people build rewarding careers in a diverse and inclusive profession.

In March 2025 we launched a careers skills pathway series on portfolio construction aligned to sustainable principles. The webinar series finished with an in-person social event bringing together series participants for an evening of networking.