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This article summarizes the recent developments in India’s securities markets regulations, instruments, and intermediaries. It documents the latest and first-ever initiatives in the Indian securities markets such as the implementation of the T+1 settlement cycle, introducing social stock exchange with Zero Coupon and Zero principal bonds, a stronger framework for green debt securities through blue, green, and yellow bonds. The article also dwells upon the regulations related to Business Responsibility and Sustainable Reporting (BRSR), and ESG disclosures and ratings aimed at setting up an efficient market structure by strengthening the governance system. The fourth annual international capital markets conference was organized to foreground India’s multiple challenges and to encourage policy discussion about the latest developments in the Indian securities market. A brief summary of relevant papers presented in the conference and published in this issue is provided at the end of the article.

Sustainable finance plays a crucial role in driving sustainable development forward, and as the market grows more accustomed to ESG measures and targets, novel debt instruments have been emerging as a result. Green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds are two financial instruments that play an important role in supporting sustainable development. In this study, these two bond types are examined to gain insights and knowledge about the underlying reasons for the significant preference for green bonds over sustainability-linked bonds in the market. In order to explore this market outcome, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four cases; issuers, underwriters, investors and second-party opinion providers from various established Swedish companies. Behavioral economics and signaling theory was used as theoretical lenses to further understand the perspectives of the participants, exploring the nuances of how different factors impact their preferences and behaviors in the market for sustainable finance. The study's key findings suggest that market maturity, risk aversion, signaling incentives, cognitive biases, societal factors, bounded rationality as well as more standardized frameworks work in favor of green bonds in the market. However, the flexible nature of sustainability-linked bonds allow certain companies in hard-to-abate industries as well as companies lacking the assets and/or operations for green project investments, the opportunity to engage in the transition towards a more sustainable market.

Die Richtlinie der Europäischen Union (EU) zur Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung von Unternehmen (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – CSRD) legt einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf Biodiversität und verändert die Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen über ihre Umweltauswirkungen und -abhängigkeiten berichten. Sie fordert einen mehrdimensionalen Ansatz in der Rechnungslegung, der die Einflüsse eines Unternehmens auf die Natur (impact driver accounting), die möglichen Veränderungen der Ökosysteme durch die Geschäftstätigkeit (ecosystem accounting), die Abhängigkeit des Unternehmens von natürlichen Ökosystemleistungen (dependency accounting) und die mit diesen Wechselwirkungen verbundenenfinanziellen Risiken und Chancen (nature-related risks and opportunities accounting) erfasst. Obwohl die Methoden zu einigen Aspekten dieses umfassenden Rechnungslegungsrahmens bereits entwickelt wurden, besteht insbesondere im Bereich des dependency accounting und des nature-related risks and opportunities accounting ein dringender Bedarf an harmonisierten Methoden. Dieser Bedarf ergibt sich aus der starkenNachfrage seitens der Regulierungsbehörden, der Unternehmen und des Finanzsektors. Darüber hinaus werden bevorstehende Gesetze wie die EU-Richtlinie zur Sorgfaltspflicht von Unternehmen (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – CSDDD), die Erweiterung der EU-Taxonomie und die Aufnahme der Berichterstattung über die biologische Vielfalt in internationale Berichtsstandards die Bedeutung des Themasweiter erhöhen.The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) places a special focus on biodiversity and changes the way companies report on their environmental impacts and dependencies. It calls for a multidimensional approach to accounting that recognises a company's impact on nature (impact driver accounting), the potential changes to ecosystems through business activities (ecosystem accounting), the company’s dependence on natural ecosystem services (dependency acc

The energy transition is one of the most relevant priorities in the context of the current production and consumption system. Finance, through Sustainable Finance, must start redirecting money flows towards projects with less impact on the environment. Through portfolio construction, this paper conducts an analysis based on Monte Carlo Simulation and Value at Risk. Based on a sample of 40 international banks, distributed by those that invest more in fossil fuels vs. those that invest less, the main objective of this work is to know the financial viability of the different portfolios considering their return and risk. The results show that the banks that are divesting more in fossil fuels have a lower return and a higher risk compared to those banks that continue to invest in fossil fuels. According to the Monte Carlo Simulation, there is also a better performance of those banks that continue to have a strong fossil fuels investment policy. According to these results, it seems that stronger restrictions should be imposed on fossil fuels investment in order for the major banks to become profitable by investing in projects with lower environmental impact. An in-depth analysis of the policy and legal implications of this performance is a line that can be addressed in the future.

The energy transition is one of the most relevant priorities in the context of the current production and consumption system. Finance, through Sustainable Finance, must start redirecting money flows towards projects with less impact on the environment. Through portfolio construction, this paper conducts an analysis based on Monte Carlo Simulation and Value at Risk. Based on a sample of 40 international banks, distributed by those that invest more in fossil fuels vs. those that invest less, the main objective of this work is to know the financial viability of the different portfolios considering their return and risk. The results show that the banks that are divesting more in fossil fuels have a lower return and a higher risk compared to those banks that continue to invest in fossil fuels. According to the Monte Carlo Simulation, there is also a better performance of those banks that continue to have a strong fossil fuels investment policy. According to these results, it seems that stronger restrictions should be imposed on fossil fuels investment in order for the major banks to become profitable by investing in projects with lower environmental impact. An in-depth analysis of the policy and legal implications of this performance is a line that can be addressed in the future.

Diminishing green bond premia have been associated with the risk of greenwashing. In response, third-party verification (TPV) has emerged as a market-driven solution to mitigate risks from asymmetric information and safeguard the credibility of green bonds. This thesis examines the complexities of TPV mechanisms within the green bond market, employing a novel approach by comparing two leading verification institutions: the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). The goal is to ascertain the effectiveness of TPV and examine their impact on bond yields. Additionally, this study examines the role of these verification systems in reducing information asymmetry and mitigating the threat of greenwashing. Utilising propensity score matching, our analysis reveals a TPV premium ranging from approximately -15 to -19 basis points (bps) for green bonds verified by the CBI, while the ICMA does not reliably demonstrate a TPV premium. Furthermore, our investigation extends to the differential impact of TPV on government and corporate green bonds. We find a clearer TPV premium for corporate green bonds verified by the CBI, estimated at -21 to -23 bps, compared to government green bonds, which yielded insignificant findings. Complementing our quantitative findings, a key informant interview provides nuanced insights. We also uncover potential biases inherent in dataset preferences favouring specific verification institutions. Our research highlights the efficacy of verification through the CBI, as the advantages significantly outweigh the associated costs, making it a sensible choice for issuers. Moreover, we advocate for the adoption of uniform reporting standards to streamline administrative processes and enhance transparency, particularly for corporate green bond issuers., Minskande premievärden på gröna obligationer har kopplats till risken för greenwashing. Som svar på detta har tredjepartsverifiering (TPV) framträtt som en marknadsdriven lösning för att minska riskerna från asymmetrisk information och säkerställa trovärdigheten hos gröna obligationer. Denna avhandling undersöker komplexiteten i TPV-mekanismer inom marknaden för gröna obligationer, genom att jämföra två ledande verifieringsinstitutioner: Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) och International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Målet är att fastställa effektiviteten av TPV och undersöka deras inverkan på obligationsräntor. Fortsättningsvis, granskar denna studie rollen av dessa verifieringssystem i att minska informationsasymmetri och motverka hotet om greenwashing. Genom att använda propensity score matching avslöjar vår analys en TPV-premie på cirka -15 till -19 baspunkter (bp) för gröna obligationer verifierade av CBI, medan ICMA inte på ett tillförlitligt sätt visar en TPV-premie. Vidare undersöker vi den differentierade effekten av TPV på gröna stats- och företagsobligationer. Vi finner en tydligare TPV-premie för företagsobligationer verifierade av CBI, uppskattad till -21 till -23 bp, jämfört med statsobligationer, som inte gav signifikanta resultat. För att komplettera våra kvantitativa resultat, ger en intervju med en nyckelinformant nyanserade insikter. Vi upptäcker även potentiell partiskhet inneboende i datasettet som gynnar specifika verifieringsinstitutioner. Vår forskning belyser effektiviteten av verifiering genom CBI, eftersom fördelarna överväger de associerade kostnaderna, vilket gör det till ett vettigt val för emittenter. Dessutom förespråkar vi antagandet av enhetliga rapporteringsstandarder för att förenkla administrativa processer och förbättra transparensen, särskilt för emittenter av gröna företagsobligationer.

This thesis explores the capacity of five sustainable development frameworks—SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), United Nations Global Compact,Environmental Social and Governance (ESG), and Economy for the Common Good (ECG)—in guiding globalbanks towards sustainable finance practices. A comparative analysis examines how these frameworks areapplied within twelve major banks worldwide and assess their impact on promoting sustainable economic, social,and environmental practices within the banking sector. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative contentanalyses of annual and sustainability reports from these banks, the research identifies the extent to which theseframeworks influence banking operations and strategic decision-making towards sustainability. The findingsreveal significant variances in framework adoption and implementation, highlighting the challenges andopportunities within sustainable banking. The study underscores the critical role of financial institutions inachieving a sustainable future and proposes pathways for more robust and impactful adoption of sustainabilitystandards in the finance industry.

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on the risk-adjusted returns of fintech firms across different segments, including fintech banks, paytech, wealth tech, fintech infrastructure, and cryptocurrency firms. Using a sample dataset comprising 104 worldwide fintech firms spanning the period from 2012 to 2022, we employ regression analysis to assess the relationship between ESG ratings and stock returns, considering both overall ESG scores and individual pillar ratings. Our findings reveal unique associations between ESG ratings and risk-adjusted returns, varying across different segments of the fintech industry. While high ESG-rated fintech firms exhibit a negative impact on stock returns, low ESG-rated firms show no significant association. Moreover, the environmental pillar rating demonstrates a negative correlation with risk-adjusted returns, whereas social and governance pillar ratings display a positive relationship. Furthermore, infrastructure fintech firms exhibit adistinct pattern, with overall ESG, social and governance ratings positively associated with stock returns. These results highlight the importance of considering ESG factors in evaluating the financial performance of fintech firms, with implications for investors, policymakers and industry practitioners. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into how ESG considerations influence the risk-return profile of fintech firms, offering valuable guidance for sustainable investment strategies in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.

This thesis examines if private capital can progress social sustainability through financial instrumentsby unveiling how philanthropy can serve to mobilise private capital investments, alongside social impactbonds, using various finance framework approaches. Presently, the dialogues within sustainable financehave focused primarily on the environmental rather than the social aspects despite social sustainabilitybeing identified as a key component to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, an investigation onwhat can be done to mobilise more capital into social sustainability investments was performed. By conducting a literature pre-study and a survey, this study was able to identify that investors wouldlike for there to be a philanthropic mechanism in place within financial frameworks. However, they donot see themselves as playing a part in contributing philanthropically themselves, rather, it seems asthough investors would prefer for philanthropy to be a separate role. Despite this, when presented withframeworks according to their preferences, investors were hesitant to invest, indicating that it is thebarriers that investors face to make social sustainability investments that must be alleviated in order tomake a fair assessment of the potential for philanthropy alongside social impact bonds to mobilise moreprivate capital into social sustainability investments., Denna avhandling undersöker ifall privat kapital kan främja social hållbarhet via finansiella instrument.Detta görs genom att utreda hur filantropi genom olika finansieringsramverk kan fungera som ettverktyg för att mobilisera privata kapitalinvesteringar tillsammans med resultatbaseradefinansieringsavtal. För närvarande har fokuset inom hållbar finans främst varit på de miljömässigasnarare än de sociala aspekterna. Detta trots att social hållbarhet har identifierats som ennyckelkomponent för att uppnå hållbar utveckling. Med detta som bakgrund, gjordes en undersökningav vad som kan göras för att frigöra mer kapital till investeringar i social hållbarhet. Genom en litteraturförstudie och enkätundersökning kunde denna avhandling identifiera följande:Investerare vill att det ska finnas en filantropisk mekanism i finansiella ramverk. Däremot serinvesterarna sig inte att de har en roll i att själva bidra filantropiskt, utan de föredrar att filantropi är enseparat roll. Trots detta var investerarna tveksamma till att investera när de presenterades med ramverkenligt deras preferenser, vilket tyder på att det finns andra hinder. Identifierade hinder är: Otydlighetergällande hållbarhetsaspekter i investeringarna, brist på investeringsmöjligheter och svårighetergällande mätning av social påverkan. Dessa hinder måste minskas för att kunna göra en rättvisbedömning av filantropins potential tillsammans med resultatbaserade finansieringsavtal för attmobilisera mer privat kapital till investeringar i social hållbarhet.

Diminishing green bond premia have been associated with the risk of greenwashing. In response, third-party verification (TPV) has emerged as a market-driven solution to mitigate risks from asymmetric information and safeguard the credibility of green bonds. This thesis examines the complexities of TPV mechanisms within the green bond market, employing a novel approach by comparing two leading verification institutions: the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). The goal is to ascertain the effectiveness of TPV and examine their impact on bond yields. Additionally, this study examines the role of these verification systems in reducing information asymmetry and mitigating the threat of greenwashing. Utilising propensity score matching, our analysis reveals a TPV premium ranging from approximately -15 to -19 basis points (bps) for green bonds verified by the CBI, while the ICMA does not reliably demonstrate a TPV premium. Furthermore, our investigation extends to the differential impact of TPV on government and corporate green bonds. We find a clearer TPV premium for corporate green bonds verified by the CBI, estimated at -21 to -23 bps, compared to government green bonds, which yielded insignificant findings. Complementing our quantitative findings, a key informant interview provides nuanced insights. We also uncover potential biases inherent in dataset preferences favouring specific verification institutions. Our research highlights the efficacy of verification through the CBI, as the advantages significantly outweigh the associated costs, making it a sensible choice for issuers. Moreover, we advocate for the adoption of uniform reporting standards to streamline administrative processes and enhance transparency, particularly for corporate green bond issuers., Minskande premievärden på gröna obligationer har kopplats till risken för greenwashing. Som svar på detta har tredjepartsverifiering (TPV) framträtt som en marknadsdriven lösning för att minska riskerna från asymmetrisk information och säkerställa trovärdigheten hos gröna obligationer. Denna avhandling undersöker komplexiteten i TPV-mekanismer inom marknaden för gröna obligationer, genom att jämföra två ledande verifieringsinstitutioner: Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) och International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Målet är att fastställa effektiviteten av TPV och undersöka deras inverkan på obligationsräntor. Fortsättningsvis, granskar denna studie rollen av dessa verifieringssystem i att minska informationsasymmetri och motverka hotet om greenwashing. Genom att använda propensity score matching avslöjar vår analys en TPV-premie på cirka -15 till -19 baspunkter (bp) för gröna obligationer verifierade av CBI, medan ICMA inte på ett tillförlitligt sätt visar en TPV-premie. Vidare undersöker vi den differentierade effekten av TPV på gröna stats- och företagsobligationer. Vi finner en tydligare TPV-premie för företagsobligationer verifierade av CBI, uppskattad till -21 till -23 bp, jämfört med statsobligationer, som inte gav signifikanta resultat. För att komplettera våra kvantitativa resultat, ger en intervju med en nyckelinformant nyanserade insikter. Vi upptäcker även potentiell partiskhet inneboende i datasettet som gynnar specifika verifieringsinstitutioner. Vår forskning belyser effektiviteten av verifiering genom CBI, eftersom fördelarna överväger de associerade kostnaderna, vilket gör det till ett vettigt val för emittenter. Dessutom förespråkar vi antagandet av enhetliga rapporteringsstandarder för att förenkla administrativa processer och förbättra transparensen, särskilt för emittenter av gröna företagsobligationer.

The European Union entered into force the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which represents a comprehensive framework to enhance transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability reporting. The study focuses on the organisational change processes and attitudes activated in the companies by the implementation of mandatory sustainability reporting under the CSRD. The study aims to provide insights into the practical adoption of the CSRD from an organisational change perspective. While prior studies have concentrated on more isolated aspects of CSRD implementation, this paper offers a holistic outlook on the entirety of the change processes involved. To achieve the goal, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability professionals representing various organisations that are obligated to report under the CSRD in 2025 and 2026. This study develops an analytical framework combining Corporate Social Responsibility theory and Organisational Change frameworks. The results indicate that the CSRD serves as a catalyst for organisational change in all companies, regardless of their prior reporting practices. In managing this change, companies have to integrate sustainability and market concerns into their strategies.

In a world where sustainable investment plays an important role in aligning financial interests with broader societal and environmental goals, this thesis investigates the impact of digital literacy and sustainable literacy on financial and accounting students' ability to promote sustainable investments in Sri Lanka. The study aims to identify the most significant literacy factor influencing the promotion of sustainable investments among students and explore the relationship between digital literacy, sustainable literacy and sustainable investment practices. Through a survey-based approach, data was collected from a group of students to assess their proficiency in sustainable literacy and digital literacy, as well as their attitudes towards sustainable investing. The findings reveal a moderate level of sustainable literacy and a relatively higher level of digital literacy among the students, with significant positive relationships between sustainable investing and both literacy types. Regression analysis indicates that sustainable literacy emerges as the most influential factor in promoting sustainable investments among financial and accounting students. The study underscores the importance of knowledge and awareness in driving sustainable investment behavior and offers insights for curriculum development to equip future financial professionals with the necessary skills for sustainable finance. The research contributes to the discussions on sustainable finance education and highlights the critical role of literacy skills in promoting sustainable investment practices among students in Sri Lanka.

This study investigates the global relationship between venture capital (VC) investments and environmental pressure in order to contribute to the literature on the influence of venture capital on sustainable development. Using a unique dataset covering VC activity and CO2 intensity in 131 countries from 2011 to 2021, the study employs a revised STIRPAT model—a stochastic model for assessing the environmental impact of human activities. The aim is to examine the potential negative correlation between VC investments and CO2 intensity. This motivation stems from previous findings, indicating that increased VC investments spur the diffusion of eco-efficient technologies. The main results affirm a significant negative correlation between VC investments and CO2 intensity, even after controlling for relevant variables and potential confounding factors (e.g., foreign direct investments), country, and year fixed effects, and addressing potential endogeneity through lagging independent variables. Exploring heterogeneity in the baseline results reveals that these findings are consistent only for VC investments in the Asia-Pacific region, in emerging and developing economies, and in areas where they can contribute more to the development of green technologies and innovations. This suggests that VC activity may impact environmental intensity primarily in countries where emission regulations are less stringent or where existing technologies exhibit lower efficiency in terms of energy consumption.

The study empirically investigates the impact of green bonds issuance on listed firms operating in G7 (Japan, UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada) economies. The sample consist of monthly data ranges from January 2015 to August 2022. Green bonds issuance data is collected from announcements, press releases, and semi-annual or yearly reports. Additionally, we use the official websites and credit rating agency portals of the particular country to find debt issuance. The subsequent findings imply that the issuance of green bonds cast a positive impact on shareholder wealth maximization moreover, sustainable financing practice increases firm value in a long run and thus is favored by shareholders.

This study investigates whether public procurement mitigates or exacerbates innovative enterprises’ financial constraints. We distinguish between general and environmentally beneficial innovative enterprises. Theory suggests that the treatment effects of public procurement, particularly when mediated by the demand-pull effect, may lower a company’s funding constraints for innovation. We test this theory with extended probit models allowing for endogenous treatment and selection. The findings reveal a significantly positive treatment effect of public procurement on the probability of facing financial constraints in both areas: general and environmentally beneficial innovative activities. Thus, the principal implications of this study are (1) that being an innovating SME exacerbates financial constraints and (2) that strengthening SMEs’ participation in European public tenders would not contribute to lowering SMEs’ financial constraints. On the contrary, complementary grants or other financial incentives might be necessary to substantially increase the SMEs’ bidding rates in public tenders.

This thesis examines if private capital can progress social sustainability through financial instrumentsby unveiling how philanthropy can serve to mobilise private capital investments, alongside social impactbonds, using various finance framework approaches. Presently, the dialogues within sustainable financehave focused primarily on the environmental rather than the social aspects despite social sustainabilitybeing identified as a key component to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, an investigation onwhat can be done to mobilise more capital into social sustainability investments was performed. By conducting a literature pre-study and a survey, this study was able to identify that investors wouldlike for there to be a philanthropic mechanism in place within financial frameworks. However, they donot see themselves as playing a part in contributing philanthropically themselves, rather, it seems asthough investors would prefer for philanthropy to be a separate role. Despite this, when presented withframeworks according to their preferences, investors were hesitant to invest, indicating that it is thebarriers that investors face to make social sustainability investments that must be alleviated in order tomake a fair assessment of the potential for philanthropy alongside social impact bonds to mobilise moreprivate capital into social sustainability investments., Denna avhandling undersöker ifall privat kapital kan främja social hållbarhet via finansiella instrument.Detta görs genom att utreda hur filantropi genom olika finansieringsramverk kan fungera som ettverktyg för att mobilisera privata kapitalinvesteringar tillsammans med resultatbaseradefinansieringsavtal. För närvarande har fokuset inom hållbar finans främst varit på de miljömässigasnarare än de sociala aspekterna. Detta trots att social hållbarhet har identifierats som ennyckelkomponent för att uppnå hållbar utveckling. Med detta som bakgrund, gjordes en undersökningav vad som kan göras för att frigöra mer kapital till investeringar i social hållbarhet. Genom en litteraturförstudie och enkätundersökning kunde denna avhandling identifiera följande:Investerare vill att det ska finnas en filantropisk mekanism i finansiella ramverk. Däremot serinvesterarna sig inte att de har en roll i att själva bidra filantropiskt, utan de föredrar att filantropi är enseparat roll. Trots detta var investerarna tveksamma till att investera när de presenterades med ramverkenligt deras preferenser, vilket tyder på att det finns andra hinder. Identifierade hinder är: Otydlighetergällande hållbarhetsaspekter i investeringarna, brist på investeringsmöjligheter och svårighetergällande mätning av social påverkan. Dessa hinder måste minskas för att kunna göra en rättvisbedömning av filantropins potential tillsammans med resultatbaserade finansieringsavtal för attmobilisera mer privat kapital till investeringar i social hållbarhet.

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on the risk-adjusted returns of fintech firms across different segments, including fintech banks, paytech, wealth tech, fintech infrastructure, and cryptocurrency firms. Using a sample dataset comprising 104 worldwide fintech firms spanning the period from 2012 to 2022, we employ regression analysis to assess the relationship between ESG ratings and stock returns, considering both overall ESG scores and individual pillar ratings. Our findings reveal unique associations between ESG ratings and risk-adjusted returns, varying across different segments of the fintech industry. While high ESG-rated fintech firms exhibit a negative impact on stock returns, low ESG-rated firms show no significant association. Moreover, the environmental pillar rating demonstrates a negative correlation with risk-adjusted returns, whereas social and governance pillar ratings display a positive relationship. Furthermore, infrastructure fintech firms exhibit adistinct pattern, with overall ESG, social and governance ratings positively associated with stock returns. These results highlight the importance of considering ESG factors in evaluating the financial performance of fintech firms, with implications for investors, policymakers and industry practitioners. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into how ESG considerations influence the risk-return profile of fintech firms, offering valuable guidance for sustainable investment strategies in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.

In a world where sustainable investment plays an important role in aligning financial interests with broader societal and environmental goals, this thesis investigates the impact of digital literacy and sustainable literacy on financial and accounting students' ability to promote sustainable investments in Sri Lanka. The study aims to identify the most significant literacy factor influencing the promotion of sustainable investments among students and explore the relationship between digital literacy, sustainable literacy and sustainable investment practices. Through a survey-based approach, data was collected from a group of students to assess their proficiency in sustainable literacy and digital literacy, as well as their attitudes towards sustainable investing. The findings reveal a moderate level of sustainable literacy and a relatively higher level of digital literacy among the students, with significant positive relationships between sustainable investing and both literacy types. Regression analysis indicates that sustainable literacy emerges as the most influential factor in promoting sustainable investments among financial and accounting students. The study underscores the importance of knowledge and awareness in driving sustainable investment behavior and offers insights for curriculum development to equip future financial professionals with the necessary skills for sustainable finance. The research contributes to the discussions on sustainable finance education and highlights the critical role of literacy skills in promoting sustainable investment practices among students in Sri Lanka.

The European Union entered into force the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which represents a comprehensive framework to enhance transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability reporting. The study focuses on the organisational change processes and attitudes activated in the companies by the implementation of mandatory sustainability reporting under the CSRD. The study aims to provide insights into the practical adoption of the CSRD from an organisational change perspective. While prior studies have concentrated on more isolated aspects of CSRD implementation, this paper offers a holistic outlook on the entirety of the change processes involved. To achieve the goal, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability professionals representing various organisations that are obligated to report under the CSRD in 2025 and 2026. This study develops an analytical framework combining Corporate Social Responsibility theory and Organisational Change frameworks. The results indicate that the CSRD serves as a catalyst for organisational change in all companies, regardless of their prior reporting practices. In managing this change, companies have to integrate sustainability and market concerns into their strategies.

We investigate the market performance of negatively screened environment social and governance (ESG) portfolio or sustainable investments prior to and during crisis. A general and simple method is developed under the ESG Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) framework for the assessment. The novelty is that this method can be employed when the parent portfolio is not a market portfolio. In this situation, both coefficients, alpha and beta, in the reduced form of regression have special interpretations and are informative. This paper examines 24 negatively screened ESG indices from the S&P, DJSI and MSCI data across various regions, firm sizes, and criteria of screening, for 2017 to 2021. Markov Switching Autoregressive (MSAR) model is adopted to identify the crisis regime. Our results show that the negatively screened ESG indices provide positive investors’ surpluses for ESG-motivated investors during the crisis, when the corresponding parent indices are the market portfolios. For ESG investments where market portfolios are not their parent indices, half of ESG indices under consideration still provide positive surplus with similar systematic risks as their parent indices during the crisis. The remaining ESG indices under-performs but has relatively lower systematic risks, implying resilience as compared to the corresponding parent indices during the crisis. Furthermore, we demonstrate the sensitivity analysis of treating a parent index as a market portfolio.

This paper explores the suitability of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) for signaling sustainability intentions by analyzing the market reaction following their announcement and issuance. We find no significant share price reaction for SLBs targeting greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives. The lack of significant market reaction also applies to SLB-independent emission-reduction announcements. In contrast, for other types of SLB goals, such as those linked to sustainability ratings, renewable energy, or energy efficiency, we observe a significant positive market reaction. We argue that climate transition activities of companies are already priced by the market, while other sustainability goals are positively received.

Finally, nature risks like biodiversity and carbon footprints have been recognised as important business risks. Beyond immediate physical risks, transition risks include scenarios with disruptive consequences. Sustainable finance regulation calls for a transparent reporting of these risks. However, the full integration into the corporate risk framework, company valuations, and portfolio management needs a consistent quantitative treatment with discriminating precision down to company level. The crucial point is the objective of enabling allocation decisions between two competing companies from the same industry. This paper proposes a bottom-up scenario-based aggregation of company impacts measured by geospatial analysis rather than a top-down breakdown from global exposures. We overlay geospatial ESG variables mainly from global remote sensing products with the spatial footprints of asset-level data. In contrast to other approaches, the footprints of local operations are translated into a financial loss quantity for each single operational site before they are aggregated across the company. As the scenarios can be defined consistent across companies, statistically justified portfolio risk measures can be evaluated that enable portfolio risk management by a selection of individual investments and credit decisions rather than an exclusion of whole industry sectors. We illustrate our approach for the case of biodiversity risks and choose the mining sector as there is significant scientific literature on its environmental impacts and on remote sensing to detect these impacts.

This study examines the integration of climate change and biodiversity into business strategies and governance structures of listed firms on the Swedish stock exchange NasdaqOMX Large Cap. The results show clear disparities in the level of integration and the factors driving the integration process. All, but a few small firms, have integrated climate change into business strategies, and are ahead in the process of integrating it into governance structures. Biodiversity integration is lagging behind the integration of climate change. We also find that the integration process depends on the sustainability competences within the board unlike climate change when the board composition is less important. Additionally, our results show that firms require external pressures from, e.g., regulations to integrate biodiversity and climate change into business strategies and governance structures.

This article summarizes the recent developments in India’s securities markets regulations, instruments, and intermediaries. It documents the latest and first-ever initiatives in the Indian securities markets such as the implementation of the T+1 settlement cycle, introducing social stock exchange with Zero Coupon and Zero principal bonds, a stronger framework for green debt securities through blue, green, and yellow bonds. The article also dwells upon the regulations related to Business Responsibility and Sustainable Reporting (BRSR), and ESG disclosures and ratings aimed at setting up an efficient market structure by strengthening the governance system. The fourth annual international capital markets conference was organized to foreground India’s multiple challenges and to encourage policy discussion about the latest developments in the Indian securities market. A brief summary of relevant papers presented in the conference and published in this issue is provided at the end of the article.

Objective: Research in the field of sustainable finance aims to understand the development and trends of sustainable finance over time and the relationship of keywords related to sustainable finance and research developments with authors who are very influential in further research. This research helps identify projects or sectors that contribute positively to sustainability and identify environmental and social risks that may result from investment activities. Additionally, to encourage innovation and development of financial products that support sustainability goals. Theoritical framework: Sustainable finance promotes sustainable business practices, including transparency, prevention of human rights violations, diversity, and positive societal contributions. The greenwashing phenomenon occurs a lot nowadays, where companies or products claim to have a positive or sustainable environmental impact, but the reality is inconsistent with these claims. Enhancing supervision, transparency, and strict sanctions are crucial to address these issues. Efforts are necessary to increase understanding and education about sustainable finance so that more parties can take relevant actions. Methods: Bibliometric analysis, there are dozens of tools to collect and analyze data. In this research, the tool to measure sustainable finance trends is Scopus, one of the popular academic databases for bibliometric analysis. This tool ensures access to scholarly journals, conferences, and other academic literature. Scopus offers rich information on publications, citations, citation index, and other metrics for bibliometric analysis. VOS viewer is a visualization tool to visualize collaboration networks, keyword clustering, and citation patterns in bibliometric analysis. Result & Conclusion: English is the most widely used language, with 644 total publications or 96.55% of Russian, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Ukrainian. In 2020, the publication trends related to sustainable

Sustainable finance incorporates actions and policies for economic development, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. The development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations became a guide for the transformation towards sustainability and social inclusion. This case study examines the motivations of Swedish Banks’ engagement in sustainable development issues by applying Rettberg (2016) three reasons for businesses’ engagement in issues outside the core business activities, “Need, Creed, and Greed”. The “need” to reduce risk exposure to the businesses because of climate-related factors but also secure new business opportunities; the “creed” could be the willingness to “do good” or “do no harm”, move beyond profit-making, and contribute to a healthier planet for future generations; and “greed”, as the necessity to keep operations running and protect revenue. The results of the study show that there is no single reason for engagement, rather the complex nature of exposure to sustainable risk is expressed by most as the leading reason for commitment to sustainable development. Emphasis is put on the need for stabilization of the financial system while considering the impact on the environment and society they operate in. In addition, government policies and regulations play a fundamental role in long-term engagements.

RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati, RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati

RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati, RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati

RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati, RÉSUMÉ : Cet article explore la convergence entre la finance durable et l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le contexte de l'évolution économique mondiale. En examinant les principes et les objectifs de la finance durable, ainsi que les tendances actuelles, l'article met en lumière l'émergence de cette discipline en réponse aux défis environnementaux et sociaux. Simultanément, il explore le rôle de plus en plus central de l'IA dans le secteur financier, soulignant son impact sur la gestion des risques et l'optimisation des portefeuilles, comme illustré par des experts tels qu'Erik Brynjolfsson. La problématique centrale réside dans la manière de maximiser les avantages économiques de la synergie entre la finance durable et l'IA, tout en atténuant les risques et en assurant une intégration éthique. En adoptant une méthodologie théorique, basée sur une revue approfondie de la littérature, l'article vise à fournir un cadre conceptuel solide pour explorer cette convergence prometteuse. Les résultats et les discussions approfondiront les implications économiques, mettant en lumière les opportunités et les défis de cette collaboration novatrice. Mots-clés : Finance durable - Intelligence artificielle - Synergie économique - Gestion des risques - Durabilité financière   Abstract This article explores the convergence between sustainable finance and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global economic change. By examining the principles and objectives of sustainable finance, as well as current trends, the article highlights the emergence of this discipline in response to environmental and social challenges. Simultaneously, it explores the increasingly central role of AI in the financial sector, highlighting its impact on risk management and portfolio optimization, as illustrated by experts such as Erik Brynjolfsson. The central issue lies in how to maximize the economic benefits of the synergy between sustainable finance and AI, while mitigati

This study aims to identify whether a relationship between ESG performance and financial performance exists for Nordic publicly-listed companies, by conducting a multiple linear regression analysis. Also, it will be observed which (if any) ESG variables are of relevance. The regression analysis conducted in this study arrives at the conclusion that there is a relationship between ESG performance and financial performance. However, the models have low explanatory power, with Adjusted R^2 values of 0.36 for the accounting-based financial measure Return on Assets (ROA), and 0.30 for the market-based financial measure Tobin´s Q.In both the ROA and Tobin's Q model, social variables are the most significant. Supplier evaluation disclosure is the only variable that is highly significant and positively correlated to both ROA and Tobin's Q. Consistent with previous literature, our results show that female board participation is positively correlated with ROA. The results also show that ROA correlates negatively with compensation of board members and senior executives being linked to environmental and social factors. In conclusion, some variables were identified that are significant for financial performance. However, the overall explanatory power of the model is low. It is suggested that future studies adopt a materiality approach., Denna studie syftar till att identifiera om det finns ett samband mellan ESG-prestanda och finansiell prestanda för nordiska börsnoterade företag genom att utföra en multipel linjär regression. Dessutom observeras vilka (ifall några alls) ESG-variabler som är relevanta. Regressionen som genomförts i denna studie drar slutsatsen att det finns en relation mellan ESG-prestanda och finansiell prestanda. Dock så har modellerna låg förklaringsgrad, med justerat R^2-värde på 0,36 för det redovisningsbaserade måttet "Return on Assets" (ROA) och 0,30 för det marknadsbaserade måttet "Tobin's Q". I både ROA- och Tobin's Q-modellerna är sociala variabler de mest signifikanta. Publicering av leverantörsutvärdering är den enda variabeln som är högt signifikant och positivt korrelerad med både ROA och Tobin's Q. I linje med tidigare litteratur visar våra resultat att andel kvinnor i styrelsen är positivt korrelerat med ROA. Resultaten visar också att ROA korrelerar negativt med kompensation av styrelseledamöter kopplat till miljö- och sociala faktorer. Allt som allt lyckades studien att identifiera vissa ESG variabler som är signifikanta för finansiell prestanda. Dock så förblir förklaringsgraden av modellen i sin helhet låg. Därför föreslås det att framtida studier lägger fokus på materialitet.

This study will examine a strategy for evaluating energy storage projects by integrating valuation metrics from finance and the energy sector. Uncertainty is one of the key barriers to investment in the energy sector (Shimbar & Ebrahimi, 2017, p. 349) and therefore financial modeling that allows comprehensive valuation of energy investment is necessary (Berrada, 2022, p. 407). The purpose of the study is to propose a strategy for evaluating energy storage projects that applies to investors and decision makers. LCOS is a necessary component of energy storage project valuation, as it considers both the financial and technical performance of energy storage systems (ESS). Existing research in the field has contradictory opinions regarding the usefulness of LCOS and traditional financial valuation models for investment decisions in the energy storage sector. Few studies have combined modeling from the financial and energy sector. The authors have identified a need to introduce an investor perspective to business research in the energy storage sector. The authors conduct an explorative mixed-method study with an underlying non-positivist philosophical position. The case study design includes creation of five hypothetical energy storage projects to simulate an investment scenario. The authors utilize a point-base system to integrate valuation models from the energy and financial sectors, which include NPV, IRR, payback period, LCOS and technological maturity. Experts in the field provide input for which metrics are emphasized by practitioners. The projects are ranked based on stand-alone metrics, an integrated model and expert opinion. The results indicate that integrating numerous valuation metrics is necessary for analyzing and comparing energy storage investments. The financial viability of projects change based on individual metrics and integrated financial models. Furthermore, the results indicate that LCOS should be reinforced by financial indicators when making

Aligning private finance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promises to close the multi-trillion-dollar SDG ‘financing gap’ while unlocking trillions more in market opportunities. This article explores the processes mobilised for this alignment in Indonesia, an emerging country exemplified as a site where such opportunities are profuse. We do so through assessing modalities of planning, prototyping and building project pipelines designed to facilitate market development for green and SDG bonds. As these types of bonds are supposedly used only to finance socially and environmentally beneficial projects, they are placed at the forefront of innovations to align financial returns with sustainable development outcomes. To make sense of what these forms of innovative finance do, we weave scholarship on the financialisation of development and on (shifting) governance practices surrounding the development project, together with empirical material gathered from SDG finance events, document analysis and semi-structured interviews. We argue that the processes shaping market development for green and SDG bonds functionally iterate upon and extend an open-ended project of making development legible to capital: to see and act on the SDGs as an investable proposition. This legibility rests upon and engenders standard(ising) techniques to define what counts as ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ in ways that (in)visibilise impacts, promising – albeit speculatively – the realisation of social, environmental and financial goals. Here, the SDGs provide the institutional locus to enliven this promise, erasing the unevenness of finance-oriented development and legitimising capitalist modes of ‘seeing’ and ‘doing’ development around this promissory imaginary.

Lean manufacturing is gaining popularity among scientific, academic, and business communities; and is considered a valid strategy to generate financial performance and more sustainable finance. However, little is known about the influence of lean manufacturing on financial performance and sustainable finance of firms in the automotive industry. This study explores the relationship between lean manufacturing, financial performance and sustainable finance. The data was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire distributed to 460 Mexican firms that operate in the automotive industry. The results of the structural equation model (partial least squares) suggest that lean manufacturing have a positive and significant influence on both financial performance and sustainable finance., La manufactura esbelta está ganando popularidad entre las comunidades científica, académica y empresarial, y se considera una estrategia válida para generar rendimiento financiero y finanzas más sostenibles. Sin embargo, se sabe poco sobre la influencia de la manufactura esbelta en el rendimiento financiero y las finanzas sostenibles de las empresas de la industria automovilística. Este estudio explora la relación entre la manufactura esbelta, el rendimiento financiero y las finanzas sostenibles. Los datos se obtuvieron a partir de un cuestionario autoadministrado distribuido a 460 empresas mexicanas que operan en la industria automotriz. Los resultados del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (mínimos cuadrados parciales) sugieren que la manufactura esbelta tiene una influencia positiva y significativa tanto en el desempeño financiero como en las finanzas sustentables.

There has been a surge of global interest in the establishment of Sustainable and Green Financial Rules worldwide. This study aims to outline the global and Indian advances in green financing. The paper examined a systematic review of Green finance in India. Policymakers and researchers have recently concentrated on green finance as interest in environmental preservation, climate change, and sustainable development grows on a worldwide scale. With an eye on the components and determinants of green finance, previous studies on the topic have been evaluated in this study as they relate to the green finance and banking industry. Furthermore, in contrast to employee and customer-related GB practices, banks’; daily operations and policy-related GB practises were observed to have significant impacts on banks’; environmental performances. As a result, major policy implications and future research directions in the relevant area are discussed

There has been a surge of global interest in the establishment of Sustainable and Green Financial Rules worldwide. This study aims to outline the global and Indian advances in green financing. The paper examined a systematic review of Green finance in India. Policymakers and researchers have recently concentrated on green finance as interest in environmental preservation, climate change, and sustainable development grows on a worldwide scale. With an eye on the components and determinants of green finance, previous studies on the topic have been evaluated in this study as they relate to the green finance and banking industry. Furthermore, in contrast to employee and customer-related GB practices, banks’; daily operations and policy-related GB practises were observed to have significant impacts on banks’; environmental performances. As a result, major policy implications and future research directions in the relevant area are discussed

