Purpose meets performance: Clean energy communications at the CEFC
Amy Fong, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), has built a career at the intersection of purpose and performance. She sat down with The Action Exchange to discuss the evolving nature of thought leadership in the energy transition and managing multi-stakeholder expectations
The Action Exchange: Let’s start with your career journey. What drew you to the CEFC?
Amy Fong: I’ve worked in marketing and communications for over 20 years, including time in financial services across Australia and the UK. I’ve been at the CEFC for nine years, which is almost half my career. That says a lot about the organisation. The CEFC is purpose-led and doing something meaningful that aligns with my personal values. We operate at the intersection of energy, climate, policy and investment so that is a fascinating space to be in. Being at the centre of one of the most important issues we face requires an open mind and a willingness to challenge yourself. So that keeps the work interesting and fresh.
How do you navigate the balance between purpose-led messaging and commercial outcomes?
That balance is central to our role. It’s our job to get others to invest beside us to drive real change on emissions. We’re competing for capital and attention, bringing untested investment models and technologies to market. In the real world of finance and climate change, woolly ambitions won’t get us anywhere. It's always about demonstrating how we can deliver strong investment and emissions outcomes. And because we're investing on behalf of the Australian Government, we need to get a positive return across our portfolio.
Fundamentally, we are an investment house, so we need to communicate in investor language. Even in nascent areas with limited investment, we strive to frame discussions through an investor lens. This means identifying investment opportunities, outlining investor actions, and exploring how we can help set the Australian economy on the path to net zero emissions.
Amy Fong, Director of Marketing and Communications, CEFC
CEFC has a diverse mix of stakeholders. How do you tailor communications to such a broad audience?
We approach it like a funnel. At the top, there's broad communication, including corporate messaging, media releases, the website, and other channels. Then it narrows to more targeted engagement. There's a lot of relationship management with key stakeholders across various segments. Across the organisation, from investment, public affairs, portfolio management and research teams, all maintain deep relationships in the market.
What are your KPIs? What does good look like for your marketing team?
It can be a challenge in B2B environments to show the clear impact and value to the organisation of our activities. However, it starts with setting the right goals. Our KPIs are tied to CEFC’s broader objectives. What are the organisation’s KPIs? What can marketing and communications bring to that? What do we want to be known for in our market? How are we driving engagement? We measure impact through both quantitative and qualitative data, like audience reach, stakeholder feedback and content downloads, clicks and followers. It’s about driving engagement with all of our activities and positioning CEFC as a trusted leader in the transition to net zero emissions.
What do you want CEFC to be known for?
Our purpose. We are Australia’s green bank, and we aim to be the leading voice in clean energy investment in Australia. That includes how we invest through special investment funds like the Rewiring the Nation Fund or the Household Energy Upgrades Fund, climate tech and across the many other sectors in which we operate. We need to communicate not just the financial returns but also demonstrate our impact on emissions across all our investments.
Is there ever tension between encouraging co-investment and meeting policy goals?
Actually, the two complement each other. If we can demonstrate our impact, it helps encourage investment, because being able to demonstrate our track record shows that we’re a safe pair of hands and that investing in decarbonisation makes financial sense. Our strong ties with government, business and the energy sectors are also part of our appeal. Investors see value as they gain access to these relationships that we hold and our specialist expertise that we have in-house.
How do you stay focused in a complex, high-profile sector without getting pulled into political debates?
It's about staying nimble, flexible and listening. We continually reassess how the evolving public debate affects our messaging strategy. We are getting better at knowing ourselves and what we stand for. We cannot communicate to the entire world, and fundamentally, that's not our role. We need to stay in our lane, as a specialist investor with a clear purpose and not get drawn into areas where we don’t have skin in the game.
You’ve mentioned the importance of internal alignment. How do you keep your executives and staff on message?
The brand starts from the inside, and we've done a lot of work as an organisation in deepening understanding about what it means to be a green bank and a public investor. We also invest in strong messaging, so the people who represent us in the market can confidently and consistently explain who we are. That includes media and presentations training and a core set of tools and pre-approved materials that everyone can draw on. Our people are our best advocates, so we work hard to equip them. That consistency across the organisation strengthens our brand and helps ensure we speak with one voice.
In such a fast-moving space, how do you stay ahead of trends while maintaining credibility?
We stay close to the market—attend events, read widely, and listen to our stakeholders. There is constant monitoring, not just by the marketing and communications team, but also by other teams. Our research team plays a big role in keeping us informed. It’s a collective effort across the organisation. The key is to be informed and flexible, without losing sight of your central message.
There’s been a lot of talk about the return of in-person events and traditional thought leadership formats. What has your experience been?
We’re seeing strong demand for events and long-form content. We just released a comprehensive report on the investment potential of low-carbon liquid fuels, which has been very well received. We’ve also developed hands-on electronic resources to give farmers and natural capital investors a decision pathway to cutting their emissions. People still want hard data, tangible insights and practical solutions delivered by experts. I don't think that's gone away. As long as it's data-driven, detailed, relevant, and not just words on a page, it is still valued.
What’s next for you and your team?
We’re focused on demonstrating the broader impact of our investments. For example, our early work in large-scale solar laid the foundation for what is now a thriving sector. We’re seeing similar impact across natural capital and other emerging areas. As a marketing and communications team, our goal is to help the organisation attract more investment into the urgent area of cutting our emissions. So that means telling our stories, bringing the data to life and showing how our work is making a difference.
That personal connection that demonstrates the impact we are having on real people – whether it’s farmers, households or investors - is so important.
What advice would you give to someone entering a complex, multi-stakeholder organisation like CEFC?
I think you need to have a personal passion and purpose about what you are doing, especially in such a complex area. This is a space that evolves constantly, and it’s full of incredibly talented and dedicated people. If you want to drive change and make a difference, be open to new ideas, collaboration and new challenges. Openness is the key if you want to make the switch.
Want to know more about how The Action Exchange supported the CEFC to navigate the balance between purpose-led messaging and commercial outcomes? Get in touch with our team to find out more.
