The Institute

Pioneering thought leadership and constructive discussion to shape a more sustainable economy

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Statistic of the week

  • 0 billion USD

    The approximate value of fish estimated to be caught each year by illegal, unreported, and unregulated members of the fishing industry, according to the UN

  • 520 million people worldwide rely on fishing and related activities to make a living, but illegal fishing threatens the economy and food supply of coastal communities
  • Illegal fishing results in the fast decline of key fish stocks as well as endangering many species
  • Global action is needed. In 2022, 55 members in the WTO reached an inital deal to prohibit harmful fishing subsidies and reduce overfishing. Continuing to build on this deal will positively contribute to equitable growth and the empowerment of those who rely on the oceans for their livelihood

 

About the Institute

The optimistic, humble convenor

The UBS Sustainability and Impact Institute provides our best thinking on the world’s most important sustainability challenges. It convenes a diverse group of leading voices to explore these problems and propose potential solutions, and in so doing seeks to catalyze collective action and capital toward a more sustainable future. The Institute was established in 2021 to support UBS’s ambition to become a global leader in sustainability. It aspires to be the priority source for information and knowledge on macroeconomic trends that relate to sustainability and impact and to provide a platform for constructive discussion by engaging investors, regulators, academics, and businesses.

The Institute Forum

The Institute also established the Institute Forum to promote objective, fact-based debate with both internal and external experts on the most critical issues and trends related to the future of sustainability and impact. The Forum brings together a dynamic network of leaders and subject matter experts within their fields across the scientific, health care, public policy, academic and activist communities. Selected for their particular areas of expertise and differing approaches to problem solving, they all share a common and unwavering commitment to advancing the field of sustainability.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.

Professor Dasgupta is Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Cambridge. He boasts a career of over 30 years studying how best to harmonize economic growth with the biosphere and led the creation of the 2021 UK government report ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’. The report analyzed the importance of nature to economies and societies, and its conclusions helped create ‘natural capital’ as an economic concept.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. She is a former CEO of Conexus Financial and the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment, from 2013 – 2022. During Fiona’s time as CEO the organization’s membership grew to over 5,000 firms representing over USD140 trillion in assets under management.

Peter Bakker, President & CEO at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Peter leads a community of over 200 sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the journey to net zero.