Double Dividend

Double Dividend? The Contribution of Sustainable Investments to the Stabilization of Financial Markets
DopDiv Logo engl

DopDiv Logo engl

Image: DopDiv

Research Project in the funing line "Finanzsystem und Gesellschaft" [financial system and society] by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [Federal Ministry of Education and Research]
Project invstigator: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hiß
Duration: April 2015 - September 2018

Sustainable investment appears as a possible alternative within the financial market which is partly characterized by different rationalities and logics. While the conventional financial market focuses on high returns on investment, short-term horizons, and quantitative data, its sustainable counterpart follows also logics that are in conflict with this orientation. The consideration of non- or extra-financial (e.g., ethical, social, or environmental) criteria and a long-term investment horizon is essential for sustainable investments.

The project aims to answer the question, if and how sustainable investments induce a double dividend, which does not only result in return on investments and sustainable impacts on corporations but also in a positive impact on the financial market itself and its stability or resilience. To this end, we investigate the characteristics of institutional logics which influence the sustainable financial market.

Among others, our research focuses on:

  • banking system,
  • pension funds,
  • accounting and reporting initiatives,
  • fossil fuel divestment,
  • sustainability rating agencies, and
  • sustainable investing in cities.

 

BMBF Logo engl

Image: BMBF

Find more information on the funding line Finanzsystem und Gesellschaft [financial system and society] here [BMBF]External link.

 

 

 

Project staff

Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hiß (Project management)

Agnes Fessler

Gesa Griese

Sebastian Nagel

Daniela Woschnack

Links and Documents

Currently, we are working on a book publication to present our research findings.
The book will be edited by Andrea Maurer and Uwe Schimank in "Wirtschaft + Gesellschaft" (Springer VS).

Please find our latest publication here:

Hiß, Stefanie/Griese, Gesa/Nagel, Sebastian (2018): Da gibt es Sachen, die macht man einfach nicht Deutungsmuster von Banken im Kontext von External linkNachhaltigkeit und KriseExternal link. [There are Things you Simply do not doInterpretative Patterns of Banks in the Context of Sustainability and Crisis] In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 70 (Suppl 1), 317-341.

News and press releases:

Friedrich-Schiller-University JenaExternal link (in German; 2016/05/18)

Die Junge AkademieExternal link (in German; 2016/05/19)

Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen BerlinExternal link (in German; 2016/05/20)

Newsletter 76 Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG)External link; p. 8, 15 (06/2016)

News on Thüringische LandeszeitungExternal link (in German; 2015/04/27)

News on JenaTVExternal link (in German; 2015/04/20)

News Release External link(in German; 2015/04/16)

News in Wirtschaftsspiegel Thüringen 3/2015External link (in German)

News on idw - Informationsdienst WissenschaftExternal link (in German; 2015/04/16)

Workshop

Berlin, 19-20 May 2016

Workshop: "DIVESTMENT - (Mit) Geld bewegen? Bestandsaufnahme einer sozialen Bewegung" [DIVESTMENT - Moving (with) money? Taking stock of a social movement]

Presentations

  • 2018

    Gottingen, 26th September 2018

    Presentation: Fossil Fuel Divestment Mobilisierung und Framing zwischen Klima- und Finanzbewegung ["mobilization and framing between climate and financial movements"]
    Created by Agnes Fessler and Stefanie Hiß. Presented by Agnes Fessler.
    Ad-Hoc-Group "NGOs und soziale Bewegungen im Klimaregime Ausdruck eines neuen Spannungsfeldes sozialer und ökologischer Fragen?" ["NGOs and social movements in climate regime - expression of a new area of conflict in social and ecological questions?"] as part of DGS-Congress
    Link to ProgramExternal link

    Konstanz, 14th September 2018

    Presentation: (De-)Investing against Climate Change? The Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement as Green Finance Protest and Financial Market Mobilization
    Created by Agnes Fessler and Stefanie Hiß. Presented by Agnes Fessler.
    Economic Sociology Midterm Conference "Crossing Boundaries" (Gemeinsame Tagung der ESA und DGS). Link to ProgrammExternal link.

