Sustainability, Technology, and Finance

Herman Bril is Managing Director & Head of Responsible Investment at PSP Investments. He has 30 years of experience in international financial institutions across investment management, derivatives trading, treasury, and development finance.Georg Kell is Chairman of Arabesque, a technology company that uses AI and big data to assess sustainability performance, and Chairman of the Volkswagen Sustainability Council. Georg founded the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. He also oversaw the launch of the PRI, PRME, and SSE.Andreas Rasche is Professor of Business in Society at the Centre for Sustainability at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and Associate Dean for the CBS Full-Time MBA program. He has authored more than 60 academic articles in top international journals and published various cases on topics related to ESG and corporate sustainability.

"Bril, Kell, and Rasche have edited a timely, insightful, and deeply thought-provoking volume on a topic that sits right at the frontier of our current knowledge: the interrelation of sustainable finance and technology. It fills an important void by focusing on the real-world implementation of urgently needed solutions to our most pressing sustainability challenges. This book, therefore, is an absolutely essential read for companies, executives, and investors who are genuinely interested in bringing about transformational ESG change in their organizations and indeed, within society at large."Ioannis Ioannou, London Business School "A great book and blueprint for our transition to a more sustainable future."Rose Marcario, former CEO Patagonia"As the founder Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Georg Kell’s unique insights have shaped the discourse in responsible business since the inception of the Global Compact in 2000. In this publication, Georg Kell and colleagues aptly capture the opportunities in innovative financing, technologies and accountability frameworks that raise the ambition for the private sector."Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact "The climate and sustainability challenge is the toughest, and most important, one modern society needs to address. But what made society modern is the force of technology. Reconciling the urgency of one with the potential (and peril) of the other is a critical imperative. This anthology draws together key voices to help bridge that gap."Azeem Azhar, author, Exponential"Have you been wondering about ESG and how technology might be part of the solution? Then this might be a worthwhile read for you. My colleagues across asset management and academia have written the book with complementing chapters about futuristic views on technology impact, paired with how asset managers might integrate technology and digitalisation in the still virgin ESG analytic work. The book also raises important questions about the ESG implications on reverse globalisation and the impact on geopolitics – relevance underlined by the recent events in Ukraine."Peter Branner, Chief Investment Officer APG Asset Management

• 1. Sustainable Finance and Technology: Making the Connection; Part I: ESG and Technology 2. History of Technology and Its Future in the Context of Human Development; 3. ESG—A Transformational Journey for Asset Management, Industries, Technology, and Society; 4. How Can Corporate Leverage Tech and Sustainability through Collaboration? Digital with Purpose—Current Practices and Trends; 5. Decarbonization as a Chance; 6. Ocean Technology as a Growing Space in Which to Reimagine Business: The Role of Start-Ups; Part II: ESG as and through Technology 7. Mitigating the Risks and Nurturing the Opportunities: Data and Tech Vital in Tackling Companies' ESG Challenges; 8. Resilience as an Analytical Filter for ESG Data; 9. Technology-Supported Investment Management; 10. Finance, Sustainability, and Technology: Co-Evolution in Asset Owners’ Context; 11. A Digital Twin for Finance: Artificial Intelligence Supporting the Implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance Targets; 12. Efficiently Allocating Capital to Transition to a Sustainable Economy; 13. Assessing ESG from a Position of Wealth; 14. The Rise of ESG Data: A Tectonic Transparency Shift; 15. ESGT—Exponential Technology Requires Exponential Responsibility; 16. Mastering Sustainability Requires Technology, Finance, and the Powers of Homo Deus