LBS faculty wins at Finance for Future Awards

Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, is the winner of the Driving Change in the Finance Community award in the 2021 Finance for the Future Awards.

Since 2012, the Finance for the Future Awards have recognised exceptional examples of financial leadership. Delivered in partnership by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), A4S and Deloitte, they highlight the innovative actions undertaken by individuals and organisations globally.

This is the first time the award has gone to an individual rather than an organisation.

Professor Edmans said: “I’m delighted to win this award, not so much for myself but for the elevation it might give to the agenda of making sustainability mainstream. My hope is that – in the near future – there will no longer be such a thing as ‘sustainable finance’ – it will be simply finance. It’s a particular honour to be recognised in a year when the award is named after a leading researcher.”

The Driving Change award recognises individuals or organisations who make significant contributions to incorporating sustainability into their teaching, training, or academia. This year, the award honoured the memory of Jeffrey Unerman, a leading figure in sustainability accounting.

Professor Edmans’ impressed judges because of his success in bringing sustainability into the business mainstream. They noted his grounding in rigorous research, and the practical framework he has developed to navigate the complexities and trade-offs involved in putting sustainability into the practice. Professor Edmans is author of ‘Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit’ – which has been recently updated for the pandemic and is being taught in many universities around the world. ‘Grow the Pie’ previously won the Financial Times award for Excellence in Sustainable Finance Education in June 2021 and named in the Financial Times Books of the Year for 2020.

He has also added sustainability to the classic textbook ‘Principles of Corporate Finance’, which he has recently become co-author of.