Sustainable Finance Research Centre
Welcome to the Sustainable Finance Research Centre
The global dialogue on sustainable development revolves around integrating environmental considerations with societal concerns to promote human well-being while ensuring the needs of future generations are met. This shift signifies a departure from a narrow focus on economic growth towards a more comprehensive approach to development.
The concept of "sustainable development" was first introduced in the landmark Brundtland Report of 1987. In response, the United Nations established the World Commission on Environment and Development to address urgent global challenges. The commission's report, titled "Our Common Future," laid the groundwork for the Earth Summit in 1992 and the subsequent formation of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Achieving sustainability requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort. While disciplines like natural and social sciences have long embraced sustainability principles, the fields of finance and investment have more recently become integral to this conversation. New branches such as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), climate risk assessment, and green finance have emerged to address these pressing concerns.
The increasing significance of sustainability in finance and investment, exacerbated by the pressing climate crisis, highlights the imperative for academic research to refine theoretical frameworks and emphasize empirical studies that advocate for nature-positive solutions. To bridge the divide between research and industry application, we established the Sustainable Finance Research Centre in partnership with the Institute of Finance at Corvinus University of Budapest.
Our center specializes in empirical research focused on understanding how financial markets and investments influence sustainability. As environmental and societal challenges intensify, there is a growing necessity to reevaluate asset ownership, shareholder value, true cost funding, and the comprehensive evaluation of impacts, including externalities. The responsibility for ensuring a sustainable future rests with all stakeholders—individuals, businesses, and governments alike.