SUSFIN - Research Network for Sustainable Finance

The Research Network for Sustainable Finance conducts academic and policy-based research on issues that relate to financial market regulation and environmental and social sustainability. Related areas of research includes the governance of financial institutions and markets and their relevance to sustainability. Research projects supported are both discipline based and interdisciplinary.

The network also facilitates applications for academic research grants and for contracts to conduct policy-based research. Guided by a research advisory panel consisting of representatives from top research universities and institutes, the network conducts outreach with practitioner bodies in the financial sector, and with governmental and non-governmental bodies. 

Contact our main headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, or contact one of the participating academic institutions’ members directly.

Chair of Prof. Dr. iur. Kern Alexander, University of Zurich, Switzerland
lst.alexander@ius.uzh.ch

Become a Corporate Sponsor

As a sponsor, you will be at the cusp of leading international research on sustainability and the financial market. Next to being listed among our participating partners, you will gain private access to exclusive conferences and cutting-edge working papers, as well as have a global network of multidisciplinary institutions and corporate entities at your fingertips.

Fund our Research

Would you like to fund a current research project?

Current projects:

• Sustainable Finance and Regulation

• Banking and Financial Inclusion

• Central Banking and Sustainability

Collaborate with Us

Do you want to join our network as a researcher and expert to collaborate with us on projects and programmes?

Have another idea?

You want to fund research on an aspect we haven’t yet listed? Contact us to discover how we can help you shorten your learning curve on sustainability and financial market regulation.

Publications

Book Chapters

• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas and Consiglio, Roberta (2022), ‘Ten Million or One Hundred Million Casualities? - The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Least Developed and Developing Countries and Europe's Sustainability Agenda', Chapter 2 in B. Sjåfjell, G. Tsagas and C. Villiers (eds), Sustainable Value Creation in the EU: Towards Pathways to a Sustainable Future through Crises, Cambridge University Press. Download (PDF, 967 KB)
• K. Alexander and X. Karametaxas (2021), 'Digital Transformation and Financial Inclusion', in I. H-Y Chiu & G. Deipenbrock (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Financial Technology and Law, Ch 15. Download (PDF, 291 KB)

• K. Alexander and P. Fisher (2019), 'Central Banking and Climate Change', in Making the Financial System Sustainable, 49-74. Download (PDF, 273 KB)

• X. Karametaxas (2019), ‘The Role of Pension Funds in the Low-carbon Transition', in R. Trigo Trindade, R. Bahar & G. Neri-Castracane (eds.), Vers les sommets du droit (Schulthess Éditions Romandes) 365-378. Download (PDF, 1 MB)

• K. Alexander and P. Fisher (2019), 'Banking Regulation and Sustainability', in F.-J. B. van den Boezem, C. Jansen & B. Schuijling (eds.), Sustainability and Financial Markets (Wolters Kluwer) 7-34. Download (PDF, 197 KB)

• K. Alexander (2019), 'Global Financial Governance and Banking Regulation: Redesigning regulation to promote stakeholder interests', in A. Berman, T. Büthe, M. Maggetti & J. Pauwelyn (eds.), Rethinking Stakeholder Participation in Global Governance: Challenges and Reforms in Financial and Health Institutions (Oxford University Press). Download (PDF, 171 KB)

• A. Darbellay & H. Stoyanova (2019), ‘Les standards internationaux en matière de finance durable: interactions entre démarches volontaires et exigences légales', in R. Trigo Trinidade, R. Bahar & G. Neri-Castracane (eds.), Vers les sommets du droit, Lieber amicorum pour H. Peter, 329-344. Download (PDF, 444 KB)

Dissertations

• X. Karametaxas, 'L'engagement des investisseurs institutionnels: enjeux et perspectives de la prise de décisions collectives', Dissertation an der Universität Genf, Collection Genevoise, Zürich Schulthess Verlag (2020) Link
• A. M. Schnewly, 'Corporate Social Responsibility an der Schnittstelle von Wirtschaft, Recht und Politik: Transnationales CSR-soft law im globalen Kontext', Dissertation an der Universität Fribourg, Helbing Liechtenhahn Verlag (2012). Download (PDF, 4 MB)

Papers

Articles

• Zetzsche, Dirk and Anker-Sørensen, Linn. ‘Regulating Sustainable Finance in the Dark', European Business Organization Law Review (2022). Download (PDF, 589 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas and Bodellini, Marco, ‘A Sustainability Crisis Makes Bad Law! - Towards Sandbox Thinking in EU', Sustainable Finance Law and Regulation (2022). Download (PDF, 555 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk, et al., ‘The EU Sustainable Finance Framework in Light of International Standards', Journal of International Economic Law, Volume 25, Issue 4, Pages 659–679 (2022). Download (PDF, 480 KB)
• Bodellini, Marco, ‘Sustainability and Finance: utopian oxymoron or archievable companionship?', Law and Economics Yearly Review (2021). Download (PDF, 2 MB)
• X. Karametaxas, ‘Sustainable Finance: Aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Gesetzgebung der EU und der Schweiz’, Krise, Ex/Ante 01/2021. Download (PDF, 294 KB)
• D. W. Arner, R. P. Buckley & D. A. Zetzsche, ‘FinTech for Financial Inclusion: Driving Sustainable Growth', in J. Walker, A. Pekmezodic, G. Walker (eds.), SDGS - Harnessing Business to Achieve the SDGs through Finance, Technology and Law Reform, Ch. 10 (2019), 179-204.Link
• Arner, D.W., Buckley, R.P., Zetzsche, D.A. et al. ‘Sustainability, FinTech and Financial Inclusion', Eur Bus Org Law Rev 21, 7–35 (2020). Download (PDF, 1 MB)
• A. M. Schneuwly, ‘Förderung der ökologischen und sozialen Verantwortung durch den Bund im öffentlichen Beschaffungswesen und in der Privatwirtschaft', SZW 4/2019, 654-666. Link
• K. Alexander, 'Can Banking Regulation Address Climate Change?', Milken Institute Review (2019). Link
• M. Siri & S. Zhu, ‘Will the EU Commission Successfully Integrate Sustainability Risks and Factors in the Investor Protection Regime? A Research Agenda', in Sustainability, 2019, 11, 6292. Download (PDF, 459 KB)
• A. M. Schneuwly, ‘International Investment Law and its Instruments: Managing Risks to Investors and Host States', in The International Law Journal of London, 2015, Vol. 2, 161-233. Download (PDF, 845 KB)
• A. Darbellay & R. Weber, ‘Regulation and Financial Intermediation in the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism', in Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 2010, Vol. 22, No. 2, 271-306. Download (PDF, 2 MB)

