Professor Ulrich Volz appointed Co-chair of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment
Professor Ulrich Volz, the Director of the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI).
Professor Volz shares this appointment with Professor Gianfranco Gianfrate, a Professor of Finance at EDHEC Business School and Research Director at EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute. The appointment took place during the 6th Annual GRASFI Conference hosted by Yale University, which gathered over 200 researchers from across the globe in August.
GRASFI comprises 24 world-leading research universities and is dedicated to promoting rigorous and impactful academic research in sustainable finance and investment. GRASFI is a research partner of the Network of Central Banks and Financial Supervisors for Greening the Financial System. Professor Volz previously served the Alliance as a director and honorary treasurer. This new appointment recognises his leadership in sustainable finance and underscores SOAS’s continued commitment to advancing research in the field of sustainable finance.
Expressing his enthusiasm at the appointment, Professor Volz said:
“I am honoured to co-chair GRASFI, an organisation dedicated to promoting innovation and excellence in sustainable finance research. I look forward to fostering global research collaboration and work with colleagues from leading institutions around the world.
"I am particularly keen on strengthening the Alliance’s support for PhD students and early career researchers and have more universities from the Global South join the Alliance.”
I am honoured to co-chair GRASFI ... and I look forward to fostering global research collaboration and work with colleagues from leading institutions around the world
Professor Rob Bauer, the co-founder and inaugural co-chair of GRASFI, and Professor of Finance and Holder of the Elverding Chair of Sustainable Business, Culture, and Corporate Regulation at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, added:
“I am very pleased that two dedicated and complementary sustainable finance researchers take over our co-chair positions. I am confident they will guide GRASFI to the next step in its evolution. I wish them all the best in their new roles.”
Dr Ben Caldecott, the co-founder and inaugural co-chair of GRASFI, who is the Lombard Odier Associate Professor of Sustainable Finance and Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford said:
“The alliance has gone from strength to strength over the last six years and it is a delight to hand over co-chairing to Gianfranco Gianfrate and Uli Volz. Their appointments as co-chairs highlights the importance GRASFI places on multi-disciplinarity, given their respective disciplinary interests and backgrounds.
"It underlines how sustainable finance speaks to a wide variety of topics and fields.”
About GRASFI
The Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (the ‘Alliance’) was founded in 2017 to promote multi-disciplinary academic research on sustainable finance and investment. The Alliance consists of global research universities, each with expertise in this emerging field.
The Alliance aims to organise the major annual academic conference on sustainable finance and investment internationally; develop academic collaboration between researchers working on sustainable finance and investment; and nurture the growth and development of graduate students and junior academics working on sustainable finance and investment.
About the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance
The SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance aims to advance the transition to an equitable, low-carbon economy by providing a forum for interdisciplinary research and teaching on sustainable finance and investment. It seeks to enhance the knowledge and understanding of sustainable finance in both the Global North and South and act as a focal point for policy debates in this area.
Located in the heart of one of the world’s leading financial hubs, the Centre’s research focuses on pressing issues including green financial governance; the impact of climate risks on public and corporate finances; the scaling up of low-carbon and resilient investment; mobilising financing for the Sustainable Development Goals; and the role of public financial institutions in advancing the green transition.
