Morgan Stanley’s initiative to address global sustainability challenges

13 August 2020 by Grace Coleman
blog author

Morgan Stanley has unveiled a new accelerator to identify advanced innovations that will focus on systemic change for sustainability.

The leading global financial services firm has launched the initiative to help drive change by tackling sustainability challenges.

The Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Accelerator will have three major elements: a new Sustainable Solutions Innovation Award, a year-long intensive partnership with Morgan Stanley and an ongoing Sustainable Solutions Collaborative.

The accelerator will select five breakthrough innovations that are tackling major global sustainability challenges, with each receiving a $250,000 Sustainable Solutions Innovation Award to help develop and scale the solution.

Innovators will also take part in a year-long partnership with experts at the Institute for Sustainable Investing, where they will have access to the full range of Morgan Stanley’s expertise, networks and innovative solutions to help them achieve scale and sustained impact.

The innovators will then become part of the Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Collaborative to help solve some of the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges. 

James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO and chair of the Institute for Sustainable Investing Advisory Board, said: “The challenges that have come to the forefront this year exposed just how urgently we need to address structural issues in societal and environmental design.

“The Sustainable Solutions Accelerator represents Morgan Stanley’s latest commitment to help scale the solutions that drive positive, sustainable and systemic change, and builds on the longstanding work of our Institute for Sustainable Investing.”

Audrey Choi, Morgan Stanley’s chief sustainability officer and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing, said: “Whether the challenge is climate change, social justice or plastic waste reduction, we cannot drive global, systemic change if we persist in business-as-usual thinking.

“Now is the time to support holistic solutions that will become the next frontier in sustainable investing.”

Morgan Stanley committed to sustainability and sustainable investing after founding the Global Sustainable Finance Group in 2009 and the launch of the Institute for Sustainable Investing in 2013. Criteria for selection include breakthrough innovative thinking, potential for broad reaching systemic change and potential for impact to be significantly increased through participation in the accelerator.

The Institute will establish a network of independent, external nominators who will identify the innovations with the most potential around the world. A selection committee comprised of experts across different industries, sectors and communities will evaluate and recommend finalists.

Get in touch to discuss Climate Jobs opportunities or click here to browse our latest opportunities. There is an increasing market of Chief Sustainability Officer Jobs, click here to browse our latest opportunities.