02 Sep 2024 8:00 AM

04 Sep 2024 5:30 PM

UTC+08:00

7th Annual GRASFI Conference 2024

The Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) is a network of global research universities promoting rigorous and highly impactful academic research on sustainable finance and investment. This year, Singapore Management University is proud to be the first University in Asia to host GRASFI in person. This 7th Annual GRASFI Conference 2024 is generously sponsored by BNP Paribas Asset Management and Ho Bee Land, and supported by the Singapore Green Finance Centre. For more insights and conference summaries, please visit the ‘Resources‘ tab.

Highlights Video

Theme

Fostering Credible Transition, Creating Sustainable Impact

Guest-of-Honour & Keynote Speech

Mr Heng Swee Keat
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore

Welcome Address

Professor Lily Kong
President of Singapore Management University

Programme Schedule

For the full conference schedule and to download the presentation papers, please visit the GRASFI website.

Key Highlights

Plenary Sessions
Gain insights from our three plenary sessions on “Resilient Cities,” “Impact Investing,” and “Nature and Biodiversity Finance.” These sessions will feature leading financiers and SMU’s renowned academic researchers.

Thematic Presentations
Over three days, you will have access to 19 sessions covering the latest themes in sustainable finance, presented by global academics and researchers.

Networking Opportunities
Build valuable connections with industry leaders and academic experts during the conference and two dinner receptions.

Enhanced Experiences
Enrich your visit with an SMU Art Collection Tour (limited slots available), and a captivating open-top bus tour of the city campus’ vibrant landscape.

Registration Fees

Conference Venue

Singapore Management University
Administration Building
81 Victoria Street, Level 4, Singapore 188065
Mochtar Riady Auditorium (Level 5)

Getting Here

Nearest MRT Station: Bras Basah (CC2), Bencoolen (DT21), Bugis (EW12/DT14), City Hall (EW13/NS25). If you are driving, please visit SMU carpark information for more details.

Recommended Hotels

Fairmont Singapore

80 Bras Basah Rd S189560

Swissotel The Stamford

2 Stamford Rd S178882

Carlton Hotel Singapore

76 Bras Basah Road S189558

V Hotel Bencoolen

48 Bencoolen St S189627

30 Bencoolen Singapore

30 Bencoolen St S189621

More budget-friendly hotels

Conference Partners

Generously Sponsored by

Venue Host

Organised by

Resources

-                                        Title
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-                                        Real Effects of Carbon Financialization
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-                                        Can Investor Coalitions Regulate Corporate Climate Action?
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-                                        How You Measure Transition Risk Matters: Comparing and Evaluating Climate Transition Risk Metrics
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-                                        Greenwashing: Measurement and Implications
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-                                        Corporate Climate Lobbying
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-                                        Can Investors Curb Greenwashing?
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-                                        Intermediary Capital and Financing Sustainable Investment
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-                                        Biodiversity & Climate: Friends or Foes?
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-                                        Weitzman Meets Taylor: EU Allowances Futures Price Drivers and Carbon Cap Rules
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-                                        The Value of Environmental Monitoring
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-                                        Residential Rent Externalities of Photovoltaic Systems: The Relevance of View
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-                                        Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation: Voluntary Signalling or Mandatory Disclosure?
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-                                        Decoding Sustainable Investment Strategies: Bridging Intentions and Actions
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-                                        Winner of the BNP Paribas Asset Management Best Research Paper Award
Renaming with Purpose: Investor Response and Fund Manager Behaviour After Fund ESG-Renaming
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-                                        Rich and Responsible: Is ESG a Luxury Good?
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-                                        Corporate Social Responsibility Committee: International Evidence
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-                                        Institutional Investors’ Behind-the-Scene Monitoring and ESG Disclosure
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-                                        Financial Market Structure for ESG Integration
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-                                        Funding the Fittest? Pricing of Climate Transition Risk in the Corporate Bond Market
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-                                        Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Cost of Biodiversity Conservation
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-                                        Winner of the Best PhD Paper Award
Do ESG Investors Care About Carbon Emissions? Evidence from Securitized Auto Loans
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-                                        Do Financial Advisors Charge Sustainable Investors a Premium?
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-                                        Do Advisors Respond to Investors’ Preferences
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-                                        A Breath of Change: Can Personal Exposures Drive Green Preferences?
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-                                        Carbon Offsets: Decarbonization or Transition-Washing?
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-                                        On the Importance of Assurance in Carbon Accounting
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-                                        Winner of the Ho Bee Land Best Paper Award for Climate Finance
Accountability of Corporate Emissions Reduction Targets
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-                                        Are Hedge Funds Exploiting Climate Concerns?
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-                                        Local Ownership and Price Discovery around Extreme Weather Events
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-                                        Startups’ Strategies for Green Funding Adoption
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-                                        Is ESG a Sideshow? ESG Perceptions, Investment, and Firms’ Financing Decisions
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-                                        ESG Reporting Divergence
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-                                        Production Leakage: Evidence from Uncoordinated Environmental Policies
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-                                        The CO2 Question: Technical Progress and the Climate Crisis
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-                                        Opening the Brown Box: Production Responses to Environmental Regulation
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-                                        One Hundred and Thirty Years of Corporate Responsibility
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-                                        How do Individuals Perceive the EU Taxonomy?
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-                                        Climate Talk in Earnings Calls: Effects on Analyst Forecasts and Environmental Strategies
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-                                        ESG Incidents and Fundraising in Private Equity
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-                                        Involuntary Disclosures Through Climate Litigations: Impact on Investors and Corporate Policies
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-                                        Managerial Career Concerns and Corporate Environmental Policies
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-                                        Social Networks and Corporate Environmental Policy
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Key takeaways

