Website: www.sirp.se

This programme aims to become the international source of innovative and practically relevant information on corporate social responsibility and sustainable investment, with both academics and practitioners in mind. Through research, the program intends to help (institutional) investors cope with barriers to successful implementation of sustainable investment strategies. Another aim is to explicitly develop new instruments for actors in the investment value chain.

• How Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria are priced on fund and portfolio levels in the financial markets? Are risks related to ESG captured by the screening criteria? Do ESG preparedness and performance bring extra financial value for investors?
• What are the financial outcomes (market values, Tobin’s Q, profits and returns on assets) of ESG criteria on the firm level, and how is financial and ESG information processed by financial intermediaries, such as by financial analysts?
• What is the role of governance mechanisms and corporate engagement by institutional investors on sustainable behaviour of firms?

The programme is divided into three parts:

Part A: Sustainable Investment at portfolio level
Part B: CSR or ESG and financial outcomes on a firm level
Part C: Corporate governance and engagement