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Sustainability & Financial Markets
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:14:33
Abstract
Sustainable investments are becoming increasingly prominent while at the same time current business practices reach beyond ecological limits. Are sustainable investments a myth? Clearly not; however, sustainable investment practices still have to move on. This lecture is focused on the related challenges and discusses ways how the field of sustainable investments could become more effective.
Objective
Sustainable investments are becoming increasingly prominent while at the same time the market reality remains unchanged despite evidence that current business practices reach beyond ecological limits and are in breach of both the inter-generational and intra-generational equity. Are sustainable investments a myth? Clearly not - capital markets could indeed play a central role in overcoming this dilemma. However, sustainable investment practices still have to move on for effectively incorporating and promoting sustainability. For this to occur, two central challenges need to be addressed: In order to improve the authenticity of data, it is important to make clear what environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related data is actually measuring. This, in turn, will contribute to ensuring that investors gain trust in ESG-criteria and investments. In order to overcome the prevailing focus on short-term profit maximization, it is necessary to put more emphasis on a systems-perspective. This, in turn, will help investors to move on from having a too narrow ceteris paribus perspective towards addressing risks and opportunities within changing ecological and human-social systems. The learning objectives of this lecture is to understand these two challenges in detail and discusses ways how the field of sustainable investments could move ahead.
Content
Sustainable investment practices have become a mainstream topic in finance. This seminar is focused on the related challenges and discusses ways how the field of sustainable investments could become more effective. As for the first part of this seminar, Prof. Busch will introduce basic concepts and approaches in the sustainable finance field. Furthermore, a historical perspective will be introduced on how sustainability emerged as an important topic in financial markets. Two empirical case studies will illustrate how investors and banks implemented respectively responded to sustainability challenges. Two invited guest speakers from the financial industry will demonstrate the practical relevance of the topic for and within Switzerland. The second part of the seminar is devoted to academic articles in the sustainable finance context. Participants will be ask to read at least one article and present the context in class. This serves as the foundation for the evaluation / grading. As such, there is no written exam.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC , NDS
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Signup End
- 26.02.2026
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
Sustainability & Financial Markets
Block course
|
|
2 h weekly |