The World Bank (2021) defines ‘Sustainable Finance’ as “the process of taking due account of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to increased longer-term investments into sustainable economic activities and projects.”
Cardiff Sustainable Finance Research Group invites scholars working on different areas of sustainability as well as finance and promotes collaborative and transformative research to bridge the gap between broad fields of those studies. By doing so, the group engages in academic activities that directly support Cardiff Business School’s ‘Public Value’ ethos.
Aims
- facilitate interdisciplinary research on sustainability and finance across sections, schools, and universities
- support Cardiff Business School’s ‘Public Value’ philosophy by connecting the group’s members with outside stakeholders to inform them about their research on sustainable finance
- promote Cardiff Business School as one of the world-leading centres for research on sustainability and finance
- support scholars in achieving high quality and impactful research that contributes in various subject areas of sustainable finance
Meet the team
Director
Dr Onur Tosun
Reader (Associate Professor) in Finance, Director of Sustainable Finance Research Group
Academic staff
Postgraduate students
Associated staff
- Professor Brian Lucey
- Professor Samuel A. Vigne
- Professor Dimitrios Gounopoulos
- Dr Danmo Lin
- Dr Ozlem Arikan
- Professor Robert Hudson
- Professor Gulnur Muradoglu
- Xianmin Liu
- Dr Ni Peng
- Dr Katie Moon
- Professor Lemma W. Senbet
- Dr Ylva Baeckström
- Professor Hisham Farag
- Dr Craig Davies
- Professor Jia Liu
- Dr Jianan Lu
- Professor Iga Rudawska
- Justin Ho Zhi Lam
Publications
- Agoraki, M. K., Giaka, M., Konstantios, D. and Patsika, V. 2023. Firms' sustainability, financial performance, and regulatory dynamics: Evidence from European firms. Journal of International Money and Finance 131, 102785.
- Alolo, M., Azevedo, A. and El Kalak, I. 2020. The effect of the feed-in-system policy on renewable energy investments: evidence from the EU countries. Energy Economics 92, 104998.
- Arfin, R., Peng, N., and Bowen, F. 2022. The Wealth Effect of Corporate Water Actions: How Past Corporate Responsibility and Irresponsibility Influence Stock Market Reactions Journal of Business Ethics 180, 105-124.
- Arikan, O., Reinecke, J., Spence, C., and Morrell, K. 2017. Signposts or Weathervanes? The Curious Case of Corporate Social Responsibility and Conflict Minerals. Journal of Business Ethics, 146(3), 469-484.
- Atkins, J. and Maroun, W. 2018. Integrated extinction accounting and accountability: building an ark. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 31, 750-786. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2017-2957
- Atkins, J., Maroun, W., Atkins, B.C. and Barone, E. 2018. From the Big Five to the Big Four? Exploring extinction accounting for the rhinoceros. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 31, 674-702. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-12-2015-2320
- Austmann, L. M. and Vigne, S.A. 2021. Does environmental awareness fuel the electric vehicle market? A Twitter keyword analysis. Energy Economics 101, 105337
- Baeckström, Y., Marsh, I. W., and Silvester, J. 2021. Financial advice and gender: Wealthy individual investors in the UK. Journal of Corporate Finance. 71, 101882.
- Baeckström, Y., Silvester, J., and Pownall, R. A. J. 2018. Millionaire investors: financial advisors, attribution theory and gender differences: financial advisors, attribution theory and gender differences. European Journal Of Finance 24, 1333-1349.
- Chen, Y., Wei, Y., Bai, L., and Zhang, J. 2023. Can Green Economy stocks hedge natural gas market risk? Evidence during Russia-Ukraine conflict and other crisis periods. Finance Research Letters, 53, 103632.
- Del Gaudio, B.L., Previtali, D., Sampagnaro, G., Verdoliva, V. and Vigne, S.A. 2022. Syndicated green lending and lead bank performance. Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting 33 (3), 412-427
- Dongyang, Z. 2022. Green financial system regulation shock and greenwashing behaviors: Evidence from Chinese firms. Energy Economics. 111. 106064. 10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106064.
- Dongyang, Z. and Du, Pengcheng, D. 2020. How China’s Going Green Impacts on Corporate Performance. Journal of Cleaner Production. 258. 120604. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120604.
- Dongyang, Z. and Qunxi, K. 2022. Green energy transition and sustainable development of energy firms: An assessment of renewable energy policy. Energy Economics. 111. 106060. 10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106060.
- Dowling, M., Cummins, M., Lucey, B.M. 2016. Psychological barriers in oil futures markets, Energy Economics, 53, 293 – 304.
