Vision & Mission
Vision
RFI will enable a world where finance and innovation work in harmony to build resilience in our cities, communities and businesses.
Mission
RFI catalyzes the transition to a sustainable future by driving changes within the financial system and facilitating the adoption of sustainable practices and technologies within industries and institutions worldwide.
Theory of Change
Addressing systemic barriers
The financial system is a critical enabler of economic activity and has a key role to play in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. However, current financial structures and practices often prioritize short-term financial returns over long-term sustainability, perpetuating high-carbon activities and hindering the shift towards climate solutions. Our theory of change starts by addressing these systemic barriers to the transition, including incentives, regulations, and norms.
Building a transition finance ecosystem
The transition to a low-carbon economy requires significant investment and financing. We aim to build a transition finance ecosystem that supports and enables this shift, bringing together investors, financiers, regulators, and other stakeholders to develop and scale innovative financial products and mechanisms that support climate solutions. This includes mobilizing private and public finance towards low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, promoting green bonds and other climate-aligned financial instruments, and supporting the development of carbon markets and other climate finance mechanisms.
Catalyzing practical transition pathways
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy requires significant changes in how we produce and consume energy, goods, and services. We believe that practical transition pathways are key to achieving a sustainable and equitable transition, and we aim to catalyze the implementation and financing of these pathways. This includes supporting companies and industries to adopt low-carbon and circular business models, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, and working with communities to ensure a just and inclusive transition.
Promoting adoption of climate tech across sectors and regions
Climate tech solutions play a critical role in enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy. We aim to promote the adoption of climate tech across sectors and regions, including through partnerships with climate tech companies, investors, and other stakeholders. This includes identifying and promoting innovative climate tech solutions that can help address environmental challenges and support the transition, as well as supporting the scaling up and deployment of these solutions through financing, capacity building, and policy advocacy. By promoting the adoption of climate tech, we aim to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future and build a more resilient and climate-resilient economy.
Fostering transparency and accountability
Transparency and accountability are critical to building trust and driving action in the transition to a low-carbon economy. We aim to promote transparency and accountability in financial decision-making, including through enhanced climate risk disclosure and reporting, carbon accounting and pricing, and stakeholder engagement. This also includes advocating for strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and promoting responsible investment and finance practices.
Collaborating for impact
The transition to a low-carbon economy requires collaboration across sectors, stakeholders and regions, and we believe that working together is essential to achieving impact at scale. We aim to build capacity and foster collaboration across the financial system and the corporate world, supporting the development of knowledge, skills, and networks that enable actors to work towards a shared vision of a low-carbon, sustainable future. This includes engaging with policymakers, regulators, and civil society to promote policy and regulatory frameworks that support the transition, and collaborating with other initiatives and networks to amplify our impact.
Goals: 2023-2025
From thought leader to agent of change
In the next three years, RFI aims to evolve from a thought leader to an agent of change by catalyzing practical action towards a sustainable financial system. We recognize that financial markets can be structurally flawed, with inadequate responses to climate change being a key failing. Thus, RFI will build on its reputation for thought leadership to stimulate actual change in the behavior and regulation of capital markets.
To achieve this, we have set four strategic objectives for RFI:
- Deliver measurable change in investment attitudes, practices, and frameworks across key parts of the financial system.
- Foster collaboration and partnerships to incubate, scale, and widely adopt climate tech and innovation, enabling a transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Expand our reach and impact through an international approach, targeting critical capital markets and regions.
- Evolve from a largely project-based initiative to a sustainable organization that is well-equipped to continue leading the transition to a sustainable financial system.
To support these objectives, we will work closely with like-minded partners and our key target audiences in the financial sector, including investors, analysts, trustees, lawyers, actuaries, and regulators. We will leverage the weight of mainstream institutions to amplify our message, and draw on a network of experts to verify our analysis and engage with the financial community and regulators.
As part of our focus on climate tech and innovation, we will also develop a corporate climate tech adoption and transition pathway to support companies and industries in adopting low-carbon and circular business models, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, and ensuring a just and inclusive transition. By working towards these goals, RFI will accelerate the transition to a sustainable financial system and a low-carbon economy.