Diane-Laure Arjaliès believes high finance and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, she says they can reinforce each other.  

She calls it sustainable finance.  

“It’s the ability to bring capital toward sustainable development,” says Diane-Laure, a professor at the Ivey Business School and founder of the Sustainable Finance Lab. “You put the markets at the service of a sustainable economy. It could be carbon markets or ethical investment. It could be the financing of nature-based solutions.”

There’s a quote she uses to demonstrate how the economy can be good for making money, but not for the environment: “A dead tree is worth more than one that is alive.”

Determined to challenge that mindset, she founded the Sustainable Finance Lab to prove that careful and respectful management of natural resources can spur economic growth and be environmentally friendly.  

“In our lab, we try to put some value on the tree that’s alive and not the tree that’s dead. It's the opposite of how today’s economic systems work. We promote nature-based solutions, which are basically about letting nature be. Then we find a way for investors and economic actors to see value in biodiversity.”

The lab pursues three goals – developing financial tools to support nature-based solutions, advancing economic reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and empowering women as investors.  

One such tool is the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond (CIB), which supports the restoration of natural habitats while also giving investors a return if the projects succeed. So far, the CIB has helped restore 69 hectares of land in southwestern Ontario, benefiting both the environment and local communities.  

The lab is already generating interest from groups across Canada and in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia.  

Inclusion and collaboration are at the core of the lab’s efforts.  

They work with Indigenous partners to design financial and governance models that uphold Indigenous rights, foster self-determination and create pathways for shared prosperity.  

They’re also developing a research program to explore how investments can deliver strong returns while advancing equity for women and gender-diverse communities.  

“If you want to achieve change, and especially system change, you need to work collectively. All our research projects are collective projects. We always have research partners both inside and outside the university. It's a complex world and we have to work together.”

That collaborative approach is also about sharing what works.

“We try to create a blueprint for others. We publish technical reports, academic papers, webinars and story maps to share our knowledge.”

Diane-Laure likes to talk about making an impact through the talents we each have, which she calls “gifts.”  For her, those gifts are shaped by her students.  

“I like being surrounded by students. They're always going to push you. They have the values, they have the passion. And they force me to say, ‘I can't give up now.’ I need to be with them and help train new generations because they're the changemakers.”  

She’s proud to contribute her own gifts to shaping sustainable finance.

“I can innovate. I can create things that were not there. I can mix Indigenous studies, conservation biology and financial markets, which is not easy. And I want to share these gifts with the world.”