The UN‐supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long‐term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole.

The PRI Academic Network is a vibrant and flourishing international community of over 12,000 academics and investment practitioners on ESG and investment. Academics are from RI-related disciplines, spanning accounting, economics, finance, law, management, sociology, and other subjects in the social and natural sciences.

The conference focuses on the latest research on responsible investment practices. The event is for academic researchers in sustainability and will also be an opportunity for academics and investors to engage with each other, learn and discuss the latest insights, and to network.

Conference dates and location

  • Dates: 3 – 5 October 2023
  • City: Tokyo, Japan
  • Venue: International Convention Center PAMIR

Call for Papers

Aligning with key themes at PRI in Person, we invite submissions of papers that focus on responsible investment, especially inviting submissions on the following topics:

Building a bridge between financial risks and return and real-world impacts/sustainability outcomes

  • The real-world impacts of investments (including asset classes specific approaches)
  • Assessment into setting targets, measuring, and tracking progress on sustainability outcomes
  • Impact beyond impact investing
  • Materiality over long-term horizons
  • The systemic nature of social issues
  • Rating, indexes and real-world impact
  • Standardising data on sustainability outcomes / the impact of investments across E, S and G topics

Environmental, Social and Governance issues and factors

  • Climate – mitigating and adapting to climate change risks
  • Transition and emerging markets – challenges, opportunities, vulnerabilities, and dependencies
  • Net zero implementation – where are we and where do we need to go?
  • Ensuring a “just transition” to a low carbon economy
  • Integrating climate and nature
  • Physical climate risks and opportunities for private investment in adaptation
  • Interrelationship between climate and nature, and the risk of taking a siloed approach
  • Interrelationship between biodiversity and systemic financial risk
  • Private sector investing (vs government regulation) in biodiversity protection
  • Accelerating the S in ESG
  • Human rights and stewardship
  • Corporate purpose – building purpose into legal and governance structures of investment entities

ESG integration

  • Fixed income and ESG investment performance
  • Behavioural finance and investment biases: implications for RI

Investor stewardship

  • ESG disclosure and sustainability performance
  • Accountability of boards of directors to shareholders for ESG controversies and sustainability performance
  • Effectiveness of collective action to change company’s sustainable business practices
  • Impact of investment manager stewardship on asset owner selection processes
  • Extent and effectiveness of investor engagement in public policy

We encourage both theoretical and empirical contributions from diverse disciplines such as accounting, economics, finance, law, management, public policy, and other subjects in the social and natural sciences.

Submission information

Paper submission is now open! Submit your paper via email to caroline.flammer@columbia.edu and adhere the following guidelines:

  • Subject line: indicate “2023 PRI Academic Network Conference – Paper Submission”
  • Copy all co‐authors on the submission email
  • For each paper submission, submit i) one anonymised PDF, and ii) one PDF that lists all coauthors

Please note

  • The conference will be held in person in Tokyo (in person only; no hybrid option)
  • Full papers only. Extended abstracts will not be considered
  • Only papers in English can be submitted, with a page limit of 60 pages
  • Working papers only. Published or forthcoming papers should not be submitted
  • A maximum of two papers per author will be considered. Use separate emails in case of two submissions.

Accepted papers will be featured on the PRI website unless otherwise agreed. Past conference papers can be found here.

Reviewing criteria

Submissions will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

  • Contribution to responsible investment research
  • Originality of subject of study or approach
  • Methodological strength
  • The practical significance of the research

Conference papers will be judged in a double‐blind review process by the PRI Academic Conference Committee.

Conference Committee

  • Caroline Flammer (conference chair)

    Professor of International and Public Affairs and of Climate
    School of International and Public Affairs and Columbia Climate School, Columbia University

  • Pedro Matos

    John G. Macfarlane Family Chair and Professor of Business Administration (Finance)
    Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

  • Laura Starks

    George Kozmetsky Centennial Distinguished University Chair
    McCombs School of Business, University of Texas Austin

  • Ayako Yasuda

    Professor of Finance
    UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis

Timeline

1 April 2023 Submission deadline for all papers
Early May 2023 Notification to applicants of accepted papers

4 September 2023 Presentation slides to be sent to the PRI ahead of the conference
(To be confirmed)

Contact

For questions regarding submission, please contact caroline.flammer@columbia.edu

For questions about the conference, please contact events@unpri.org

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