University of Oxford and Lombard Odier launch sustainable investment partnership

Lombard Odier and the University of Oxford announced today the launch of a multi-year partnership to foster research and teaching on sustainable finance and investment, with a particular focus on climate change, circular economy and nature.

The partnership between Oxford University, one of the oldest centres of higher education, and Lombard Odier, an outspoken leader in the field of sustainable investing, will provide a unique platform for knowledge exchange between scholarship and financial services and support sustainable finance in becoming a major field of academic research globally, and harness the vast potential of the financial sector to drive environmental, social and economic transformation.

The five-year partnership includes the following key elements:

1. Lombard Odier and Oxford University will create the first endowed senior academic post in sustainable finance at any major global research university;
2. Dr Ben Caldecott has been appointed the first holder of the post and will become the Lombard Odier Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow of Sustainable Finance at the University of Oxford, based at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment within the School of Geography and the Environment;
3. Lombard Odier will work with Oxford University's scholars to integrate the University's pioneering work into their own proprietary research and investment solutions;
4. Oxford will establish a programme for the ongoing training of Lombard Odier investment professionals, while Oxford scholars will benefit from accessing Lombard Odier's research and product innovation;
5. The two institutions will host a joint annual research forum, open to the wider academic and practitioner community.

Hubert Keller, Managing Partner at Lombard Odier, said, "There are unprecedented investment opportunities associated with the global sustainability transition - towards a Circular, Lean, Inclusive and Clean Economy. We call this the CLIC Economy and as a firm, we are at the very forefront of identifying and capturing these opportunities."

"Sustainability has always been at the heart of Lombard Odier's approach to its business and investment philosophy and we are consistently investing in these capabilities. Through their unique and leading capabilities in sustainable finance, we are excited to be working with the University of Oxford with the objective to increase the impact of sustainable investments." 

Professor Dame Sarah Whatmore FBA, head of the Social Sciences division, University of Oxford, said, "This timely partnership with Lombard Odier will help to ensure the University of Oxford can scale its pioneering multidisciplinary research on sustainable finance. Our researchers have significant analytical insights to bring to bear on this profoundly important set of issues and this unique collaboration will enhance their ability to do so over the long-term."

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