Greenwashing: Some companies engage in greenwashing and anti-climate lobbying to enhance their image or financial returns, which distorts environmental progress. Investors and policymakers play crucial roles in curbing these practices through better transparency and regulation.

Trade-offs in Sustainable Investment: Navigating the complexities of sustainable investment involves addressing trade-offs between social and environmental goals, enhancing capital allocation strategies, and improving market mechanisms to balance financial returns with sustainability objectives.

Impact of Regulation: Regulatory measures such as environmental monitoring and sustainable finance disclosures significantly influence market behavior, property values, and investment flows, highlighting the importance of both regulatory tools and transparency in driving environmental and financial outcomes.

Investor Preferences: Investor preferences for sustainable investments are shaped by various factors including financial and moral motivations, personal experiences, and the perceived value of ESG-related investments, influencing both fund manager behavior and investment fees.

Governance and Activism: Effective governance and activism in ESG practices are influenced by the nature of CSR committee adoption, behind-the-scenes efforts of institutional investors, and the market dynamics affecting ESG integration, with voluntary measures and proactive investor engagement proving more impactful than mandatory or competitive approaches.

Debt Pricing of Climate Transition: Financial markets price climate transition risk by considering both emissions and green innovation. While investors may favor companies with high emissions if they are innovating green technologies, the financial costs of biodiversity conservation and ESG investing suggest a need for better metrics that truly reflect environmental impacts.

Credibility and Accountability: Although carbon offsets and assurance in carbon accounting are designed to support decarbonisation, their effectiveness is frequently undermined by weak regulations and a lack of accountability. This emphasises the need for stronger oversight and greater transparency to achieve authentic emission reductions.

Climate Beta: Hedge funds and local ownership significantly influence climate-related risks. Hedge funds capitalise on fluctuations in green stock prices during periods of climate concern, while local ownership helps reduce the negative financial impacts of extreme weather events by utilising better access to local information.

Funding Effect of ESG Ratings and Disclosures: ESG adoption, reporting, and incidents significantly shape investor behaviour and corporate strategies across both private and public markets. Startups prefer ESG investors for the non-financial benefits they offer, while established firms adjust their capital structures based on environmental scores. Divergences in ESG reporting complicate fund allocation and increase information costs. Investor reactions to climate discussions and ESG incidents influence corporate environmental strategies, with climate litigation occasionally driving reductions in emissions.

Corporate Real Action: Stricter environmental policies may prompt firms to relocate production to regions with less stringent regulations, undermining their effectiveness. Green innovation, while beneficial, often falls short in reducing overall emissions due to increased consumption and shifting emission sources. Effective solutions require coordinated global efforts and robust public policies to address carbon leakage and support genuine emission reductions.

Communication and Perception: Public concern over environmental and social issues influences corporate investment patterns, with short-term dampening effects and long-term benefits. Greater awareness and integration of frameworks like the EU taxonomy can enhance the credibility of sustainable investments and align them with investor preferences, potentially redirecting capital towards more sustainable opportunities.

Executives and Climate Risk: Executives' career concerns and social networks significantly influence corporate environmental policies. Executives facing job insecurity may prioritise short-term financial gains, which can lead to increased emissions, especially in states with weaker regulations. Additionally, firms often mimic the environmental policies of their peers based on their directors' social connections, adjusting their strategies in response to the environmental behaviours of their network.