London Climate Action Week brought together Harvard faculty, alumni, and partners to explore solutions to one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Across two days of programming, the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, together with the HBS Business and Environment Initiative (BEI) and a wide array of alumni groups, convened conversations and connections that highlight the critical role of business in advancing climate action.

On June 23, Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor at HBS and Senior Advisor to the Salata Institute, moderated a panel hosted at Goals House: Financing Climate Action: Headwinds and Tailwinds. Tufano—who previously served as Dean of Oxford’s Saïd Business School—framed the discussion around the forces shaping how finance can accelerate or hinder climate progress.

The panel featured distinguished leaders including David Blood, MBA ’85, co-founder of Generation Investment Management with Al Gore; Nili Gilbert, AB ’99, Vice Chair of Carbon Direct and Chair of GFANZ’s Advisory Panel; and the Rt. Hon. Chris Skidmore, Salata Fellow and author of the UK’s Mission Zero review. Together, they reflected on the financial sector’s evolving role in climate innovation, weighing tailwinds such as policy incentives and renewable energy breakthroughs against headwinds including geopolitical instability, fossil fuel entrenchment, and political pushback. Blood emphasized the long-term business case for sustainable investing, while Gilbert highlighted the power—and limits—of collective ambition in finance.

The following evening, on June 24, BEI co-sponsored the Alumni in Climate Networking Series at London Climate Action Week. The event, co-hosted with the Salata Institute, HLS’s Environment & Energy Law Program, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s C-Change, Harvard Alumni for Climate and the Environment (HACE), the HBS Alumni Association of the UK, the Harvard Club of the UK, and the Harvard Law School Association of the UK, brought together alumni across schools, industries, and geographies for an evening of community building. The reception was generously hosted at and sponsored by Diageo.

The program featured remarks from Jim Stock, Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability and Director of the Salata Institute; Peter Tufano; Julie Mulcahy (GMP ’24), President of the HBS Alumni Association of the UK; and James Ashall, Global Director of Diageo in Society. Each speaker underscored both the urgency of the climate challenge and the critical role Harvard alumni play in leading solutions.

For BEI and the broader HBS community, these events underscored the School’s role in advancing thought leadership at the intersection of business and climate. They also highlighted the power of alumni engagement: convening leaders who are driving innovation, investment, and action across sectors.

As the global climate crisis intensifies, HBS faculty and alumni are stepping up to lead—with finance, with networks, and with bold ideas. London Climate Action Week showcased what’s possible when the Harvard community comes together: creating new connections and advancing solutions with global impact.