    Frankfurt am Main, 15th February 2018

    Presentation: Institutional Logics in Banking Sector : Sustainability from the perspective of Banks
    Created by Gesa Griese, Sebastian Nagel and Stefanie Hiß. Presented by Gesa Griese.
    Workshop of the BMBF-Projekts "Privatanleger auf dem Finanzmarkt" (organized by Uwe Schimank, Lydia Welbers und Michael Walter), Hauptsitz Union Investment, Frankfurt am Main.

  • 2017

    Cambridge, 25th September 2017

    Presentation: Narratives of Corporate Accountability: How and Why Do German Corporations Feel Accountable For Non-Financial Disclosure?
    Created and presented by Daniela Woschnack.
    2nd SSFII - Social and Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing Conference. University of Cambridge, UK.
    Link to ConferenceExternal link and to ProgramExternal link.

    Montreal, 13th August 2017

    Presentation: Legitimize banking: The institutional logic of sustainability in the German banking industry
    Created by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel und Gesa Griese. Presented by Stefanie Hiß.
    American Sociological Association (ASA), 112th Annual Meeting, Montreal
    Link to ConferenceExternal link.

    Montreal, 12th August 2017

    Presentation: The framing of divestment: Explaining the recent dynamics of a social movement
    Created by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel and Agnes Fessler. Presented by Stefanie Hiß.
    American Sociological Association (ASA), 112th Annual Meeting, Montreal
    Link to ConferenceExternal link.

    Copenhagen, 6th July 2017

    Presentation: Legitimize banking: The institutional logic of sustainability in the German banking industry
    Created by Gesa Griese, Stefanie Hiß and Sebastian Nagel. Presented by Gesa Griese and Stefanie Hiß.
    33rd EGOS Colloquium in Kopenhagen 2017: The Good Organization. Subtheme: The Multiplicity of Institutional Logics. Copenhagen Business School (CBS)
    Link to ConferenceExternal link and to ProgramExternal link.

    Lyon, 1th July 2017

    Presentation: The fossil-fuel divestment movement between politicizing investments and financializing climate protection
    Created by Agnes Fessler, Stefanie Hiß and Sebastian Nagel. Presented by Agnes Fessler and Sebastian Nagel.
    SASE Annual Conference 2017: What's Next? Disruptive/Collaborative Economy or Business as Usual? University of Lyon I.
    Link to Conference External link and to ProgramExternal link.

    Lyon, 30th June 2017

    Presentation: Narratives of Corporate Accountability. The Case of Non-Financial Disclosure
    Created and presented by Daniela Woschnack.
    SASE Annual Conference 2017: What's Next? Disruptive/Collaborative Economy or Business as Usual? University of Lyon I.
    Network P: Accounting, Economics, and Law
    Link to ConferenceExternal link and to ProgramExternal link.

    Zurich, 22th June 2017

    Presentation: The fossil fuel divestment movement between politicizing investments and financializing climate protection
    Created by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel and Agnes Fessler. Presented by Stefanie Hiß.
    Kongress der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Soziologie: Gemeinwohl und Eigeninteresse , Zürich. ["Congress of the suisse society of sociology: common good and self interest, Zurich"]
    Link to ConferenceExternal link.

    Berlin, 30th March 2017

    Unternehmen als gesellschaftliche Akteure [Corporations as societal actors]
    Presentation by Stefanie Hiß.
    Jahrestagung des UPJ-Netzwerks für Corporate Citizenship und CSR - "CSR in einer Welt im Umbruch" [Annual Conference UPJ-Network for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR in a world of change]
    Link to the conferenceExternal link and the programExternal link.

    Berlin, 30th March 2017

    Expert consultation with Stefanie Hiß on Divestment.
    Jahrestagung des UPJ-Netzwerks für Corporate Citizenship und CSR - "CSR in einer Welt im Umbruch" [Annual Conference UPJ-Network for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR in a world of change]
    Link to the conferenceExternal link and the programExternal link.

  • 2016

    Lüneburg, 22th September 2016

    Presentation: Framing of accountability: For what and to whom are corporations accountable? Erstellt und präsentiert von Daniela Woschnack. 20th Conference of the Environmental and Sustainability Management Accounting Network (EMAN): Two Decades of Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Accounting What has been achieved?
    Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Lüneburg
    Link to programExternal link.

