Who We Are

About EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute

Delivering research insights on double materiality to the financial community

Institutional context

EDHEC Business School is ranked in the top 10 of European business schools and operates from campuses in Lille, Nice, Paris, London and Singapore. With more than 110 nationalities represented in its student body, some 50,000 alumni in 130 countries, and learning partnerships with 290 institutions worldwide, it truly is international.

For more than 20 years, EDHEC Business School has been pursuing an ambitious research policy that combines academic excellence with practical relevance. Spearheaded by EDHEC-Risk Institute, our aim has been to make EDHEC Business School a key academic institution of reference for decision makers in the small number of areas in which it reached critical mass in terms of expertise and research results. This goal has been delivered by expanding academic research in these areas and highlighting their practical implications and applications to decision makers. This approach has been complemented by strategic partnerships and business ventures to accelerate the transfer of scientific innovation to the industry and financially benefit the School and its constituencies.

In the Fall of 2022, EDHEC-Risk Institute became EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute (EDHEC-Risk Climate). This transition reflects the importance assigned by the School to sustainability issues and builds on the foundations laid by EDHEC-Risk Institute research programmes exploring the relationships between climate change and finance.

Mission and ambitions

The mission of EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute (EDHEC-Risk Climate) is to help private and public decision makers manage climate-related financial risks and make the best use of financial tools to support the transition to low-emissions and climate-resilient economies.

Building upon the expertise and industry reputation developed by EDHEC-Risk Institute, EDHEC-Risk Climate’s central ambition is to become a leading academic reference point for long-term investors. Our goal is to help them manage the asset pricing and investment management implications of climate change as well as mitigation and adaptation efforts.

EDHEC-Risk Climate also aims to play a noted role helping financial supervisors and policy makers assess climate-related risks in the financial system and understand their links with the real economy and advising on policy. We will help to provide the financial tools they need to mitigate those risks and optimise the contribution of finance to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The delivery of these ambitions is centred around two long-term research programmes and a policy advocacy function:

A research programme looking at the Implications of Climate Change on Asset Pricing and Investment Management;
A research programme looking at the Impact of Finance on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation;.
The policy advocacy is directed towards regulators and standardisation authorities

In addition, EDHEC-Risk Climate supports EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Institute in the acquisition and structuring of technological knowledge related to decarbonisation and the adaptation of physical assets and translating it into relevant metrics for investment risk assessment.

The Institute currently brings together a dozen faculty members, senior researchers, and staff.

Impact Philosophy

EDHEC-Risk Climate will pursue further research into climate-related financial risks and the impact of finance and financial tools on climate change mitigation and adaptation and will highlight its practical relevance and uses.

As such, the Institute will not only validate its work through academic publications but will also promote its applications by:

Engaging private and public decision makers through industry publications and position papers;
Publishing articles in practitioner-oriented media;
Contributing to industry and policy workgroups;
Organising and participating in seminars, conferences and executive and online courses.

Support to School Programmes and Initiatives

The faculty and permanent researchers of the Institute support the integration of climate-related issues into the curricula of EDHEC Business School degree programmes through:

Design and teaching;
Supervising graduate and doctoral students in their related projects and research, notably as part of the MSc in Climate Change and Sustainable Finance and the PhD in Finance;
Lead the design and delivery of the online course (4 MOOCs) on Climate Change and Sustainable Investing.

The Institute also supports the integration of climate issues into the research agenda of the School’s other financial research centres and into the product offering of the School’s business ventures.

#MakeAnImpact