Exeter Sustainable Finance (ESF) Centre
We apply rigorous research to influence the practice of sustainable and responsible finance, and work to equip the next generation of leaders with the knowledge and skills to transform the financial sector for a sustainable future.
About the Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre
ESF brings together expertise in the field of sustainable finance research delivered through major University of Exeter research groups aligned to this area, including the University of Exeter Business School’s Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute (LEEP), and the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Hub (NICER).
The Centre offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses on sustainable finance and investments, corporate governance, and other finance topics. We are based at the University of Exeter Business School and is Directed by Professor Chendi Zhang. For all enquiries, please contact sustainable-finance@exeter.ac.uk.
Centre staff
Centre staff, researchers, and PhD students
Professor Konstantinos Chalvatzis
Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Business Engagement and Innovation (ESE)
K.Chalvatzis@exeter.ac.uk Exeter
Professor Angela Christidis
Associate Professor
Professor Vicky Kiosse
Head of Department - Finance & Accounting (UEBS)
Dr Chenyan Lyu
Innovation Fellow (Sustainable Finance and Circular Economy)
C.Lyu2@exeter.ac.uk Exeter
Professor Justin Tumlinson
Associate Professor in Business Analytics
- J.Tumlinson@exeter.ac.uk Exeter
Honorary staff
| Name | Position | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Grant | Honorary Associate Research Fellow | Lewis joined Federated Hermes in February 2008 as a portfolio manager on the Global Equities team. In addition to his role as portfolio manager, Lewis is responsible for designing and implementing many of the team's systems. In particular, he created the proprietary risk-modelling system, MultiFRAME, which is used across all investment teams based in London. He joined from Aon Consulting, where he worked as an actuarial consultant specialising in providing valuations and asset-liability modelling to a range of corporate and institutional clients. Lewis graduated from the University of Warwick in 2003 with a Master's degree in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics and subsequently qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. |
| Sebastian Tideman | Honorary Lecturer | Sebastian is an Assistant Professor in Accounting at Syracuse University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Bremen, Germany. His research focuses on the analysis of non- and semi-structured reporting data in the intersection of financial accounting, gender, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues. More specifically, some of his projects conduct textual analysis of earnings conference calls (e.g., on analyst’s questioning behavior) and corporate sustainability reports. He also investigates the structure of financial (e.g., disaggregation of financial statements) and non-financial disclosures (e.g., CSR and human rights disclosures). His work has been published in academic journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, The International Journal of Accounting, Journal of Business Economics, and Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment. |
Centre alumni
| Name | Position | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Fernanda Massarotto Dandaro | Visiting PhD Student |
PhD student visiting from the University of Sao Paulo for 6 months funded by a Brazilian government scholarship. Topic: ESG in emerging markets. |
| Yuen Tsz Chau | MRes Student | Supervised by Chendi Zhang. |
Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI)
We are happy to announce that we are now a partner and member of The Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI). The Alliance was founded in 2017 by a network of global research universities in order to promote rigorous and highly impactful academic research on sustainable finance and investment.
Events, seminars and conferences
Conferences
Seminars and research events
There are no current events to display, but please come back soon for updates.
Previous seminars and research events
Previous conferences
| When | Description | Location | Add to your calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 - 19 June 2026 | Call for Papers: Exeter Sustainable Finance Conference 2026 | University of Exeter Business School | Add event |
| 18 - 19 September 2025 | Exeter Sustainable Finance Conference 2025 | Reed Hall | Add event |
| 19 - 20 September 2024 | Exeter Sustainable Finance Conference 2024 | Reed Hall | Add event |
| 18 February 2021 | Sustainable Finance Conference with MSc FAFM (Session 3): Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: an Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash. | Online via Zoom | Add event |
Our research
Our research focuses on themes including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, stakeholder governance, and climate finance. The Centre is devoted to outstanding research and innovative education to inform global stakeholders about:
- How does sustainability impact the risk and return of investors?
- What ESG activities, under which conditions, lead to competitive advantage and increased firm value and investor welfare?
- How does finance contribute to the solutions of global challenges such as climate change and rising inequality?
The RBC Global Asset Management Sustainable Investment Research Programme
The Programme is a collaboration between the Royal Bank of Canada Global Asset Management and the Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre within the University of Exeter Business School. It will look at how climate risk exposure and sustainable finance more generally affect the risk-return trade-off of assets.
Our collaboration with the Royal Bank of Canada Global Asset Management
Integrating finance and biodiversity for a nature positive future
BIO-ESG will contribute to integrating biodiversity into finance by investigating the "double materiality" relationship between biodiversity and finance. It will focus on two perspectives.
- How typical ESG-orientated investment behaviour affects biodiversity scores, portfolios and engagement with biodiversity-exposed firms.
- The financial incentives for investing in companies that score highly on biodiversity.
Does Sustainable Investing Add Value? Evidence from Bespoke ESG-Enhanced Benchmarks
Assessing Substitution or Complementarity between Carbon Market and Green Bond Market
British Academy /Leverhulme Small Research Grant, 2023 – 2024.
New support for Cornwall and Devon mineral mining to accelerate the Green Economy
- Co-I: Chendi Zhang
- Innovation Fellow: Chenyan Lyu
Critical Minerals Challenge Centre - Accelerating the Green Economy
Latest news
Study with us
At the Sustainable Finance Centre, we equip the next generation of leaders with the knowledge and skills to transform the financial sector for a sustainable future. Our programmes empower students to tackle global challenges, working alongside experts and industry partners to develop and implement real-world solutions. Whether you’re an undergraduate, MBA student, or professional seeking executive education, our courses will help you drive meaningful change in sustainable finance.
The University of Exeter’s suite of finance programmes, including the MSc Sustainable Finance and Climate Change and other programmes with a Sustainable Finance Pathway, recognizes essential topics from the Certificate in ESG Investing from CFA Institute. This professional certificate offers both practical application and technical knowledge in the field of ESG investing.
MSc Sustainable Finance and Climate Change
MSc Sustainable Finance and Climate Change aims to develop graduates with financial decision-making and commercial awareness in environmental sustainability through practical application to real-world sustainability challenges.
This programme crosses discipline boundaries and is designed so you will develop an understanding and awareness of global climate challenges, tackle shared problems, and propose sustainable and responsible finance solutions that deliver tangible and sustainable social and ecological benefits. You will develop a well-balanced understanding across the principles of finance and investment and the frontiers of climate change science. You will learn to address the challenges of the financial industry’s adaptation to climate change and engage with sustainability debates in real-world contexts. Graduates will be well-positioned to pursue careers in finance, investment management, sustainable development and corporate sustainability.
Sustainable Finance Pathway for MSc programmes
The Sustainable Finance pathway will equip you to embed green and sustainable finance principles and practice into your advice, analysis, actions and decisions. The finance industry is increasingly recognising the importance of integrating sustainability considerations into decision-making processes and companies, investors, and regulators are seeking professionals who possess both financial expertise and knowledge of sustainable practices. This pathway will provide you with specialist skills in this area.
You will learn from research expertise developed within the Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre, which will introduce you to cutting-edge theory and practice in sustainable and responsible finance. Leading academics actively engaged in research on climate finance, environment and sustainability will deliver these modules, which are designed to give insight into theory that has been important in shaping agendas relating to global sustainability.
Undergraduate degrees
We facilitate sustainable finance modules on undergraduate courses taught within the Business School. Exact modules are subject to change and are available to browse on the course webpage.
PhDs and research degrees
We welcome enquiries for supervision topics on sustainable finance.
MBA and Executive Education
Enhance your leadership with our Sustainable Finance module for MBA and Executive Education programmes.