- Farag, H. and Mallin, C.A (2018). The influence of CEO Demographic Characteristics on Corporate Risk -Taking: Evidence from Chinese IPOs, European Journal of Finance, 24(16), 1528-1551.
- Farag, H., & Mallin, C. (2017). Board diversity and financial fragility: Evidence from European banks. International Review of Financial Analysis, 49, 98-112.
- Farag, H. and Mallin, C.A (2016). The Impact of the Dual Board Structure and Board Diversity: Evidence from Chinese Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Journal of Business Ethics, 139, 333–349
- Farag, H., Qing, M., and Mallin, C.A. (2015). The Social, Environmental and Ethical Performance of Chinese Companies: Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, International Review of Financial Analysis, 42, 53–63.
- Farag, H., Mallin, C.A., and Ow-Yong, K., (2014), Corporate Social Responsibility and financial performance in Islamic banks, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 103, 21-38
- Gounopoulos, D., Loukopoulos, G. and Loukopoulos, P. 2021. CEO Education and the Ability to Raise Capital. Corporate Governance: An International Review. 29, 67-99.
- Gounopoulos, D., Loukopoulos, G., Loukopoulos, P. and Wood, G. 2022. Corporate Political Activities and the SEC’s Oversight Role in the IPO Process. Journal of Management Studies https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12892
- Gounopoulos, D., Mazouz, K. and Wood, G. 2021. The consequences of political donations for IPO premium and performance. Journal of Corporate Finance 67, 5, 101888.
- Guedhami, O., Knill, A., Megginson, W.L., and Senbet, L. 2022. The dark side of globalization: Evidence from the impact of COVID-19 on multinational companies. Journal of International Business Studies 53, 1603–1640. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-022-00540-8
- Harjoto, M. A., Hoepner, A., Andreas G. F., and Li, Q. 2021. Corporate social irresponsibility and portfolio performance: a cross-national study. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money 70, 101274.
- Harjoto, M., Hoepner, A., and Li, Q. 2022. A stakeholder resource-based view of corporate social irresponsibility: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research 144, 830-843.
- Hu, X., Lin, D. and Tosun, O. K. 2022. The effect of board independence on firm performance - new evidence from product market conditions. European Journal of Finance (10.1080/1351847X.2022.2049448)
- Jones, M.J. and Solomon, J.F. 2013. Problematising accounting for biodiversity. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 26, 668-687. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2013-1255
- Lotfi, M., Walker, H. and Rendon-Sanchez, J. 2021. Supply chains’ failure in workers’ rights with regards to the SDG compass: a doughnut theory perspective. Sustainability 13, article number: 12526.
- Lotfi, M., Akram, Y. and Jafari, S. 2018. The effect of emerging green market on green entrepreneurship and sustainable development in knowledge-based companies. Sustainability 10, article number: 2308.
- Lucey, B.M., Carron, B. 2011. The effect of gender on stock price reaction to the appointment of directors: The case of the FTSE 100, Applied Economics Letters, 18, (13), 1225-1229.
- Karim, S., Lucey, B.M., Naeem, M.A. and Vigne, S.A. 2023. The dark side of Bitcoin: do Emerging Asian Islamic markets help subdue the ethical risk? Emerging Markets Review 54, 100921.
- Maroun, W. and Atkins, J. 2018. The emancipatory potential of extinction accounting: Exploring current practice in integrated reports. Accounting Forum, 42:1, 102-118, DOI: 10.1016/j.accfor.2017.12.001
- Nguyen, D. . D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2018. Does a CEO's cultural heritage affect performance under competitive pressure?. Review of Financial Studies 31(1), pp. 97-141.
- Nguyen, D. D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2019. Misconduct in banking: Governance and the board of directors. In: Alexander, C. and Cumming, D. eds. Corruption and Fraud in Financial Markets: Malpractice, Misconduct and Manipulation. Wiley
- Patsika, V. and Huang, C. 2023. Mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting and firm environmental litigation risk. Accounting Forum (10.1080/01559982.2022.2158519)
- Rhianon Edgley, C., Jones, M.J. and Solomon, J.F. 2010. Stakeholder inclusivity in social and environmental report assurance. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 23, 532-557. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571011041615
- Situ, H. and Tilt, C. 2018. Mandatory? Voluntary? A discussion of corporate environmental disclosure requirements in China. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal 38(2), pp. 131-144.
- Situ, H., Tilt, C. and Seet, P. 2020. The influence of the Chinese government's political ideology in the field of corporate environmental reporting. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 34(9), pp. 1-28.
- Solomon, J.F., Solomon, A., Joseph, N. L., Norton, S. 2013. Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 38, 195-213.
