The Sustainable Investing Challenge brings together future leaders seeking to help address today’s toughest sustainability issues through innovative financial solutions

The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University announced that the Coast Haven Brokerage team was named the winner of the 2022 Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge. The team was one of 16 finalist teams competing in the virtual Challenge on Friday, April 8. The 16 finalists were selected from a field of 77 teams, composed of over 250 students from 35 different countries. Their projects targeted impact in 29 countries.

The winning team of graduate students from Judge Business School, University of Cambridge captivated the judges with their Coast Haven Brokerage proposal. The team presented the idea of creating a platform-based brokerage connecting beneficiaries of ecosystems of mangroves in climate-driven storm-risk areas with insurers, investors, project developers, and restoration experts with the goal of facilitating the deployment of parametric insurance to help protect and restore mangrove forests.

Now in its twelfth year, the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge is an annual global competition designed to inspire future leaders to develop innovative financial vehicles to help address critical social and environmental issues.

“This year’s teams showed us that the challenges we face today require urgent and fresh thinking,” says Audrey Choi, Senior Advisor and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing, Morgan Stanley. “As the world struggles with intensifying extreme weather events and growing inequality, it’s clear that innovative financial solutions like Coast Haven Brokerage’s plan to protect and restore mangrove forests is an exemplary case of tomorrow’s business and finance leaders thinking outside the box.”

The winning team, Coast Haven Brokerage, consisted of John Ambler from the United States and William Maxted from the United Kingdom.

This year’s runner-up was GOAL Fund from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Their proposal aims to creatively finance the acquisition and restoration of land surrounding decommissioned oil and gas wells, leveraging private equity and carbon credits to plug and remediate these areas. The team consisted of Kathy (Huishan) Hu from China, Nino Sakvarelidze from Georgia, Riya Mehta from India, and Olivia Luciani from the United States.

“Since 2011, this Challenge has been a testament to the growing opportunities available to investors looking to do well by doing good,” says David Chen, Professor of Finance at Kellogg Management School, CEO of Equilibrium Capital and the founder of the Sustainable Investing Challenge. “These students showed such creativity and financial acumen, clearly demonstrating how ready they are to be the innovative financial leaders this field needs.”

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Finalists presented their proposals and took questions from a panel of judges over live video conference. After all teams presented, judges reconnected over a separate video call to determine the winner and first runner-up.

The Challenge seeks to inspire the next generation of sustainable investing practitioners, connect emerging leaders with industry professionals, and foster greater emphasis on sustainable finance at graduate schools around the world. More information on this year’s winner and the finalists can be found on the Morgan Stanley website and by following the conversation on social media with #SIChallenge.

Source: Nasdaq