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Steve Waygood
Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Aviva Investors
Steve Waygood is a prominent figure in sustainable finance and responsible investment. He currently serves as the Chief Sustainable Finance Officer at Aviva Investors, a position he has held since May 2024.3 Prior to this, he was the Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Aviva Investors for over 17 years, from November 2006 to June 2024.3
Waygood leads Aviva Investors' Global Responsible Investment team, which is responsible for integrating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues across all asset classes and regions of approximately £320 billion of assets under management.4 Under his leadership, the team has achieved an A+ ranking in governance and strategy from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and a Tier 1 assessment for Stewardship from the UK Financial Reporting Council.4
Throughout his career, Waygood has been instrumental in several key initiatives:
- He founded the Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition.1
- He co-founded the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the World Benchmarking Alliance.5
- He was a member of the UK Government delegation to the UN Rio+20 meeting in 2012.1
- He has been appointed to the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on sustainable finance and is a member of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure.4
Waygood's expertise and contributions have been widely recognized. He received the Leadership in Sustainability award from the Corporation of London in 2013, the Yale Rising Star in Corporate Governance Award in 2011, and was among the Financial News Top 100 Rising Stars in 2009.12
Academically, Waygood holds a PhD in sustainable finance from the University of Surrey and is an Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow at City's Business School, University of London.5 He is also a Senior Associate at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.4
Steve Waygood's career began at WWF-UK in 1995, where he worked on ethical and environmental investment policies.5 Since then, he has advised various organizations including the UK Government, the European Commission, the Financial Stability Board, and the UN on creating sustainable capital markets.5



