Episode 50: Funding Transformational Change, Credit Ratings 101 for Sustainability Leaders

in ,
Jessica Wood and Katie Lutton

L-R: Jessica Wood, Katie Lutton

Transformational sustainability projects live or die at the intersection of ambition and institutional finance. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how credit ratings shape what campuses can actually approve, explaining why CFOs and boards evaluate sustainability initiatives through the lenses of risk, affordability, and long-term resilience. Using familiar examples like student housing before moving into the harder reality of energy and utility infrastructure, the discussion reframes “off balance sheet” thinking and challenges common assumptions about how transformational change gets funded. The result is a clearer, more realistic foundation for sustainability leaders who want their projects to move from good ideas to executable decisions.

Guests:
Jessica Wood
Managing Director
Higher Education sector lead
S&P Global Ratings
LinkedIn

Katie Lutton
Senior Associate
Brailsford & Dunlavey
Infrastructure, Energy & Sustainability Practice
LinkedIn

Host:
Dave Karlsgodt
Director of Energy and Sustainability
Brailsford & Dunlavey

Production Team:
Executive producer and host: Dave Karlsgodt
Producer, sound editor: Kristan Crawford
Producers: Karmela Lejarde, Allison Bruns, Katie Lutton

Music courtesy of the Gio Washington-Wright Big Band

Episode Transcript:

The following is an AI-generated transcript of this episode and may contain errors or omissions: Transcript