Building Bridges 2025 – rebuilding trust in sustainable investment

At the 6^th annual Building Bridges conference in Geneva – dedicated to accelerating the scale and ambition of sustainable finance – geopolitical tensions, domestic security concerns, and US President Donald Trump’s anti-sustainability policies loomed large.

In today’s uncertain world, many sustainable investment funds have seen outflows, and some investors have even begun to ask: Is sustainability being cancelled?

However, at the conference’s centrepiece Summit, world-leading finance, political and sustainability experts told delegates that, despite political rhetoric, economic transformation is continuing apace, and that as sustainability lags in today’s ‘attention economy’ this is creating once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for investors to uncover value. 

Across the Summit, a clear theme emerged. For too long, sustainable finance has been framed as a moral imperative. Now the narrative is shifting, as sustainable investing returns to its roots – building resilient portfolios and achieving market-beating risk-adjusted returns over the long term.

Resilience, security, prosperity

As delegates gathered in the main hall, Patrick Odier, Building Bridges Chair and former Senior Managing Partner of Lombard Odier, laid down a challenge. Sustainable investors “need to develop a common narrative,” he said, “one that resonates beyond a narrow community of experts.”

“Markets are subject to short-term pressures, policy uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions,” he continued. “This is undermining long-term efforts to scale up the solutions we need to solve the nature and climate crises. The world has changed rapidly, and we must tackle new challenges.”

Sustainability leads to resilience, which leads to security, which leads to prosperity

One of these challenges, he explained, is achieving national security in a world where international peace feels fragile. For the first time, the Building Bridges conference included discussion of defence as playing a central role in creating a sustainable future. Martin Pfister, Federal Councillor, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Swiss Confederation, told delegates, “Inviting a defence minister to speak on the topic of sustainability may not seem obvious. But sustainable thinking must be part of security policy, because it forms the basis of a peaceful future. Sustainability leads to resilience, which leads to security, which leads to prosperity.”

We know that the energy transition is now irreversible. China, for example, committed over 10% of its GDP to clean technology in 2024

From good intentions to actionable solutions

Highlighting the key role of Building Bridges as a starting point for cross-sector collaborations, Patrick Odier said, “We need broad cooperation. Everyone has a say in framing the conditions that influence our future societies and economies.”

For sustainable finance to see meaningful growth, he explained, there must be a reliable policy framework to encourage investment. “We know that the energy transition is now irreversible. China, for example, committed over 10% of its GDP to clean technology in 2024¹. But we need international cooperation to keep sustainable finance flowing. Asset owners and investors need stability and clear rules and incentives in order to commit large-scale capital.”

We need to move from good intentions to actionable solutions

Picking up on the theme of re-framing the sustainable investing narrative, he continued, “We need to move from good intentions to actionable solutions. We also need to be honest about the trade-offs. We know we can’t achieve everything at once. No vague promises – we need actionable steps tied to measurable outcomes.”

“Let’s make this a week of action, where ideas meet capital and deliver tangible solutions for people and the planet,” he concluded.

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Returns first

This clear-eyed focus on the practical was emphasised in a panel exploring the shifting flows of global sustainable finance. Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute, said that sustainable investing, “Has always been about risk-adjusted returns – making profit, this has never changed.”

We’re in a competition for capital. While we may be losing in today’s attention economy, we’re certainly not losing in the economic transformation that we’re seeing, in renewables

She continued, “We’re in a competition for capital. The financial markets have spoken very clearly, saying the risk-adjusted returns need to stack up just as for any other investment. I say this with a spirit of optimism, because while we may be losing in today’s attention economy, we’re certainly not losing in the economic transformation that we’re seeing, in renewables for example. When we speak to the banks, we’re seeing no let-up in their enthusiasm [for sustainable investing]. They’ve become emboldened to say they’re happy to invest in this thematic, but not to sacrifice yield. This is a more honest and actionable way of deploying capital.”

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David Blood, Senior Partner at Generation Investment Management, turned to political developments in the US, and President Trump’s pro-oil rhetoric. “The US is not the only actor,” he said. “Increasingly, it is a small percentage of global emissions. China is a significant innovator and is leading the world in the green transition.”

“We’ve been doing this for 22 years. This is the third time we’ve seen a pause in sustainable investing – each time we’ve come back further down the path, and more robustly. As investors, this is great, it means better opportunities for us.”

