About the GRASFI 2022 Conference

The 5th Annual Conference is currently being planned by the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth (CSP) and the Center of Competence in Sustainable Finance (CCSF) at the University of Zurich.

Session Themes

Areas covered can be within, or extend beyond, the following:

Data and Reporting

ESG metrics and ratings; Financial disclosure and reporting; Measuring climate-related factors; Spatial finance; AI and Big Data.

Regulators, Regulation and Policy

The role of central banks and regulators; Political economy and sustainable finance; Sustainable finance and law; Effects of sustainable finance regulation.

Stakeholders and Themes

Impact of sustainable investing on the real economy; (Ultra-) High net worth individuals, advisors, intermediaries; Behavioural aspects of sustainable investing; Investor preferences; (Re-)insurance; Banking; Sustainable investments (e.g. Private Equity, Lending, Blended Finance); Managerial responses to sustainable investing; Debt markets (social bonds, social impact bonds, green bonds); Faith-based investors.

Finance, Society and the Natural Environment

Biodiversity and nature; Adaptation and resilience; Sustainable sectors (water, agriculture, healthcare, infrastructure investment, etc.); Social and societal effects.

Paper Prizes

GRASFI Best Paper Award
(by BNP Paribas)

GRASFI Best Paper Award for Transparency for Stakeholders 
(by Swiss Sustainable Finance)

GRASFI Best Paper Award for Climate Finance Research
(by Imperial College)

GRASFI Best Paper Award for Impactful Research
(by Impact Foundation)

Conference Committee

Executive Committee

Dr Falko Paetzold, EBS University / University of Zurich

Inke Nyborg, University of Zurich

Dr Ben Caldecott, University of Oxford

Professor Rob Bauer, Maastricht University

Professor Ulrich Volz, SOAS, University of London

Academic Committee

Dr Falko Paetzold, EBS University / University of Zurich

Professor Rob Bauer, Maastricht University

Professor Timo Busch, University of Hamburg

Professor Steven Ongena, University of Zurich

Professor Caroline Flammer, Columbia University

Dr Julian Kölbel, University of Zurich


Supporters

GRASFI 2022 has been generously supported by:

Date and Time

Monday, 5 September 2022

14:45 – 16:15 CET

Session

Paper Session A1

ESG-Ratings & Data: How do we make sense of it?

Session Chairs:
Prof. Timo Busch, Hamburg University
Bérénice Lasfargues, BNP Paribas AM

PAPERS

 

Exploring ITR score: Framing robust company-specific benchmarks and future company-level GHG emissions ranges

Authors: Ruben Haalebos and Felix Fouret

ESG Rating Revisions and Stock Returns

Authors: Rients Galema and Dirk Gerritsen

Divestment, information asymmetries, and inflated ESG ratings

Authors: Bram van der Kroft and Dennis Bams.

Abstracts

Exploring ITR score: Framing robust company-specific benchmarks and future company-level GHG emissions ranges

As Investors are looking to align their portfolios with the goals of the Paris Agreement, portfolio metrics like Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) are becoming increasingly popular. We describe a Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures-aligned ITR methodology and benchmark the results.

ESG Rating Revisions and Stock Returns

We study the six-month impact of ESG rating revisions on U.S. stocks. Decreases are followed by annualized negative returns of 3%, which are not driven by ESG-specific news; partly driven by sustainable index changes; and in line with long-term investors decreasing holdings after a rating decrease.

Divestment, information asymmetries, and inflated ESG ratings

We causally show that ESG ratings are inversely related to sustainable performance because firms face cost of capital incentives to inflate ratings given socially responsible investing under information asymmetries. Consequently, their promises of future sustainable performance do not realize, even up to 15 years in the future.