Lombard Odier and the University of Oxford have launched a five-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 and asset manager Lombard Odier will provide a platform for knowledge exchange between scholarship and financial services, support sustainable finance in becoming a major field of academic research globally, and harness the potential of the financial sector to drive environmental, social and economic transformation.

“There are unprecedented investment opportunities associated with the global sustainability transition towards a circular, lean, inclusive and clean economy,” says Hubert Keller, managing partner at Lombard Odier. “Through their unique and leading capabilities in sustainable finance, we are excited to be working with the University of Oxford with the objective of increasing the impact of sustainable investments.”

Professor Sarah Whatmore, head of social sciences at Oxford, adds: “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.”

Dr Ben Caldecott, an expert in sustainable finance and investment, who is the founding director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme and the COP26 strategy adviser for finance at the UK Cabinet Office, has been appointed as the Lombard Odier associate professor and senior research fellow of sustainable finance at the university. The post will be based in the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment within Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment.