2nd Exeter Sustainable Finance Conference
The Exeter Sustainable Finance (ESF) Centre at the University of Exeter Business School will host its second conference.
The Exeter Sustainable Finance (ESF) Centre at the University of Exeter is organising its second conference on the 18 - 19th September 2025. The objective is to present state-of-the-art empirical and theoretical research on sustainable finance and to inform investment practices. This year, the conference will be preceded by the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) PhD Workshop taking place on 17th of September.
| Conference date | 18 - 19 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Place | Reed Hall, University of Exeter |
Programme
| Time | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:30 | Welcome Dinner | TBC | By invitation only |
| Time | Event | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:25 | Coffee and Registration | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 09:20 – 09:25 | Conference Opening | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
By Stuart Brocklehurst, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Business Engagement and Innovation), University of Exeter |
| 09:25 – 09:30 | Welcome | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
By Chendi Zhang, Director, Exeter Sustainable Finance Centre, University of Exeter |
| 09:30 – 10:15 | Keynote: Climate Disasters and Intergenerational Equity | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | By Professor Harrison Hong (Columbia University) |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Coffee Break | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Academic Session 1: Climate Finance | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
Chair: Grzegorz Trojanowski Igor Kadach (IESE Business School), Minjae Koo (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Xiumin Martin (Washington University in St. Louis), Meiling Zhao (Chinese University of Hong Kong) Insurers’ Carbon Underwriting Policies Olimpia Carradori (University of Zurich), Felix von Meyerinck (University of Zurich), Zacharias Sautner (University of Zurich and SFI) Legislator Tweets About the Green Transition and the Returns of Green versus Brown Stocks Victor DeMiguel (London Business School), Javier Gil-Bazo (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona School of Economics), Milind Goel (London Business School) |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch (with group photo) | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Academic Session 2: Sustainable Investment | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
Chair: Monika Tarsalewska Yrjo Koskinen (University of Calgary) and Mohammadhossein Lashkaripour (University of Calgary) How Does Nature Matter? Glen Gostlow (University of Zurich and LSE) and Markus Leippold (University of Zurich and SFI) Sustainable Investing and Market Governance Alvin Chen (Stockholm School of Economics), Deeksha Gupta (Johns Hopkins University), Jan Starmans (Stockholm School of Economics) |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Coffee Break | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 15:15 – 16:00 | Industry Panel: The Future of Sustainable Finance and Insurance | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
Moderator: Chendi Zhang Camilla Bennett, Chief Risk Officer, AXA Insurance UK John Willis, Senior Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| 16:00 – 16:10 | End of First Day Remarks | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | By Conference Organizers |
| 16:30 | Transport to Exmouth | Departing from Campus | For participants registered for conference dinner |
| 18:00 | Conference Dinner | Exmouth |
| Time | Event | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome Coffee | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 09:15 – 10:15 | Academic Session 3: Firm Behaviour | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
Chair: Jiali Yan Fernando Anjos (NOVA University Lisbon), Irem Demirci (NOVA University Lisbon) Green Public Procurement: International Evidence Muhammad Azim (University of Waterloo), Ole-Kristian Hope (University of Toronto), Sasan Saiy (University of Waterloo), Giulia Sargiacomo (University of Toronto) |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Coffee Break | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 10:30 – 11:15 | Keynote: Coordinated Engagements | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | By Elroy Dimson (University of Cambridge) |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Coffee Break | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Academic Session 4: Green Transition | Woodbridge, Reed Hall |
Chair: Yao Chen Renee Spigt (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Yashvir Gangaram Panday (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Patrick Verwijmeren (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Pricing the Energy Transition in a Production Network Erica Xuenan Li (Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business), Yu Li (SAIF, Shanghai Jiao Tong University), and Shaojun Zhang (Ohio State University) |
| 12:30 – 12:35 | Closing Remarks | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | By Conference Organizers |
| 12:35 – 14:00 | Lunch | Woodbridge, Reed Hall | |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Optional Social Event | TBC | Details to be confirmed |
Presentation Format:
Presenting authors are in bold.
Academic Sessions: 20-minute presentation + 10-minute Q&A per paper.
Conference Organizers:
Chendi Zhang and Monika Tarsalewska
Programme Committee:
Yao Chen
Jason Cen
Lora Dimitrova
Vicky Kiosse
Jean-Francois Mercure
Ping Sun
Monika Tarsalewska
Grzegorz Trojanowski
Jiali Yan
Wei Xin
Chendi Zhang
Registration
To register for the conference please visit our conference registration page.
Travel
The Sustainable Finance Conference will be held at the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus — a vibrant and green setting just a short distance from the city centre.
From London Airports you can travel to Exeter from London Paddington (with Great Western Railway trains). The University of Exeter Streatham campus is within walking distance of both Exeter St David’s and Exeter Central train stations.
From Bristol Airport you can travel to Exeter by train from Bristol Temple Meads (with CrossCountry trains).
You can download the app Trainline to buy tickets on your phone.
There are also some flights to Exeter Airport.
Around the city: Apple Taxis is a local taxi operator and there is also UNI bus to/from city and University.
Learn more about Streatham Campus, directions, and facilities
Accommodation
- Premier Inn – City Centre / St Davids
- Mercure - Rougemont / Southgate
- Leonardo
- Hotel Indigo
- Hotel du Vin
Contact
For questions and further information, please contact conference organisers Chendi Zhang (Director) and Monika Tarsalewska (Deputy Director) of the ESF Centre at sustainable-finance@exeter.ac.uk.