    Neapel, 8th July 2016

    Presentation: How financial market driven sustainability accounting & reporting initiatives Created by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel, Bernd Teufel und Daniela Woschnack. Presented by Daniela Woschnack and Stefanie Hiß.
    32nd EGOS Colloquium ("Organizing in the Shadow of Power"), Sub-theme: Organizing in the Shadow of Financial Markets, University of Naples Federico II, Dept. of Economics, Management, Institutions, Naples (Italy)
    Link to the conferenceExternal link.

    Bremen, 29th June 2016

    Presentation: In Nachhaltigkeit (des-)investieren?! - Einblicke in Divestment als soziale Bewegung [(Des-)Invest in Sustainability?! - Insights in Divestment as a Social Movement]
    Created and presented by Stefanie Hiß.
    artec Forschungszentrums NachhaltigkeitExternal link [artec Sustainability Research Center] Colloquium, Bremen University.
    Link to the programExternal link.

    Kassel, 30th June 2016

    Sustainability and Markets: Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht!? ["What does not fit is made to fit"]
    Presentation, exercise and discussion by Stefanie Hiß and Daniela Woschnack
    as part of the project seminar "Special Topics in Finance: Sustainable Finance" (Prof. Dr. Klein, Dr. Zwergel, Dipl.-Volksw. Drempetic)
    at the Universiy of Kassel, FB Economics, Institut for BWL, Chair of Corporate Finance.

    Bilbao, 27th - 29th April 2016

    Poster Presentation: Sustainable Cities and Sustainable Investing - a good match?
    Created by Gesa Griese and Stefanie Hiß. Presented by Stefanie Hiß.
    8th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns.
    Link to conferenceExternal link.

    Geneva, 22th March 2016

    Posterpresentation: How do sustainability accounting & reporting initiatives interpret the concept of social sustainability?
    Created by Daniela Woschnack, Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel und Bernd Teufel. Presented by Daniela WosExternal linkchnackExternal link. 
    3rd Geneva Summit on Sustainable Finance.
    Link to ConferenceExternal link and to ProgramExternal link.

  • 2015

    Frankfurt Main, 1st December 2015

    Econsense, Nachhaltigkeitsrating 2020 Potentiale und Herausforderungen im Markt für ESG Research, Rating und Investment [Econsense Sustainability Rating 2020 - Potentials and Challenges in the Market of ESG Research, Rating and Investment] (Gesa Griese)

    Bonn, 24th-25th November 2015

    Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)/DLR , Kick-Off Finanzsystem und Gesellschaft [financial system and society] (Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel and Daniela Woschnack)

    Hannover, 10th November 2015

    imug Beratungsgesellschaft für sozial-ökologische Innovationen mbH, Praxisseminar: Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung: Wie wird Ihr (erster) Nachhaltigkeitsbericht ein Erfolg? [Seminar on sustainablity reporting: How to make your first CSR report successful](Daniela Woschnack)

    Chicago, 23. August 2015

    Presentation by Sebastian Nagel: Shareholder activism for sustainability: Organizational responses to investors demands.
    American Sociological Association, 110th Annual Meeting, Chicago.
    Link to the conferenceExternal link.

    Presentation by Stefanie Hiß and Sebastian Nagel: Socially Responsible Investing in Germany: A Typology of Legitimation.
    American Sociological Association, 110th Annual Meeting, Chicago.
    Link to the External linkconferenceExternal link.External link

    London, 3th July 2015

    Presentation: Sustainability Accounting and Reporting: A Dilution of Social Sustainability?
    Created and presented by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel, Bernd Teufel and Daniela Woschnack.
    SASE Annual Conference 2015: Inequality in the 21st Century. London School of Econommics.
    Link to ConferenceExternal link and to ProgramExternal link.

    Oxford, 24th April 2015

    Presentation: Sustainability Accounting and Reporting: A Dilution of Social Sustainability? Created by Stefanie Hiß, Sebastian Nagel, Bernd Teufel und Daniela Woschnack.
    Presented by Stefanie Hiß and Daniela Woschnack.  
    Social and Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing Conference, SAID Business School, University of Oxford. 
    Link to Conference External linkand to Program.External link