- Solomon, J.F., Solomon, A., Norton, S.D. and Joseph, N.L. 2011. Private climate change reporting: an emerging discourse of risk and opportunity?. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 24, 1119-1148. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571111184788
- Tosun, O. K. 2017. Is corporate social responsibility sufficient enough to explain the investment by socially responsible funds?. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 49, pp. 697-726.
- Tosun, O. K. 2021. Cyber-attacks and stock market activity. International Review of Financial Analysis 76, article number: 101795.
- Tosun, O. K., El Kalak, I. and Hudson, R. 2022. How female directors help firms to attain optimal cash holdings. International Review of Financial Analysis 80, pp. 1-20., article number: 102034.
- Tosun, O. and Eshraghi, A. 2022. Corporate decisions in times of war: Evidence from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict. Finance Research Letters 48, article number: 102920.
- Tosun, O. K., Eshraghi, A. and Muradoglu, G. 2021. Staring death in the face: the financial impact of corporate exposure to prior disasters. British Journal of Management 32(4), pp. 1284-1301.
- Tosun, O. K. and Senbet, L. W. 2020. Does internal board monitoring affect debt maturity?. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 54(1), 205-245.
- Wang, Y., Lucey, B., Vigne, S.A. and Yarovaya, L. 2022. An index of cryptocurrency environmental attention (ICEA). China Finance Review International, 12, 378-414. https://doi.org/10.1108/CFRI-09-2021-0191
- Wang, Y, Farag, H, and Ahmad, W (2021). Corporate Culture and Innovation: A Tale from an Emerging Market, British Journal of Management, 32, 1121-1140.
- Wei, Y., Nan, H. and Wei, G. 2020. The impact of employee welfare on innovation performance: Evidence from China's manufacturing corporations. International Journal of Production Economics, 228, 107753.
- Wen, X., Guo, Y., Wei, Y., and Huang, D. 2014. How do the stock prices of new energy and fossil fuel companies correlate? Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 41, 63-75.
- Zhang, D. and Vigne, S.A. 2021. The causal effect on firm performance of China's financing–pollution emission reduction policy: Firm-level evidence, Journal of Environmental Management 279, 111609.
- Zhang, D., Zhang, Z., Ji, Q., Lucey, B. and Liu, J. 2021. Board characteristics, external governance and the use of renewable energy: International evidence, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, p101317
- Zhu, D., Hodgkinson, L. and Wang, Q. 2021. Interaction and decomposition of gender difference in financial risk perception. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance 30, 100464.
News and resources
Useful resources
- United Nations Sustainable Development: THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)
News
- Conferences on Sustainability – Finance/Accounting/Management
Events
Sustainable Finance Conference 2027
DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Ireland, Friday 23 April 2027
Call for Papers
The Cardiff Sustainable Finance Research Group (CSFRG) and DCU Business School (finLAB) are proud to announce the Sustainable Finance Conference taking place in person at DCU Business School, Dublin City University on Friday, 23 April 2027. The aim of the conference is to facilitate extensive discussions surrounding cutting-edge research in Sustainable Finance, which not only provides valuable insights but also explores the multifaceted opportunities and challenges associated with sustainable finance development.
We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to submit their original research papers and case studies that contribute to the field of Sustainable Finance. This includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
- Green finance, carbon credit, climate finance
- Corporate governance, corporate social responsibility
- Diversity, equality and inclusivity
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in sustainable finance
- Green financial institutions
- Risk management and green/sustainable/climate finance challenges
- Cryptocurrency, digital finance interactions with green/sustainable/ finance
- Contagion and interlinkages between climate/sustainable financial instruments
- Green/sustainable/climate assets and portfolio allocation
- Environmental risks and regulatory policies
Indicative Schedule
- Submission deadline - 15 February 2027
- Decision on accepted papers - 25 February 2027
- Registration deadline - 28 March 2027
Submission
Please email a PDF copy of your paper or extended abstract to CSFRG@cardiff.ac.uk by 15 February 2027.
Registration
The registration fee is €300 (and €175 for PhD students) that includes conference attendance, all conference materials, coffee breaks, lunch and the gala dinner.
Publication Opportunities
In consultation with the Editors-in-Chief, selected conference papers will be invited for regular submission to the Global Finance Journal and the Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment.
Conference Chairs
- Dr Sandeep Rao – DCU Business School
- Dr Aref Mahdavi Ardekani – DCU Business School
- Dr Onur Kemal Tosun – Cardiff Business School
Keynote speaker
Zacharias is Professor of Sustainable Finance at University of Zurich and Senior Chair at the Swiss Finance Institute. He works on sustainable finance, ESG, climate finance, and biodiversity finance. Through his research, he provides insights on how finance can contribute to a more sustainable future. His research was downloaded more than 130,000 times on SSRN and cited more than 15,000 times according to Google Scholar.
