FUNDING
Vinnova funds 47 SEK million initiative to promote sustainable finance
Stockholm Resilience Centre and Royal Swedish Academy among partners in effort to boost focus on social and environmental sustainability of Swedish and international financial markets
- The new centre, the Sustainable Finance Lab (SFL), is designed to create an internationally leading competence centre for sustainable financial markets
- SFL is funded by Vinnova for five years with the possibility of extension for an additional five-year period, subject to evaluation
- It includes some of Sweden’s most influential researchers in environmental science and business sustainability studies
The new centre, the Sustainable Finance Lab (SFL), is designed to create an internationally leading competence centre for sustainable financial markets. The centre will focus on, among other things, new thinking about risk and opportunities, sustainability norms and policies as well as transformation, technology and innovation.
Founding partners:
- Stockholm Resilience Centre
- The Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme at the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences
- Royal Swedish Institute of Technology (KTH)
- Luleå University
- Gothenburg University
- Stockholm School of Economics Institute for Research
- The Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Sweden’s most influential researchers
The centre is funded by Vinnova for five years with the possibility of extension for an additional five-year period, subject to evaluation.
During the first five years, SFL will study how various financial decisions and products may lead to positive or negative impacts on both society and the environment.
SFL includes some of Sweden’s most influential researchers in environmental science and business sustainability studies. The management of the new programme is made up of two centre directors, and four vice directors.
Stockholm Resilience Centre deputy science director Beatrice Crona will act as the vice director, with particular focus on science-based assessment of impacts.
"A central challenge is that many social and environmental impacts of financial decisions are currently not considered material to financial market actors,” says Crona.
Limited attention to these kinds of "externalities” has led to inefficient pricing in the market, and has made unsustainable projects more financially attractive than they are from society’s point of view. We are excited to be founding members of this new centre and being able to push the research forward to address these pressing issues.
Deep engagement with stakeholders
In addition to mobilizing a wide variety of resources within the respective partners’ networks, Sustainable Finance Lab will also involve a long range of diverse partners from industry, investment and civil society including:
- Danske Bank
- Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority
- Swedish Central Bank
- Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange
- Swedfund
- World Savings Bank Institute
- Skanska
- WWF
The Global Resilience Partnership, which is hosted by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, is also among the organisations involved in the new programme.
An advisory council has also been put in place with the following members: Robert Eccles (Said, Oxford University), Karolina Ekholm (Stockholm University), Caroline Flammer (Boston University), Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and University of Potsdam), and Darya Shaked (WeAct Venture).
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