Dialogue on how finance can drive sustainability

The Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre is proud to host the second conference of the Northern European Partnership for Sustainable Finance (NEPSF) on 14 May in Stockholm. From aligning investments with climate to active ownership and long-termism, this conference will address some of the most pressing questions in the debate on sustainable finance. The conference will explore the opportunities investors have to steer their portfolios towards sustainability and discuss how obstacles can be overcome.

“With this gathering of experts, we want to create an exciting and inspiring meeting place for actors working with sustainable finance. It is a great opportunity for me, as well as others, to learn more about how big investors like the Church of England influence portfolio managers to align with a more sustainable pathway. Of course, I am also excited about having discussions on how to integrate long-termism in the capital market conversation,” says Magnus Billing, CEO of Alecta and Chairman of SSFC’s Advisory Board.

Date: Tuesday 14 May 2019
Time: 08:30–17:00 CEST. Media interviews can be arranged 10:45-11:15 and 15:00-15:30.
Place: Nalen, Regeringsgatan 74 in Stockholm, Sweden

An expert panel will discuss the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, the action taken in the first year since its adoption and prospects for the future. Sandrine Dixson-Declève of the Club of Rome will talk about the EU’s measures to define sustainable finance. She will be joined by Marie Baumgarts of SEB, Ben Caldecott of the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and Harald Lund of CICERO to give a northern European perspective on the Action Plan.

Among other highlights, Adam Matthews of the Church of England Pensions Board will speak about new and efficient ways of engaging with portfolio companies, considering the need for a global transition towards low-carbon economies. Dr Ulf Erlandsson, affiliated researcher at the Knut Wicksell Centre for Financial Studies, Lund University, will make the case from modern portfolio theory for substituting “brown” bonds with green bonds.

Session highlights

09:00   Welcome
09:20   Keynote address: Finance and the Earth system
10:00   Steering towards the goals – science-based targets for investors
11:15   Active ownership: how can impact be assessed?        
13:30   Long-termism in capital markets
14:30   Fixed income in the Anthropocene
15:30   The EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, one year on
16:30   Financial centers and networks for sustainability

“The aim of the conference is to share thought-leaders’ insights and the latest academic knowledge on how we can advance investments towards sustainable finance. Right now, there is momentum around these issues, and this event offers a great opportunity to discuss the hottest topics,” says Emma Sjöström, Deputy Director of SSFC and Research Fellow at Misum, Stockholm School of Economics.

Join us for an exchange between practitioners in the finance sector, representatives of international organizations, and research experts on sustainable finance.

Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre aims to accelerate and promote the shift in capital investments required to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate targets in the Paris Agreement. SSFC designs and delivers expertise on sustainable financing. SSFC performs independent research, and knowledge and capacity building on current and future issues on sustainable economy and finance.

SSFC is a unique collaboration between Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm School of Economics. It thus brings together a leading university in financial markets and economics, and a highly ranked institute working on environmental and broader sustainable development issues.