For Islamic financial institutions, this goes beyond strategy alignment and culture, which has been the primary focus to date, to building or acquiring the fundamental skillsets, required to implement sustainable financing and risk management practices. Without these, VBI cannot hope to progress very far. To illustrate, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that jobs requiring a higher intensity, and concentration of “green skills” to support the transition to greener economies, lies among high-skilled professional profiles. In other words, if Islamic financial institutions are serious about adopting VBI, the complement of skillsets at the management levels of the organisation will need to be fundamentally re-assessed. Relevant skills that need to be brought into the organisation include engineering and technical skills in the design, construction and assessment of technology; science skills; and monitoring skills focusing on observing compliance with environmental laws and standards. Even boards too have to learn and adapt to the demands of the new operating environment. Relevant skillsets are also critical to support innovation within the financial sector to capture opportunities and improve the delivery of Islamic financial solutions. Indeed, technology can be better optimised to revolutionise the way Islamic finance operates and offer innovative solutions to customers. For example, blockchain or artificial intelligence applications hold enormous potential for simplifying documentation requirements associated with Shariah contracts, thus improving the overall efficiency of business operations.

It should be abundantly clear by now to any financial institution that is serious about VBI, that, the task of building the human and intellectual capital to achieve and sustain value-based business models cannot be left solely to the human resource departments. It requires nothing less than strategic direction and resourcing decisions at the highest levels of the organisation. Changing mindsets Einstein once said “The world as we have created is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking”. The world today continues to push the limits of social and environmental thresholds, that are posing increasingly serious threats to humanity. VBI is therefore, much more than a current and passing fad, but a deeper conviction of the critical need 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  to begin the process of changing mindsets in a lasting way. Financial institutions are a key, but not the only catalysts in this process. Customers and investors need to be supported with relevant information, along with the means and ability to compare such information, in order to better understand the value propositions of Islamic finance. The encouragement of pension and institutional funds with a sustainable investment orientation, particularly in markets where such funds remain largely underdeveloped, would be important to provide a stronger impetus for VBI. Credit rating agencies could also be important contributors to a new landscape, with stronger emphasis on economic, social and environmental sustainability in assessment frameworks and methods.