His research was published in top journals, such as the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, or Journal of Financial Economics. He has co-authored the most cited paper published in the Journal of Finance in the past 5 years and the most cited paper published in the Journal of Accounting Research over the past 5 years.
He is an Associate Editor at the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and an advisor of the European Commission and asset management companies on sustainable finance issues. He serves as a Director of the European Finance Association and on the judging panel for the PRI Awards.
He was a Regular Research Visitor at the ECB, and a visiting professor at The University of Hong Kong, University of California San Diego, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, among others. Before moving to Zurich, he was a Professor at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, where he headed the Department of Finance for several years. At University of Zurich, Zacharias heads the Initiative in Sustainable Finance, one of the world's leading clusters for research on sustainable finance.
Past events
| Date | Event Type/Location | About |
|---|---|---|
| 28 April 2025 | Seminar | Professor Iga Rudawska, University of Szczecin 'How to measure sustainability in the health system' |
| 21 May 2024 | Seminar | Dr Jana Fidrmuc, University of Warwick ‘Shareholder activism: Blessing or affliction for incumbent CEOs’ |
| 19 March 2024 | Seminar | Dr Danmo Lin, University of Warwick ‘The Spillover of Corporate ES on Bank Loan Cost’ |
| 11 May 2023 | Seminar | Dr Bilal Hafeez, Cardiff University ‘Seizing the opportunity: Climate policy uncertainty exposure and the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord’ |
Sustainable Finance Conference 2026
The 2026 Sustainable Finance Conference, jointly organised by the Cardiff Sustainable Finance Research Group (CSFRG) and Leeds University Business School, was successfully held on 24 April 2026 at Leeds University Business School.
The conference brought together 40 researchers from all over the UK and internationally form USI, Bocconi University, UCD, DCU, and University of Geneva to discuss recent developments and emerging challenges in sustainable finance. Presentations covered a broad range of topics, including green and climate finance, ESG and corporate governance, sustainable investment, climate risk, digital finance, and environmental regulation.
A key highlight was the keynote address by Professor Philipp Krüger, Professor of Finance at the University of Geneva and Senior Chair at the Swiss Finance Institute. His insights into sustainable and responsible finance provided an important foundation for discussions throughout the conference.
The conference provided a valuable platform for sharing innovative research, exchanging ideas, and fostering new academic and professional collaborations. We thank all speakers, presenters, participants, and contributors for making the event a successful and engaging forum for advancing sustainable finance research.
Sustainable Finance Conference 2024
The conference was held in collaboration with the Sustainable Financial Innovation Centre (SFiC) and the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability & Climate Action (BISCA) on 25 October 2024 at Birmingham Business School.
Thirty insightful papers were presented by scholars from Canada to New Zealand. The themes of the papers were wide ranging and included:
- The role of women in corporate boards
- CEO power
- Greenwashing
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Fintech credit
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
- Sustainability
The keynote presentation was given by Professor Omrane Guedhami, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina.
The final conference session was an opportunity to “Meet the Editors” and comprised of panel members Professor Omrane Guedhami (University of South Carolina), Professor Konstantinos Stathopoulos (University of Manchester), Professor Arman Eshraghi (Cardiff University) and Professor Hisham Farag (University of Birmingham).
The conference closed with a Gala Dinner.
A heartfelt thank you goes to members of CSFRG i.e., Arman Eshraghi for his contributions in the Panel; Bilal Hafeez and Bo Guan for their help in evaluating the submitted papers; and our PhD student Weijian Liang for presenting his paper and discussing another paper.
Cardiff Sustainable Finance Conference 2023
The first International Sustainable Finance Conference organised by the Cardiff Sustainable Finance Research Group (CSFRG) was held on Friday 10 November 2023 at Cardiff Business School.
Professor Peter Wells, Pro Dean for Public Value, Cardiff Business School welcomed the delegates to the conference. Eight high-quality papers were invited for presentation, these were from Westminster International University in Tashkent, Newcastle University, University of Bath, and Cardiff University. The themes of the papers included ‘Corporate Environmental Performance and Stock Price Crash Risk; Supply Chain Carbon Leakage; CEOs’ Personal Values and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance;Green Innovation;Climate Policy Uncertainty;Environmental Degradation and Digital Economy; Extinction Accounting for De-extinction and Rewilding; Wildfire Smoke and Local Businesses’.
The keynote presentation was given by Professor Hisham Farag, University of Birmingham.
Following the concluding remarks by Dr Onur Kemal Tosun, Director of CSFRG, the conference closed with a Gala Dinner.