If we are serious about the sustainability transformation of our economies, we need to get the financing right; and we need to work together with our partners outside the EU!

There is a critical gap to be filled: Too much politics without factual grounding collides with too much academically driven work entirely removed from the realities of policy making and corporate decision making. Bridges are needed between the private and public sectors and between the realities of upstream and downstream countries along international value chains.

Founded in 2020, the leading Sustainable Finance and Climate Policy Think Tank – Climate & Company (climateandcompany.org) has deployed its policy, finance and data expertise to help shape multiple sustainable finance and trade-related EU policies, from the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to the CSDDD, CSRD, SF Taxonomy and CBAM.

Since 2022, we have been shifting our attention to making sustainable finance and climate policy work in practice. On one hand we work with companies, in particular SMEs and financial institutions in Europe, on the other hand with governments and corporate stakeholders in EU partner countries, always focused on the most sustainability-critical sectors and value chains.

With four ex-Commission officials in leadership and advisory roles and a highly skilled and motivated team, we are able to draw on an extensive EU expertise and networks. Co-founder David Rusnok brings 20 years of experience with green finance and financial cooperation at KfW Banking Group to the team. Our network includes the leading experts and institutions in the field, be it in Berlin, Beijing, Brussels, London, Sao Paolo, Washington, D.C. or many other places in the world.

Striking the right balance between competitiveness and environmental ambition is part of our DNA. Already in 2007/08, while at DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, Ingmar coordinated the carbon leakage assessment, the EU’s approach to balancing competitiveness and climate policy ambition. At the time, Ingmar and his team were the first government officials to propose a border tax adjustment, as one of three possible options for dealing with competitiveness concerns.

Our work is ruthlessly pragmatic, as long as it helps move the needle on sustainability and competitiveness: supporting SMEs in Czechia, Germany and Italy on how to make best use of the EU Taxonomy; working with SMEs in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on sustainability reporting; supporting asset managers in solving environmental data challenges; or working with frontrunners in the retail and food sector in Germany to turn CSRD reporting into competitive advantage and favourable financing conditions.

International alignment of sustainability standards, supporting policy development and implementation and bringing our (non-EU) partner countries on board has been our other big preoccupation, ranging from setting up a Sino-German Expert Dialogue on Sustainable Finance Solutions, to facilitating Brazil-EU policy dialogue under the Brazilian G20 presidency, supporting governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America on EU-aligned policy development or supporting stakeholders with financial solutions for complying with and reaping the benefits from EU regulation.

Currently Ingmar serves as member of the EU CBAM expert group and many team members with specialized expertise ranging from sustainability reporting to EU finance and communications hold strong networks within the Commission, are part of EFRAG writing teams and sector working groups for the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards. Other team members bring in decades of experience and strong networks working in and with non-EU countries, at both governments and private sector level.

We analyse the big picture and leverage in particular transparency and due diligence frameworks to contribute to more resilient and sustainable value chains. On this basis, we facilitate international cooperation and further alignment of international standards to support future trade agreements. At the end of the day, our proposition is straightforward: we make policy work in practice, leveraging the efficiency of the marketplace to foster sustainable competitiveness.

Further publications and projects can be found on our website.