Working Papers

• K. Alexander, 'Environmental and social sustainability in the mandate of the Federal Reserve' (2024) Download (PDF, 472 KB)
• Bodellini, Marco, ‘Greenwashing and the Misapplication of Articles 8 and 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation' (2023). Download (PDF, 269 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas and Bodellini, Marco, ‘Addressing the 'Winner-Takes-All' Character of Sustainability Taxonomies' (2023). Download (PDF, 594 KB)
• K. Alexander & E. Cooper, ‘Investor Sustainability Preferences: Empirical Insights and Regulatory Analysis' (2022). Download (PDF, 567 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas and Anker-Sørensen, Linn, ‘Building Blocks of a Green Fintech System - Towards a Regulatory Antidote to Greenwashing' (2022). Download (PDF, 506 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas, Bodellini, Marco and Consiglio, Roberta, ‘Towards an European Social Taxonomy: A Scorecard Approach' (2022). Download (PDF, 710 KB)
• Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas, Buckley, Ross P. and Arner, Douglas W. and IGFWG, AFI, 'Roadmap for Inclusive Green Finance Implementation - Building Blocks to Implement IGF Initiatives and Policies', University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2022/58, University of Luxembourg Law Research Paper No. Forthcoming (2022). Download (PDF, 8 MB)
• Arner, Douglas W., Buckley, Ross P., Dahdal, Andrew M. and Zetzsche, Dirk Andreas, ‘Digital Finance, COVID-19 and Existential Sustainability Crises: Setting the Agenda for the 2020s’, University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2021/001, UNSW Law Research Paper No. 21-16, University of Luxembourg Law WPS 2021-003 (2021). Download (PDF, 1 MB)
• A. M. Schneuwly, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility at the Interface of Business, Law and Politics: Transnational CRS Soft Law in the Global Context' (2016). Download (PDF, 270 KB)

Commissioned Reports

Commissioned Reports

• K. Alexander & R. M. Lastra, ‘ECB Mandate: Perspectives on Sustainability and Solidarity', Report for the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) (June 2020). Download (PDF, 922 KB)
• K. Alexander, 'Input paper in support of the G20 Green Finance Study Group Greening Banking Policy' (September 2016). Download (PDF, 523 KB)
• K. Alexander, 'Stability and Sustainability in Banking Reform, Are environmental risks missing in Basel III?', University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2014). Download  (PDF, 1 MB)Link to Presentation

Policy Briefing

• In 2014, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL, working with and on behalf of the Banking Environment Initiative – BEI) commissioned a study entitled, ‘Stability and Sustainability in Banking Reform - Are Environmental Risks Missing in Basel III?'.Download (PDF, 1 MB) The study was conceived in recognition of the growing number of banking regulators around the world that have started to act on environmental and social issues, and aimed to assess the role that supranational banking regulation (i.e. Basel III) might play in this domain. The resulting report pointed to the material links between financial stability and environmental (and social) risks, which are already being experienced, and that are likely to become more pronounced and complex in the future. It offered several recommendations for supranational and national banking regulators accordingly. Since then, bilateral engagements with a number of banking regulators have taken place. In addition, an Expert Dialogue between the worlds of Science and Finance was convened jointly by UNEP FI, CISL and the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System ('the UNEP Inquiry') in April 2015, with a view to refining a common understanding of the stability-sustainability link and to exploring how this link might be addressed going forward.
• 'Banking and Sustainability: Time for Convergence' (September 2015) - A policy briefing on the links between financial stability and environmental sustainability.Download (PDF, 467 KB) This briefing provides a synthesis of the current state of thinking on the topic, based on the work above. It is intended as a means of sharing key findings with policymakers and of engaging them on the matter.

The research Advisory Board consists of representatives from leading research universities and institutes, and aims to facilitate outreach with practitioner bodies in the financial sector, and with governmental and non-governmental bodies, in order to promote the goals of the Research Network.

• Dr. Paul Fisher (Chairman of the Board of Advisors), Former Director of the Bank of England, and Fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership Discover more
• Professor Kern Alexander (Founding Director), Faculty of Law, University of Zurich Discover more
• Professor Aline Darbellay (Director of Research), Faculty of Law, University of ZurichDiscover more
• Professor Amir Amel-Zadeh, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford Discover more
• Professor Dirk Zetzsche, Faculty of Law and Economics, University of Luxembourg Discover more