About Us

The Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) is a research institute established by the National University of Singapore (NUS). SGFIN provides deep research capabilities in sustainable and green finance with the focal point on Asia and contributes thought leadership to shape sustainability outcomes in policymaking across the financial sector and the economy at large.

Supported by exceptional domain experts across NUS, SGFIN equips businesses with critical knowledge across disciplines to better quantify the environmental and social impacts of their business developments, operations, products, and services. SGFIN also provides education, training, and toolkits to integrate sustainability dynamics into their business strategies and investment decisions. In essence, SGFIN facilitates companies and institutions in embedding sustainability as a core pillar in their business decisions.

Research

Education

Thought Leadership

Industry Engagement

Recent News

The Complex Trade-Offs Involved in Natural Resource Governance

April 10, 2026

Natural resource governance often involves complex trade-offs between regulation, enforcement, and long-term development goals. A recent op-ed by Professor Johan Sulaeman in The Jakarta Post reflects on a case where mining permits were revoked while operations continued, highlighting the challenges that can arise between policy decisions and their implementation on the ground. The article illustrates …

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Why airlines are paying more for cleaner fuel — and who foots the bill

March 27, 2026

Associate Professor Zhang Weina (Department of Finance, Deputy Director of SGFIN) shared her insights in this interview by CNBC on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). She explained that while SAF mandates set demand and SAF levies focus on costs. She noted that the mandates will push up the SAF prices in the short run due to …

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Climate risk is increasingly a cross-border financial risk

March 12, 2026

Research presented at the SGFIN Summit 2026 and recently featured in The Business Times highlights how banks operating in Indonesia, including Singapore banks and other regional banks, could face a higher loss intensity from climate-related exposures in Indonesian loan portfolios, particularly in fossil-intensive sectors. The findings underscore the growing importance of granular data and forward-looking …

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Markets are Pricing Climate Risk

March 12, 2026

Indonesia’s recent US$80B market volatility is a wake‑up call: climate and nature risks are now financial risks. As highlighted in Professor Johan Sulaeman’s new Op‑Ed, “Market volatility highlights Indonesia’s overlooked climate and resource risks”, SGFIN research shows that physical climate hazards and fossil‑intensive exposures can sharply amplify credit losses, making environmental resilience a core pillar …

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From Cautious Capital Deployment to Real Transition Impact

February 26, 2026

In recent discussions, Prof Johan Sulaeman, Director of the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute highlighted that Danantara’s cautious deployment reflects prudent sovereign investing and governance discipline. Yet scale alone does not guarantee transition impact. With a large fraction of Indonesia’s emissions footprint remains within existing state-owned enterprise portfolios, progress depends on clear portfolio-level targets, time-bound coal …

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Beyond Labels: Why Carbon Risk Disclosure Must Reflect Economic Reality

February 24, 2026

Recent developments involving OCBC highlight a critical issue in sustainable finance: the difference between formal sector classification and real economic exposure to transition risk. Prof Johan Sulaeman, Director of the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute underscores that climate disclosure should capture where carbon risk truly resides within portfolios. Transition risk is not confined to fossil …

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Singlife-SGFIN Sustainable Future Index 2026

February 10, 2026

The Singlife–SGFIN Sustainable Future Index 2026, jointly developed by Singlife and Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN), examines the intrinsic drivers shaping sustainability behaviours among Singaporeans. The SGFIN team comprise of Deputy Director Prof Weina Zhang, Michael Aleander, Bhairavee Deepak Wagh, and Asda J Pandiangan, have developed the survey questions based on behavioural framework encompassing awareness, knowledge, and ownership, and compute …

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Counting Carbon in MICE

December 17, 2025

Associate Professor Zhang Weina (Department of Finance) explained how large-scale MICE events generate carbon emissions across areas such as travel, catering and booth construction. Using SGFIN’s carbon calculator, she demonstrated how emissions can accumulate, underscoring the importance of measuring carbon impact as a first step towards more responsible event planning. Similar posts were shared on …

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Scaling SME Sustainability Through Non-Financial Innovation

December 15, 2025

As part of its mission to advance sustainable finance and support SME transition around the world, SGFIN contributed a case study to the “SME Best Practice Guide” published by International Finance Corporation (IFC) SME Finance Forum to share the insights on how non-financial services can unlock sustainable finance for SMEs. SGFIN’s Deputy Director, Associate Professor …

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Digital Convenience, Real Carbon Costs

December 11, 2025

Associate Professor Zhang Weina (Department of Finance) highlighted the three platforms with the highest carbon footprints are Netflix, Zoom and TikTok, due to high-resolution video streaming and cloud data storage. She also noted that activities such as conferences, workshops and seminars can generate substantial carbon emissions. See similar posts on Facebook and TikTok. NUS Business …

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Upcoming Events

Executive Education

Industry Sharing

Research Seminar

Research Insights

Leadership Insights

General

This month

Sustainable Project Financing
Executive Education course
Sustainable Project Financing

Faculty: Associate Professor Ruth Tan, Associate Professor Zhang Weina

20 Apr 26 - 21 Apr 26
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Education Resource Centre, NUS
Financial Valuation of Social and Environmental Impact

Faculty: Associate Professor Sarah Cheah, Associate Professor Zhang Weina

27 Apr 26 - 28 Apr 26
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Education Resource Centre, NUS
Next month

No events