Research for financial market transformation towards sustainability

Together with five other research centers in Sweden, the Stockholm School of Economics' research foundation SIR, Center for Sustainability Research, has created the Sustainable Finance Lab, a competence center for research on renewal of the financial market from a sustainability perspective. Vinnova is now investing SEK 47 million in the Sustainable Finance Lab during the coming five-year period.

According to Vinnova, a long-term investment in sustainable finance research was needed as the financial markets play an important role in the transition to a sustainable economy.

The Sustainable Finance Lab is a consortium consisting of six universities and research institutes where sustainability researchers embedded in both the natural and social sciences will together create an internationally leading competence center for transformation towards more sustainable financial markets. The ambition is that the initiative will lead to increased social and environmental sustainability, both in Sweden and internationally. The Lab will focus on new ways to understand risks and opportunities, sustainability norms, standards and policies as well as transformation, technology and innovation in the markets.

“The financial market has an enormous impact on the social and environmental challenges we face. Our newly created Sustainable Finance Lab brings together researchers and practitioners in a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort to support the transformational changes needed to solve our times greatest challenge. We are delighted for Vinnova’s and our financial market actors’ support in our new research endeavor”, says Lin Lerpold, Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics and Vice Director in the Sustainable Finance Lab.

Some of the issues that the researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics will specifically focus on are social sustainability impacts from social financing and how investment effects the development of democracy and improving human rights around the world.

In the autumn of 2020, Vinnova also continued funding to the national center Swedish House of Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics with SEK 100 million over five years.

For further information, please contact:

Lin Lerpold, Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics
E-mail: lin.lerpold@hhs.se
Phone: +46 8 736 9736