Key Takeaways from the Sustainable Finance Summit

More than 1,000 delegates gathered in Montreal from May 13 to 15 to attend the 2025 Sustainable Finance Summit — organized by Finance Montreal — one of Canada’s largest gatherings of sustainable finance professionals. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the path forward and marked the launch of the Business Future Pathways, an investor-led initiative created to provide guidance to Canadian companies on developing credible climate transition plans.

Here are our key takeaways from the event:

Climate Transition is an Economic Opportunity

The conference opened with findings from recent research from the Corporate Knights’ Climate Dollars project on the capital required to finance Canada’s transition over the next 25 years. The plan requires CAD 34 bn per year in power investments, and 5 – 8% of GDP in climate-related capital investment — comparable to historic energy infrastructure spending. The analysis found that there are significant savings gained by investing in a zero-emission economy by 2050, and the costs are far less than the anticipated costs of climate change. This means the climate transition is an economic opportunity that aligns with the current government’s priorities to electrify the economy, scale Vehicle-to-Grid energy storage technology and build a Trans-Canada Transmission Link to connect renewable energy across provinces.

Sustainability Thrives in Innovative Organizational Cultures

Meaningful progress happens when sustainability is deeply embedded across the organization, from research and development teams anticipating customer needs and resource constraints to chief investment officers developing long-term strategies. This enables risks and opportunities to inform strategic decision-making, innovation and continuous improvement, moving beyond marketing and communications.

Maya Colombani, Chief Sustainability and Human Rights Officer for L’Oréal Canada, described how this organizational mindset shift helped L’Oreal embed sustainability into core business operations and strategy – from product formulation to packaging design.

Nuveen’s Head of ESG/Impact for Global Fixed Income, Stephen Liberatore, echoed this sentiment for investors, describing how embedding sustainability considerations into the overall portfolio construction process was essential for their success in seeding new investment strategies.

Investors Persist through Uncertainty, but Need Policy Stability

Investors have recognized that climate considerations are material to long-term business planning and capital preservation, regardless of short-term political headwinds. Bertrand Millot, Head of Sustainability at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), used the aerospace industry as an example: aircrafts designed today will be built in ten years and operate for 30 years, requiring design criteria that account for a physically hotter environment.

However, organizations and investors need policy stability to justify investing in decarbonizing industries that are capital-intensive. Critical mineral mines, chemical plants and cement facilities, for example, need stable demand projections and clear regulatory runways to make the transition economically viable. In addition to sustainability-fluent boards and executive leadership, predictable policy frameworks and government support will be critical for using innovative financial instruments (e.g. contracts for difference) to continue making progress. 

Mobilizing Private Capital with Blended Finance  

Well-structured impact investment deals can achieve both returns and impact, with successful examples debunking the false choice between both objectives. The key lies in remembering that impact investing is a strategy, not an asset class, and therefore it is critical to identify the relevant strategies aligned with investment objectives. Stephanie Emond, FinDev’s Chief Impact Officer, emphasized that a portfolio management approach is essential to give impact investors the flexibility to access different types of investments, capital structures, markets and beneficiaries while managing for both financial and impact returns.

Several speakers also highlighted the importance of scaling blended finance — leveraging public or philanthropic funds to attract private investment. Asset owners expect blended finance to play a pivotal role in their strategies to help fill financing gaps for climate adaptation, biodiversity conversation and social equity initiatives.

Long-term Investors are Embracing Systemic Thinking

Barbara Zvan, President and CEO of University Pension Plan, emphasized how long-term investors have a responsibility to create and promote healthy systems that financial markets rely on. Investors can go beyond the investment process to actively manage systemic risks through policy and advocacy efforts, stewardship and engagement and evolving incentive structures. Managing systemic risks such as climate change, inequality and economic stability need to be embedded into core thinking and investment beliefs, instead of as isolated investment considerations.

At Quinn+Partners, we advise investors on managing systemic risks while also driving positive outcomes through their investments in a changing world. If you are ready to take the next step on your transition journey, please get in touch.