A systems approach to sustainable finance: Actors, influence mechanisms, and potentially virtuous cycles of sustainability

IF 4.6 2区综合性期刊 Q1 MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

iScience Pub Date : 2025-06-06 DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112785

Beatrice Crona , Garry Peterson , Megan Meacham , Giorgio Parlato , Steven J. Lade , Juan C. Rocha , Victor Galaz

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Abstract

Over the past decade, corporate investors have increasingly recognized that responsible environmental and social practices are essential to long-term financial success. Despite growing interest, corporate practices remain largely unchanged, and planetary trends are deeply concerning. This review applies a systems analysis lens to understand how financial sector structures and actors influence sustainability outcomes, often in counterproductive ways. Key barriers include the lack of science-based metrics, poor integration of environmental risks, and limited capacity to evaluate complex system dynamics. Current financial practices frequently miss or misinterpret systemic sustainability risks. We identify three critical areas where collaboration between sustainability science and finance is urgently needed: (1) translating scientific insights into financial decision contexts, (2) supporting science-based corporate sustainability reporting, and (3) strengthening environmental impact assessment. Systems thinking helps clarify where financial leverage can drive meaningful, cross-scale change—an essential step toward aligning capital flows with long-term ecological resilience and sustainability goals.

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可持续金融的系统方法：行动者、影响机制和可持续发展的潜在良性循环

在过去十年中，企业投资者日益认识到，负责任的环境和社会实践对长期财务成功至关重要。尽管人们的兴趣越来越浓厚，但企业的做法在很大程度上仍未改变，全球趋势也令人深感担忧。本综述运用系统分析的视角来理解金融部门结构和行为者如何影响可持续性成果，往往以适得其反的方式。主要障碍包括缺乏基于科学的衡量标准、环境风险整合不力以及评估复杂系统动态的能力有限。当前的金融实践经常忽略或误解系统性可持续性风险。我们确定了可持续发展科学与金融之间急需合作的三个关键领域：(1)将科学见解转化为财务决策背景；(2)支持基于科学的企业可持续发展报告；(3)加强环境影响评估。系统思考有助于澄清金融杠杆在哪些方面可以推动有意义的、跨规模的变革——这是使资本流动与长期生态弹性和可持续性目标保持一致的重要一步。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

iScience Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary

CiteScore

7.20

自引率

1.70%

发文量

1972

审稿时长

6 weeks

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