The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report stresses that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. As climate change accelerates, the role of climate finance becomes increasingly important and necessary to support actions that reduce the impact of a changing climate and keep warming below 1.5°C. But, what exactly is climate finance and how effective is it? What is the role of public, private and alternative sources of financing? How can investors support environmental initiatives and contribute to tangible change?

Join us for this panel as we explore climate finance and the role it plays in mitigating climate change. Student host: Voiz@Cornell club.

The global economy relies heavily on healthy coastal and ocean resources for diverse industries such as fishing, tourism and recreation, minerals, and transportation. Nearly one out of every six jobs in the US depends on the blue economy while fish protein is an essential part of diets in coastal communities around the world. Moreover, the ocean plays a central role in regulating the Earth's climate but is often overlooked in conversations about climate change. Pragmatic development of a blue economy is necessary to ensure a sustainable ocean industry and food source for current and future generations. This panel will showcase the current state of the ocean and the importance of maintaining a healthy ocean for both business and planet prosperity.

A distinguished panel representing multiple stakeholders of the blue economy will explore how they interact with the ocean and help create a more robust and resilient food system. Student host: Cornell Sustainability Consulting club.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes the importance of decent employment through goal #8 – to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. We all recognize the names of the big box stores and large corporations and it may seem that most people are employed by them but that is not the case. In fact, small businesses are the foundation of the US economy employing nearly 50% of the private workforce and creating more than 60% of new jobs. COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on some small businesses while others have been able to adapt and weather the greatest consequences of the pandemic.

Consult Your Community is a college student run non-profit organization working to provide small businesses with pro-bono consulting, and the Cornell chapter has worked with dozens of small businesses over the past 5 years. Join us for a live panel discussion with some of their small business partners on how they are adjusting to their new economic realities and leaving their mark on their community. Student host: Consult Your Community

The Cornell Impact Investing Competition is an online pitch competition that allows undergraduate Cornell students in teams of 2-4 people, to identify, research, and recommend an existing early stage company that addresses a social or environmental problem for a hypothetical investment of up to one million dollars. Come listen to the finalists as they make their final pitch to the judges. Student host: Impact Investing at Cornell.

Sponsored by Anthropocene Ventures.

In recent years there has be growing interest in sustainable investing but the definition of a sustainable investment is not consistent. This panel will focus on how an investor approaches sustainable investing and incorporate frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve inclusive, sustainable growth and reduce risk in their investment portfolio.

The conversation will highlight on how startups can benefit from sustainability strategies and the importance of appropriate metrics in measuring social and environmental impact while improving financial returns. Lastly, you will hear from three companies that are founded on sustainability principles and how they have been using these concepts to position themselves to partner with sustainability investors who want to support them on their growth journey.

Over the past few years, companies across a variety of industries have come forward with bold sustainability commitments. Panelists will join from the world's largest and most innovative companies with direct consequential consumer impact to discuss their sustainability commitments. They’ll dive deeper into how they begin to implement those commitments to make meaningful progress while adapting to changes in society and the environment.

Join us for a lively conversation about the bold sustainability moves businesses are pledging and how they plan to achieve those goals. Student host: Sustainable Global Enterprise club.

Fintech has great potential to be an accessible, efficient, and less biased alternative to traditional lending for small businesses. The fintech lending industry provides unique advantages to small businesses around the world, especially through the utilization of new screening methodologies that have expanded credit access to previously excluded borrowers and reduced biased human lending decisions. Fintech has played an important role in closing the significant lending gap for underserved communities and, globally, is proving to be a major enabler of remote small businesses in developing countries. This panel will explore how the accessibility of fintech loans to previously underserved communities increases attainability and convenience of financial services especially for women. Student host: Cornell Global Network.