Human practices linked with speedy industrialization and globalization have, unfortunately,caused severe harm to the Planet. In the vicious circle for development, Countries proceededtowards forming developed economies, which resulted in rapid depletion of the available renewable and non-renewable resources. It was only after the effects of such reckless practices started showing globally (in terms of environmental issues such as climate change, rising pollution levels, etc.) that the realization about saving the Planet started settling in. Over the years, studies have been conducted to evaluate the damages caused to the Planet through several heavy industrial practices or even through smaller household practices (such as improper waste segregation and waste disposal), and attempts have been made to sensitize the world population about such issues and the growing need to incorporate sustainability intobusiness practices as well as a way of living. The Real Estate and Construction industries have been infamous for having practices which have not been considerate towards the environment. There have been numerous reports about harmful practices, such as the use of certain materials, which have had enormous emissions and have caused depletion of the environment. One of the ways the industry is now looking to make a positive impact is by adopting sustainability practices with finance, thus giving rise to the practice of ‘sustainable finance’ or ‘green finance’. This thesis focuses on studying how certain green finance instruments (sustainability linked bonds, green bonds, circular economy and impact investing) are being implemented for financing green projects and thereby promoting sustainability in the long run in these industries. The study has been conductive using a qualitative approach. The methodology involved adopting the triangulation method, including empirical data collection through extensive literature review along with conducting semi-structured interviews w, Mänsklig verksamhet i samband med snabb industrialisering och globalisering har tyvärr orsakat allvarliga skador på planeten. I den onda cirkeln för utveckling fortsatte länderna mot att bilda utvecklade ekonomier, vilket resulterade i snabb utarmning av tillgängliga förnybara och icke-förnybara resurser. Det var först när effekterna av sådana hänsynslösa metoder började visa sig globalt (i form av miljöproblem som klimatförändringar, ökande föroreningsnivåer etc.) som insikten om att rädda planeten började slå igenom. Under årens lopp har studier genomförts för att utvärdera de skador som orsakats planeten genom flera tunga industriella metoder eller till och med genom mindre hushållsmetoder (såsom felaktig avfallssegregering och avfallshantering), och försök har gjorts för att sensibilisera världsbefolkningen om sådana frågor och det växande behovet av att integrera hållbarhet i affärsmetoder såväl som ett sätt att leva. Fastighets- och byggbranschen har varit ökänd för att ha metoder som inte har varit hänsynsfulla mot miljön. Det har kommit många rapporter om skadliga metoder, till exempel användning av vissa material, som har haft enorma utsläpp och orsakat utarmning av miljön. Ett av de sätt som branschen nu försöker påverka positivt är genom att anta hållbarhetspraxis inom finans, vilket har gett upphov till "hållbar finans" eller "grön finans". Denna avhandling fokuserar på att studera hur vissa gröna finansieringsinstrument (hållbarhetslänkade obligationer, gröna obligationer, cirkulär ekonomi och impact investing) implementeras för att finansiera gröna projekt och därigenom främja hållbarhet på lång sikt i dessa branscher. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ ansats. Metoden innebar att använda trianguleringsmetoden, inklusive insamling av empiriska data genom omfattande litteraturgenomgång tillsammans med semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma som arbetar inom området grön finansiering. De insamlade uppgifterna analyserades sedan me

The theoretical and practical importance of working capital management (Sharma & Kumar, 2011) and its strong link with the firm’s financial stability (Wang et al., 2020, p. 2; Kamel 2015, p. 35) make it one of the most important functional areas of corporate finance. Although literature and the corporate world recognize corporate sustainability mainly through corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG emerged in the recent past and quickly made its strong footfall as an indicator of corporate sustainability. Literature is evident that studies have mainly focused on studying both working capital management (WCM) and corporate sustainability in relation to firm financial performance (FFP), while scant research has assessed the relationship between WCM and corporate sustainability (Barros et al., 2022, p. 1). The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate sustainability and WCM in the Swedish market to fill this gap in the literature and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter through its findings, especially with reference to the use of ESG rating scores. The relationship was examined through the quantitative approach. Sample data was comprised of 418 firm-year observations retrieved from Refinitiv Eikon on 38 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm between 2010-2020. ESG rating scores were used to measure corporate sustainability, while two proxy measures; cash conversion cycle (CCC) and working capital requirements (WCR) were for WCM. Stata software was used to find the results of the study by running the pertinent regression models using robust standard errors. Various statistical tests were performed to satisfy all the OLS classical assumptions. The empirical results of our study revealed mixed findings. The findings connected to CCC indicated no statistically significant relationship between ESG scores and CCC which allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden do not operate with a shorter CC

Background: The impact of climate change on people's health and lives is a growing concern, with viruses, malnutrition, and heat stress potentially causing up to 250,000 deaths per year between 2030-2050. To address this issue, organizations and institutions are taking action to create a more sustainable world. One major step was signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, and financial investors have also taken on greater responsibility for the environmental transition. In response, green bonds have become increasingly popular. The key difference between a green and conventional bond is that the green bond is issued with the specific purpose of financing green projects. However, investors are still unsure about the financial performance of green bonds compared to conventional bonds, as the costs of issuing them may impact profitability and economic benefits. Purpose: This report examines how the premium on green corporate bonds, i.e., greenium, evolves over time. The main objective is to assess the performance of green bonds compared to conventional bonds in terms of yield to maturity and the impact of a bond’s green label. To gain a thorough understanding of the development of greenium over time, it is important to examine the factors that influence the yield differences between green and conventional bonds. This analysis of the existence and evolution of greenium and its driving forces can offer valuable insights to investors interested in sustainable finance and green instruments. Method: This study analyzed 267 green corporate bonds and 3,997 conventional corporate bonds issued globally between 2015-2022. The greenium was calculated by comparing green and conventional bonds' average yield to maturity. Additionally, three OLS regressions were conducted to assess the impact of a bond's green label and factors driving the yield to maturity of both green and conventional bonds, respectively. The regressions included control variables such as green label, issuer rating, ti

This thesis investigates how ESG ratings for Nordic companies vary between two ESG providers, and how the risk and expected return differs between two highly rated ESG portfolios according to the two providers. In doing so, we aim to contribute to research on the topic of ESG divergence as it is of great importance for investors that this subject is studied further. To achieve the purpose of this thesis, secondary data was gathered in terms of ESG ratings from two chosen providers, S&P Global and Refinitiv. Based on the collected data, a Spearman correlation analysis was performed as well as statistical investigations in Excel in order to examine the rating divergence between the two providers. Additionally, efficient frontier values of the two provider dependent portfolios were calculated using R Studio. The results found suggests that there is an evident ESG rating divergence amongst all companies examined, regardless of origin and industry. Furthermore, it was concluded that Refinitiv consistently rated companies higher than S&P Global. The comparison between the two provider dependent portfolios illustrates that relying on ESG ratings from different providers will result in different portfolio composition. In turn, this has an impact on investors seeking to implement ESG as a part of their investment strategy. The results indicate that the composition differences affects portfolio performance. This led to the conclusion that it is of great importance for investors to be aware of the existing divergence in order to make accurate investment decisions.

The prioritisation of private funds in financing public infrastructures due to limited financial resources available through the public sector has raised concerns about the protection of human rights and environment considering that the main goal of corporations is to generate as much profit as possible. The presence of the World Bank Group in the mix is to strike a balance between these competing needs by introducing the concept of sustainable finance through technical assistance and the adoption of standards that are integrated with the concept to influence the behaviour of state and non-state actors in their investment practices, especially in the developing world. This study employs a legal doctrinal approach in providing a critical analysis on the authoritativeness of the instruments adopted by the World Bank Group based on the established doctrines to derive logical conclusions from primary and secondary sources. It enquires into the work of the World Bank Group to explain the potential acceptance of the concept of sustainable finance and its impacts in infrastructure development and international investment law. This study found that the interactions established in the arrangement of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) among all various actors in international law is the key to internalise the concept of sustainable finance since it could form a community of legal practice adhering to the same standards. Furthermore, the compatibility between the standards adopted by the World Bank Group and the provisions found in the traditional sources of international law on human rights and environment could improve state and non-state actors’ compliance with those existing norms.

