Sustainable and Green Finance Institute

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN)

The Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) is a research institute created by the National University of Singapore (NUS). It aims to combine research and training to shape sustainability in business and finance, and to explore how finance can support sustainable activities across the economy. SGFIN is one of NUS’s 39 university-level institutes and centers addressing important regional and global issues. With support from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), SGFIN was formed as one of three Centres of Excellence to build a strong sustainable finance research and talent ecosystem for Singapore and Asia. It officially launched on 20 April 2023.

Location and leadership:
SGFIN is based at NUS on the Kent Ridge campus, in the Innovation 4.0 building. Key leaders include Chairperson Professor Chng Wee Joo; Managing Director Sumit Agarwal (Low Tuck Kwong Distinguished Professor of Finance at NUS Business School and Professor of Economics and Real Estate at NUS); Director Johan Sulaeman; and Deputy Director Zhang Weina.

People and research focus:
The institute has more than 20 full-time researchers plus administrative staff and student researchers. A core research area is developing a framework to measure how sustainable a company is, using modern statistics and machine learning to assess environmental and social performance.

Education and programs:
SGFIN offers a Master of Science in Sustainable and Green Finance, run in partnership with NUS Business School. Launched in 2022, it started as a full-time program and added a part-time option in 2024. The institute also provides executive education programs for professionals.

Events and leadership in thought:
SGFIN hosts the annual SGFIN Sustainability Summit, attracting many experts in sustainable finance. The 2024 summit featured Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Dr Michael Greenstone and covered topics like funding energy infrastructure for decarbonization, regulatory changes for net-zero goals, improving built environment standards, and using digital tools for sustainability. The institute also runs the SGFIN Research Conference on Sustainability and shares insights on finance, technology, and regulation.

Collaboration and impact:
SGFIN works with industry partners and participates in major events such as the Singapore FinTech Festival, CleanEnviro Summit, and the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability Event Series, along with other forums on green finance and energy transition. It has conducted studies with authorities like the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on climate-related disclosures in Singapore. Findings show progress but call for stronger governance disclosures and interim milestones toward long-term net-zero goals.

Outreach and partnerships:
SGFIN organizes initiatives like the SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition and the Huawei Tech4City Competition, and it regularly invites external speakers from industry and academia to engage with students in the MSc program.