Exeter Sustainable Finance Conference 2024
The Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre at the University of Exeter organised the inaugural conference on 19 September 2024.
The objective is to present state-of-the-art empirical and theoretical research on sustainable finance and inform investment practices.
We invited submissions of unpublished research papers on any topic related to sustainable finance, including—but not limited to—research on environmental, social, and governance issues, and impact investing. The organisers particularly encouraged submissions of interdisciplinary research that drew together approaches and perspectives from different disciplines. The papers were reviewed by a programme committee consisting of faculty members of the Exeter Sustainable Finance (ESF) Centre.
| Conference date | 19 - 20 September 2024 |
|---|---|
| Place | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall |
Programme
| Time | Event | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:20 | Coffee and Registration | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | |
| 09:20 - 09:25 | Welcome | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | Alexandra Gerbasi, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter |
| 09:25 – 09:30 | Introduction | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | Chendi Zhang, Director of Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre, University of Exeter Business School |
| 09:30 – 10:15 | Keynote: Financing and the Green Paradox | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | Rui Albuquerque (Boston College) |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Coffee Break | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Session 1: Sustainability Commitments | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall |
(20 min presentation + Q&A 10 min each) 10.30 – 11.00 Corporate Green Pledges Authors: Michael Bauer (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), Daniel Huber (Universitat Hamburg), Eric Offner (Universitat Hamburg), Marlene Renkel (Universitat Hamburg) and Ole Wilms (Universitat Hamburg and Tilburg University) 11.00 – 11.30 The Value of NGOs in ESG Authors: Janja Brendel (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Cai Chen (INSEAD), Thomas Keusch (INSEAD), and Zacharias Sautner (University of Zurich) 11.30 – 12.00 Socially Responsible Investing and Multinationals’ Pollution: Evidence from Global Remote Sensing Data Authors: Virginia Gianinazzi (Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon), Victoire Girard (Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon), Mehdi Lehlali (Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon) and Melissa Porras Prado (Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon) |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | Keynote: Carbon-Transition Risk | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | Marcin Kacperczyk (Imperial College London) |
| 13:45 – 14:00 | Coffee Break | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Session 2: Financing the Green Transition | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall |
(20 min presentation + Q&A 10 min each) 14.00 – 14.30 Climate Transition Risks of Banks Authors: Felix Martini (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), Zacharias Sautner (University of Zurich), Sascha Steffen (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) and Carola Theunisz (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) 14.30 – 15.00 Financing Green Transition: Bank-Nonbank Partnership Authors: Angela Gallo (Bayes Business School, City University of London) and Min Park (University of Bristol) 15.00 – 15.30 Is ESG a Sideshow? ESG Perceptions, Investment, and Firms’ Financing Decisions Authors: Roman Kraussl (Bayes Business School, City University of London), Joshua Rauh (Stanford University, Hoover Institution, and NBER) and Denitsa Stefanova (University of Luxemburg) |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Coffee Break | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | |
| 15:45 – 16:30 | Industry Panel: The Future of Sustainable Investment | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall |
Lewis Grant, Senior Portfolio Manager of Federated Hermes Andrew Parry, Head of Investments of JO Hambro Capital Management |
| 16:30 – 16:40 | End of Day Remarks | Upper Lounge, Reed Hall | Monika Tarsalewska (ESF Centre) |
| 17:00 | Transport to Exmouth | Departing from Campus | For participants registered for conference dinner |
| 18:30 – 21:30 | Conference Dinner | Exmouth |
| Time | Event | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:45 – 09:15 | Welcome Coffee | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 09:15 – 10:45 | Session 3: “S” and “G” in ESG | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
(20 min presentation + Q&A 10 min each) 9.15 – 9.45 The Eco Gender Gap in Boardrooms Authors: Po-Hsuan Hsu (National Tsing Hua University), Kai Li (University of British Columbia) and Yihui Pan (University of Utah) 9.45 – 10.15 Sustainability Preferences of Talented Employees Authors: Ioannis Branikas (University of Oregon), Briana Chang (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Harrison Hong (Columbia University and NBER) and Nan Li (University of Toronto) 10.15 – 10.45 Index Inclusion and Corporate Social Performance: Evidence from the MSCI Empowering Women Index Authors: Vikas Mehrotra (University of Alberta), Lukas Roth (University of Alberta), Yusuke Tsujimoto (Waseda University) and Yupana Wiwattanakantang (National University of Singapore) |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Coffee Break | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 11:00 – 12:20 | Session 4: Current Research from Exeter Sustainable Finance (ESF) Centre | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
(15 min presentation + Q&A 5 min each) 11.00 – 11.20 Corporate Environmental Governance: A Global Study of Internal Carbon Pricing Authors: Chenyan Lyu (University of Exeter), Pu Yang (University of Oxford) and Chendi Zhang (University of Exeter) 11.20 – 11.40 Towards the Natural Environment Agency Theory (NEAT) Authors: Amama Shaukat (Brunel University London), Rajesh Tharyan (Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University) and Grzegorz Trojanowski (University of Exeter) 11.40 – 12.00 The Role of Government in Corporate ESG Policies Authors: Nickolay Gantchev (University of Warwick), Jim Goldman (University of Warwick) and Shu Zhang (University of Exeter) 12.00 – 12.20 Benchmarking with Sustainability Mandates Authors: Jason Cen (University of Exeter), Linquan Chen (University of Exeter) and Yao Chen (University of Exeter) |
| 12:20 – 12:30 | Closing Remarks | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | Conference Organisers |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 13:30 – 17:00 | Social Event – Historical Exeter Walk | Optional | Optional activity |
Presentation Format:
Presenting authors are in bold.
Sessions 1-3: 20 min presentation + Q&A 10 min each paper
Sessions 4: 15 min presentation + Q&A 5 min each paper
Conference Organizers:
Chendi Zhang (Director of ESF Centre)
Monika Tarsalewska (Deputy Director of ESF Centre)
Travel
The Sustainable Finance Conference will be held at the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus — a vibrant and green setting just a short distance from the city centre.
From London Airports you can travel to Exeter from London Paddington (with Great Western Railway trains). The University of Exeter Streatham campus is within walking distance of both Exeter St David’s and Exeter Central train stations.
From Bristol Airport you can travel to Exeter by train from Bristol Temple Meads (with CrossCountry trains).
You can download the app Trainline to buy tickets on your phone.
There are also some flights to Exeter Airport.
Around the city: Apple Taxis is a local taxi operator and there is also UNI bus to/from city and University.
Learn more about Streatham Campus, directions, and facilities
Accommodation
- Premier Inn – City Centre / St Davids
- Mercure - Rougemont / Southgate
- Leonardo
- Hotel Indigo
- Hotel du Vin
Contact
For questions and further information, please contact conference organisers Chendi Zhang (Director) and Monika Tarsalewska (Deputy Director) of the ESF Centre at sustainable-finance@exeter.ac.uk.