Sustainability has become a pressing global issue due to environmental and social challenges caused by human activity which has led to a rise in sustainable investing, including ESG investing. Research on financial performance and sustainable investing have not only showed mixed results, but they are also generally conducted in greater markets such as the US, Europe, and Asia-pacific markets. Currently, there is a lack of research on performance of sustainable investment strategies in the Nordic Region. The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of portfolios constructed with an ESG investment strategy, which involves creating two portfolios consisting of top and bottom ESG scored companies. The portfolios are measured against each other and a market index benchmark, in the context of various theories, including the efficient market hypothesis, adaptive market hypothesis, shareholder theory, and stakeholder theory. The theoretical framework includes asset-pricing models and portfolio theory. A quantitative study with a deductive approach is utilized to construct the portfolios, focusing on mid-cap companies in the Nordics with data collected from Refinitiv Eikon’s database. The portfolio construction process yields financial metrics such as returns, volatility, and risk-adjusted returns. To test for outperformance in returns, the unpaired t-test is utilized. The Carhart four-factor model is also used to explain variations in returns related to risk factors and investigate the presence of positive and significant abnormal returns. The results demonstrate that the bottom ESG portfolio exhibits superior portfolio characteristics compared to the top ESG portfolio and the index benchmark, including annual returns and risk-adjusted returns. Furthermore, this study identifies significant positive abnormal returns when using the Carhart four-factor model, and evidence of outperformance in mean cumulative returns for the bottom ESG portfolio relative to the top

The ocean economy is growing unprecedentedly, and container shipping is one of the key sectors at the heart of this growth. Shipping companies are among the largest ocean-based companies, and while they are committed to reducing their emissions, the sector remains plagued with many sustainability challenges. This thesis employs a mixed-methods approach to delve into the financial landscape of container shipping and examine the “E” of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) that defines the sector's sustainability dimensions. It starts by highlighting the potential of financiers to incentivise companies toward ocean sustainability, and then through interviews with bank personnel provides insight into their motivations, challenges, risk perceptions, and sustainable lending processes. The results attempt to align actors' motivations along stewardship principles of care, knowledge, and agency. However, the findings reveal that reputational pressures serve as primary drivers of action. Unexpectedly, investor pressure on banks emerges as a promising leverage point. The discussion section of the thesis offers insights on the path to achieving sustainable shipping. It highlights the importance of co-creating solutions across the entire value chain as the banking sector's involvement in container shipping continues to grow.

The shadow banking sector comprises non-bank financial institutions that do not have a deposit guarantee and are barely supervised by the regulator. Efforts to monitor shadow banking must be done well, in both developed and developing countries. Regulators in several countries however have not been fully effective in supervising shadow banking financial institutions, particularly in developing countries such as Indonesia. Therefore, the public's role—in this case, depositors—is essential to supervise shadow banking through the practice of market discipline. However, some factors may cause the market discipline practice to fail, such as low financial literacy. This research aims to examine the influence of financial literacy on the performance of market discipline. This study's research method is a survey of 255 lecturers who have savings accounts in the shadow banking sector in Indonesia. The multivariate analysis method used in this study is partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This study provides evidence that financial literacy and its variables significantly affect market discipline's effectiveness in shadow banking. By showing that market discipline plays a role in building a sustainable financial ecosystem, this research contributes to depositors, investors, the financial industry, and regulators. Promoting market discipline is an important duty of regulators and other financial institutions. Likewise, promoting financial literacy among depositors and investors, especially in developing countries with low literacy levels, is a challenge to overcome when seeking to create a sustainable financial system.

This dissertation consists of three chapters centered on the topic of sustainable finance. Sustainable finance is broadly defined as the process of taking into account environmental, social, and governance considerations when making investment decisions. This work explores the interplay between environmental regulations and firm pollution, and their impact on mutual funds' portfolio choices, corporate philanthropy, and shareholder wealth. The first chapter, "Environmental regulatory risks, firm pollution, and mutual funds' portfolio choices", examines how mutual funds' portfolio holdings respond to environmental regulations. Using county-level ozone nonattainment designations induced by discrete policy changes in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as a source of exogenous variation in local regulatory stringency, we find that funds underweight (overweight) those polluting stocks whose cash flows covary negatively (positively) with the regulatory shock. Our results are consistent with active portfolio rebalancing in response to expected changes in firm fundamentals due to negative cash flow shocks stemming from the costs of nonattainment regulation. Further analyses in the post-nonattainment period show that stocks with high exposure to nonattainment designations exhibit worse operating performance and increased regulatory compliance costs. The most underweighted of such firms also exhibit worse abnormal stock return performance. Funds that reduce their portfolio exposure to nonattainment designations see an improvement in their investment performance.In the second chapter, "Every emission you create--every dollar you'll donate: The effect of regulation-induced pollution on corporate philanthropy" (with Seungho Choi and Raphael Jonghyeon Park), we investigate the insurance-motives of polluting firms' charitable giving by analyzing donations from philanthropic foundations to nonprofit organizations in the local community. Our empirical setting exploits the Nat

Human practices linked with speedy industrialization and globalization have, unfortunately,caused severe harm to the Planet. In the vicious circle for development, Countries proceededtowards forming developed economies, which resulted in rapid depletion of the available renewable and non-renewable resources. It was only after the effects of such reckless practices started showing globally (in terms of environmental issues such as climate change, rising pollution levels, etc.) that the realization about saving the Planet started settling in. Over the years, studies have been conducted to evaluate the damages caused to the Planet through several heavy industrial practices or even through smaller household practices (such as improper waste segregation and waste disposal), and attempts have been made to sensitize the world population about such issues and the growing need to incorporate sustainability intobusiness practices as well as a way of living. The Real Estate and Construction industries have been infamous for having practices which have not been considerate towards the environment. There have been numerous reports about harmful practices, such as the use of certain materials, which have had enormous emissions and have caused depletion of the environment. One of the ways the industry is now looking to make a positive impact is by adopting sustainability practices with finance, thus giving rise to the practice of ‘sustainable finance’ or ‘green finance’. This thesis focuses on studying how certain green finance instruments (sustainability linked bonds, green bonds, circular economy and impact investing) are being implemented for financing green projects and thereby promoting sustainability in the long run in these industries. The study has been conductive using a qualitative approach. The methodology involved adopting the triangulation method, including empirical data collection through extensive literature review along with conducting semi-structured interviews w, Mänsklig verksamhet i samband med snabb industrialisering och globalisering har tyvärr orsakat allvarliga skador på planeten. I den onda cirkeln för utveckling fortsatte länderna mot att bilda utvecklade ekonomier, vilket resulterade i snabb utarmning av tillgängliga förnybara och icke-förnybara resurser. Det var först när effekterna av sådana hänsynslösa metoder började visa sig globalt (i form av miljöproblem som klimatförändringar, ökande föroreningsnivåer etc.) som insikten om att rädda planeten började slå igenom. Under årens lopp har studier genomförts för att utvärdera de skador som orsakats planeten genom flera tunga industriella metoder eller till och med genom mindre hushållsmetoder (såsom felaktig avfallssegregering och avfallshantering), och försök har gjorts för att sensibilisera världsbefolkningen om sådana frågor och det växande behovet av att integrera hållbarhet i affärsmetoder såväl som ett sätt att leva. Fastighets- och byggbranschen har varit ökänd för att ha metoder som inte har varit hänsynsfulla mot miljön. Det har kommit många rapporter om skadliga metoder, till exempel användning av vissa material, som har haft enorma utsläpp och orsakat utarmning av miljön. Ett av de sätt som branschen nu försöker påverka positivt är genom att anta hållbarhetspraxis inom finans, vilket har gett upphov till "hållbar finans" eller "grön finans". Denna avhandling fokuserar på att studera hur vissa gröna finansieringsinstrument (hållbarhetslänkade obligationer, gröna obligationer, cirkulär ekonomi och impact investing) implementeras för att finansiera gröna projekt och därigenom främja hållbarhet på lång sikt i dessa branscher. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ ansats. Metoden innebar att använda trianguleringsmetoden, inklusive insamling av empiriska data genom omfattande litteraturgenomgång tillsammans med semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma som arbetar inom området grön finansiering. De insamlade uppgifterna analyserades sedan me

