EDHEC joins the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment
The Business School reasserts its sustainable finance ambitions
Written on 09 Jun 2020.
EDHEC Business School is joining the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI), the global network for cutting-edge research on sustainable finance and investment. The partnership underscores EDHEC’s commitment to this area, just a few weeks after presenting its new strategic plan – ‘Impact future generations 2025’ – and unveiling its strong ambitions in the sustainable finance field.
The GRASFI Alliance was founded in 2017 to promote multi-disciplinary academic research with a high impact on sustainable finance and investment. It now groups together 26 universities commanding global reputations for their expertise in this emerging domain. The Alliance notably seeks to foster academic collaboration between researchers and organises an annual international conference.
Sustainable finance: a research and teaching priority
Thanks to the ability to produce and disseminate research work of real international impact, EDHEC has claimed a pivotal status among academic institutions in the financial industry. For the last two years, EDHEC and the EDHEC-Risk Institute (ERI), the specialist research centre for managing financial risks, have placed sustainable finance and climate change at the heart of their priorities, both in research and teaching terms.
This strategy yielded several initiatives last year, including the creation of a specialist Advanced Factor & ESG Investing research chair sponsored by Scientific Beta and the organisation of a Climate Finance conference attended by 140 professionals and over 50 international academics in Paris. Since the start of the current academic year, EDHEC has also been offering an MSc in Global & Sustainable Business as well as a mandatory class on sustainable finance and several electives on climate change for all its Master in Finance students. The School is currently working on devising new classes and specialisation opportunities designed to enrich its offering in the area as from next year.
Lionel Martellini, Director of the EDHEC-Risk Institute, and Gianfranco Gianfrate are the two professors named EDHEC representatives on the GRASFI Organising Committee.
“There was a compelling case for EDHEC to join this global network geared to producing financial research of real practical use and bringing together prestigious international universities like Stanford and Oxford. The partnership fits perfectly with the growth ambitions enshrined in our new strategic plan, ‘Impact Future Generations 2025’, presented this March. It furthers our aim of making academic excellence serve the cause of a sustainable economy”explains Emmanuel Métais, Dean of EDHEC Business School
“We are delighted to welcome EDHEC into the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment. EDHEC is our 26th Member University and brings special perspectives and capabilities to the Alliance. We look forward to working with Lionel Martellini and Gianfranco Gianfrate and their team to ratchet up the quality and quantity of research and teaching on sustainable finance”said Professor Rob Bauer of Maastricht University and Dr Ben Caldecott of University of Oxford, the co-chairs of the Alliance
About EDHEC
Operating from campuses in Lille, Nice, Paris, London and Singapore, EDHEC is one of the world’s top 15 business schools. Fully international and directly connected to the business world, EDHEC commands a strong reputation for research excellence and the ability to train entrepreneurs and managers capable of breaking new ground. EDHEC functions as a genuine laboratory of ideas and produces innovative solutions valued by businesses. The School’s teaching is inspired by its research work and a focus on “learning by doing”, all with the aim of equipping people with the skills to succeed in business.