Rebuilding trust in sustainable investment

Secretary John Kerry, 68^th U.S. Secretary of State and Co-Executive Chair at Galvanize Climate Solutions

The day continued with a high-level panel entitled “Rebuilding trust in sustainable investment,” with speakers including Hubert Keller, Lombard Odier Senior Managing Partner, and Secretary John Kerry, 68^th U.S. Secretary of State and Co-Executive Chair at Galvanize Climate Solutions.

Opening the panel with the keynote speech, Secretary Kerry further highlighted the importance of reframing the sustainable investing narrative. “For thirty or forty years the debate has centred around what we’re leaving to future generations. But it focussed too much on things like the ice melting in the Arctic, things that don’t translate into something that affects people on a daily basis,” he said.

The narrative has to shift. Morality has to translate into materiality

With the devastating wildfires that took place in California early this year still fresh in many peoples’ minds, and growing evidence that property insurers are hiking costs or even cancelling policies in fire or flood risk areas, Secretary Kerry explained, “The narrative has to shift. Morality has to translate into materiality. For instance, what’s the impact of insurance companies moving out because they no longer feel they can cover the damages of living in places where rivers overflow?”

Read also: Climate risk reshapes investment outlook | Lombard Odier

“Traditional ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance investment considerations] has been sufficiently discredited – at least in the U.S. – that politicians and business leaders are no longer talking about it. But the economic and business fundamentals are still part of the conversation. We need to show we’re going to create better economic fundamentals, more jobs, better jobs. Look at Texas, now the largest deployer of wind energy in the U.S.², because wind and solar are cheaper than [fossil] alternatives. We’re not engaged in philanthropy or concessionary funding. We have to create a critical mass of people focussed on the economic fundamentals.”

Throughout history, big economic transformations have often been driven by two important factors – pain points and superior economics

Pain points drive economic transformation

Hubert Keller echoed Secretary Kerry’s call. “Throughout history, big economic transformations have often been driven by two important factors – pain points and superior economics,” he said.

“When you look at today’s economy, pain points are becoming more acute – climate change, nature depletion, social imbalances, these are things we witness every day across all our economic systems. The US home insurance crisis is happening right now, for example. There are some major food crops where yields are starting to structurally decline because of soil degradation. There’s increasing unaffordability of health systems in Western democracies. In some places these pain points are becoming intolerable.”

Today’s sustainable business models are delivering superior economics. Electricity from renewable sources is cheaper, better, more efficient than electricity from conventional sources

“The other factor is that a lot of today’s sustainable business models are delivering superior economics. Electricity from renewable sources is cheaper, better, more efficient than electricity from conventional sources. In food systems, for certain crops, regenerative farming practices also deliver much better economics. Our industrial systems will look very different because they will be powered differently, and they’ll use different materials. We’re also seeing that data, artificial intelligence and technology are likely to become the backbone of these new economic systems.”

Read also: How regenerative farming is restoring soil and biodiversity

A lot of consumer companies in the Global North have supply chains in the Global South, or supply chains that are very reliant on nature… This is going to create investment opportunities in real assets and in scaling up regenerative value chains

The future of sustainable investing

Acknowledging that some sustainable investments have underperformed in recent years, Hubert Keller said, “Investors have often approached sustainability as an investment theme, as opposed to being something larger – so it’s been a question of, ‘How do we play the climate transition?’ or ‘How do we play new food systems?’ That’s created portfolio construction issues. There’s also been confusion around ESG, and what it is. There have been too many ESG products, with a lack of clarity about what they’re supposed to deliver.”

We can debate the timing, the trajectory, the shape of this transition. But it’s very difficult to debate the end game

“But to put it simply, when you think about climate change you think about energy. When you think about nature you think about food systems. I think this is potentially the next really big opportunity. A lot of consumer companies in the Global North have supply chains in the Global South, or supply chains that are very reliant on nature. This means they have a resilience problem, they have an economic issue they need to resolve. This is going to create investment opportunities in real assets and in scaling up regenerative value chains. I think nature could become a really interesting asset class for investors.”

Read also: Sustainability adapts to policy pressures and opportunity

Explaining how this economic transformation would unfold, Hubert Keller concluded, “One of our core convictions at Lombard Odier is that we will end up in a fully decarbonised economy, with a neutral to positive footprint on nature, and that has a very different social construction. This is the end game. We can debate the timing, the trajectory, the shape of this transition. But it’s very difficult to debate the end game. We see systemic changes taking place, and as investors it is our fiduciary duty to understand how these changes are going to unfold and make sure that we’re identifying those businesses whose cashflows will be sustainable in the future.”