The construction and real estate sector accounts for a significant part of Sweden's total greenhouse gas emissions. Swedish real estate companies play a leading role in the climate transition and represent more than half of the Swedish market for green corporate bonds. International initiatives such as the UN's Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement, and the EU's Green Taxonomy Regulation promote sustainable development and the identification of sustainable investments. The taxonomy regulation directs investments towards sustainability, which, along with growing global demand, impacts the market for sustainability linked loans. The thesis aims to investigate the motives and driving forces behind Swedish property companies and banks' participation in sustainability linked loans, their application and impact on their sustainability work, and potential challenges and future prospects for these loans in Sweden. This thesis is based on a qualitative research method and includes seven interviews with respondents from two different stakeholder groups; lenders (banks) and borrowers (property companies). A literature study has been prepared to provide insight into sustainability linked loans and the market's characteristics. The collected empirical material has then been analyzed based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Signaling theory. The conclusions are based on the study's empirical data and discussion. The conclusions drawn are that sustainability linked loans play a significant role in Swedish real estate companies' sustainability work by offering financial incentives, strengthening the companies' strategies, and increasing transparency. Banks and property companies see advantages in the form of better conditions and a stronger link between sustainability efforts and financial benefits. Challenges for the future include transparency and the risk of greenwashing. The implementation of the EU's CSRD and ESRS is expected to address these challenges. Despite this, su, Bygg- och fastighetssektorn står för en betydande del av Sveriges totala utsläpp av växthusgaser. Svenska fastighetsbolag spelar en ledande roll i klimatomställningen och dominerar mer än hälften av den svenska marknaden för gröna företagsobligationer. Internationella initiativ som FN:s Agenda 2030, Parisavtalet och EU:s gröna taxonomiförordning, främjar hållbar utveckling och identifiering av hållbara investeringar. Taxonomiförordningen styr investeringar mot hållbarhet, vilket tillsammans med växande global efterfrågan påverkar marknaden för hållbarhetslänkade lån. Uppsatsen syftar i att undersöka motiv och drivkrafter bakom svenska fastighetsbolags och bankers deltagande i hållbarhetslänkade lån, deras tillämpning och inverkan på deras hållbarhetsarbete, samt eventuella utmaningar och framtidsutsikter för dessa lån i Sverige. Denna uppsats baseras på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och inkluderar sju intervjuer med respondenter från två olika intressentgrupper; långivare (banker) och låntagare (fastighetsbolag). En litteraturstudie har utarbetats för att ge insikt i hållbarhetslänkade lån och marknadens karaktärsdrag. Det insamlade empiriska materialet har sedan analyserats utifrån Företagens sociala ansvar (CSR) och signaleringsteori. Slutsatserna baseras på studiens empiri och diskussion. Slutsatserna som dras är att hållbarhetslänkade lån spelar en betydande roll för svenska fastighetsbolags hållbarhetsarbete genom att erbjuda ekonomiska incitament, stärka företagens strategier och öka transparensen. Banker och fastighetsbolag ser fördelar i form av bättre villkor och en starkare koppling mellan hållbarhetsinsatser och ekonomiska fördelar. Utmaningar för framtiden inkluderar transparens och risk för greenwashing. Implementeringen av EU:s CSRD och ESRS förväntas adressera dessa utmaningar. Trots detta förväntas hållbarhetslänkade lån fortsätta växa och efterfrågas av fler branscher.

Purpose: The rise of sustainability concern has brought the sustainable finance disclosure to the financial industry. Our study examines the effect of tax avoidance and firm ownership on sustainable finance disclosure in the Listed Banks in ASEAN Countries. Theoretical framework: The study explores the sustainable finance phenomenon by following the concept of agency theory and institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach: Using purposive sampling method, we generate a set of panel data with a total of 327 observations from 109 banks during 2017-2019, analyzed with panel data regression. Findings: We discover that the level of sustainable finance disclosure in ASEAN banking industry is still low in overall, despite the practice in Singapore has been considerably high. Empirical analysis with panel data regression reveals that government ownership has positive effect on sustainable finance disclosure, emphasizing the role of government shareholders in boosting sustainable finance disclosure practice. Meanwhile, family ownership and tax avoidance exhibit no significant effect. This research contributes to the development of the literature as one of the initial studies investigating sustianable finance disclosure in ASEAN. Research, Practical & Social implications: We also bring several implications for the improvement of sustainable finance disclosure in ASEAN banking sector. The enforcement for sustainable finance disclosure should be increased by maximizing the role of the government and business regulators. Banks should also participate properly in sustainable finance disclosure regardless of the financial and ownership aspects and thus can help achieve sustainable development goals. Originality/value: The study provides new insights regarding the impact of tax avoidance and firm ownership in ASEAN banking sector.

This article analysed scientific literature and normative documents to design a pedagogical framework for promoting sustainable financial literacy in competence-based vocational secondary education and training within the Interreg Central Baltic project “Sustaina-bility in Finance – SuFi”. An empirical study was conducted in 2020–2021 that involved observing and analysing ideation, elaboration, and piloting processes for an open online module on sustainability issues in vocational business education and training within the SuFi project. The study analysed structured interview responses from nine SuFi project participants; the qualitative data analysis design for the same was based on grounded theory and a constant comparative method. The pedagogical approaches to promoting sustainable financial literacy are described and a systematic, comprehensive, evidence-based proposal is given for promoting sustainable financial literacy in competence-based vocational secondary education and training. The pedagogical framework presented in this article also suggests concrete directions for future pedagogical practice and research., Este artículo analiza la literatura científica y los documentos normativos para diseñar un marco pedagógico para promover la competencia financiera sostenible en la educación y formación profesional secundaria basada en competencias dentro del proyecto Interreg Central Baltic “Sustainability in Finance - SuFi”. En 2020-2021 se realizó un estudio empírico que consistió en observar y analizar los procesos de concepción, elaboración y pilotaje de un módulo abierto online sobre cuestiones de sostenibilidad en la educación y formación profesional empresarial dentro del proyecto SuFi. El estudio analizó las respuestas a las entrevistas estructuradas de nueve participantes en el proyecto SuFi; el diseño de análisis de datos cualitativos se basó en la teoría fundada y en el método de comparación constante. Se describen los enfoques pedagógicos para promover la competencia financiera sostenible y se presenta una propuesta sistemática, exhaustiva y basada en evidencias para promover la competencia financiera sostenible en la educación y formación profesional secundaria basada en competencias. El marco pedagógico presentado en este artículo también sugiere direcciones concretas para la práctica pedagógica y la investigación.

This study aims to identify whether a relationship between ESG performance and financial performance exists for Nordic publicly-listed companies, by conducting a multiple linear regression analysis. Also, it will be observed which (if any) ESG variables are of relevance. The regression analysis conducted in this study arrives at the conclusion that there is a relationship between ESG performance and financial performance. However, the models have low explanatory power, with Adjusted R^2 values of 0.36 for the accounting-based financial measure Return on Assets (ROA), and 0.30 for the market-based financial measure Tobin´s Q.In both the ROA and Tobin's Q model, social variables are the most significant. Supplier evaluation disclosure is the only variable that is highly significant and positively correlated to both ROA and Tobin's Q. Consistent with previous literature, our results show that female board participation is positively correlated with ROA. The results also show that ROA correlates negatively with compensation of board members and senior executives being linked to environmental and social factors. In conclusion, some variables were identified that are significant for financial performance. However, the overall explanatory power of the model is low. It is suggested that future studies adopt a materiality approach., Denna studie syftar till att identifiera om det finns ett samband mellan ESG-prestanda och finansiell prestanda för nordiska börsnoterade företag genom att utföra en multipel linjär regression. Dessutom observeras vilka (ifall några alls) ESG-variabler som är relevanta. Regressionen som genomförts i denna studie drar slutsatsen att det finns en relation mellan ESG-prestanda och finansiell prestanda. Dock så har modellerna låg förklaringsgrad, med justerat R^2-värde på 0,36 för det redovisningsbaserade måttet "Return on Assets" (ROA) och 0,30 för det marknadsbaserade måttet "Tobin's Q". I både ROA- och Tobin's Q-modellerna är sociala variabler de mest signifikanta. Publicering av leverantörsutvärdering är den enda variabeln som är högt signifikant och positivt korrelerad med både ROA och Tobin's Q. I linje med tidigare litteratur visar våra resultat att andel kvinnor i styrelsen är positivt korrelerat med ROA. Resultaten visar också att ROA korrelerar negativt med kompensation av styrelseledamöter kopplat till miljö- och sociala faktorer. Allt som allt lyckades studien att identifiera vissa ESG variabler som är signifikanta för finansiell prestanda. Dock så förblir förklaringsgraden av modellen i sin helhet låg. Därför föreslås det att framtida studier lägger fokus på materialitet.