University of Exeter Business School

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

Event Details – Wednesday 17th September 2025
Time Event Location Notes
18:30 Welcome Dinner TBC By invitation only

Conference Schedule – Thursday, 18th September 2025
Time Event Location Details
09:00 – 09:20 Coffee and Registration Upper Lounge, Reed Hall  
09:20 – 09:30 Conference Opening Upper Lounge, Reed Hall  
09:30 – 10:15 Keynote Upper Lounge, Reed Hall By Professor Harrison Hong (Columbia University)
10:15 – 10:30 Coffee Break Upper Lounge, Reed Hall  
10:30 – 12:00 Academic Session 1: Climate Finance Upper Lounge, Reed Hall

Chair: TBC

Decipher Market Responses to Climate TRACE Emission Data Release

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) Upper Lounge, Reed Hall  
13:30 – 15:00 Academic Session 2: Sustainable Investment Upper Lounge, Reed Hall

Chair: TBC

Returns on Sustainable Investing, Climate Risks and Speculation

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 Upper Lounge, Reed Hall  
15:15 – 16:00 Industry Panel Upper Lounge, Reed Hall TBC
16:00 – 16:10 End of First Day Remarks Upper Lounge, Reed Hall By Conference Organizers
16:30 Transport to Exmouth Departing from Campus For participants registered for conference dinner
18:00 Conference Dinner Exmouth  

Conference Schedule – Friday, 19th September 2025
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: TBC

A Behavioral Theory of Managerial Brownshifting

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) 
10:15 – 10:30 Coffee Break Woodbridge, Reed Hall  
10:30 – 11:15 Keynote Woodbridge, Reed Hall By Elroy Dimson (University of Cambridge)
11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break Woodbridge, Reed Hall  
11:30 – 12:15 Academic Session 4: Green Transition Woodbridge, Reed Hall

Chair: TBC

The Role of Unconventional Monetary Policy in Financing the Corporate Green Transition

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) 
12:15 – 12:30 Closing Remarks Woodbridge, Reed Hall By Conference Organizers
12:30 – 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

Registration

To register for the conference please visit our conference registration page.

Register now to secure your place

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

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.