The PRI Academic Network Conference 2022

CfP Deadline Date:
May 1, 2022

Conference Event:
September 20-21, 2022

Event Location:
Barcelona, Spain

Organizer(s):
UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

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 11,000
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 and as such it
serves as an opportunity for academics and investors to engage with each other, learn and discuss the
latest insights, and to network.

As in previous years, we will hold the PRI Academic Network Conference in 2022. Given the current
global pandemic, we allow for some flexibility in the planning of the conference:
1) Health situation permitting: the PRI Academic Network Conference will again be
alongside PRI in Person – the largest global conference on responsible investment – and
will be held in person on 20 – 21 September 2022 in Barcelona.
2) If the health situation does not permit traveling and group gatherings: the conference
will be converted into a 5‐day virtual event during 19 ‐ 23 September (like last year).

Aligning with key themes at PRI in Person, we invite submissions of papers that focus on responsible investment, including but not limited to the following topics:

The development of a sustainable financial system and the coming of age of responsible
investment

• Sustainability challenges and disruptive change
• Greenwashing and the responsibility of the investment industry
• ESG‐related regulatory developments (e.g., EU sustainable finance, fiduciary duty)
• The role of financial regulators
• Accelerating the S in ESG; double materiality and social issues
• Human rights and stewardship
• Data needs and communication with standard‐setters
• Corporate purpose

Climate – the global energy transition

• Transition and emerging markets, challenges, actions and dependencies
• Transition risks
• Net zero climate commitments and multi‐asset portfolios
• Net zero implementation – where are we and where do we need to go?
• The investor and financial system role in climate

ESG integration

• ESG investing and investment horizons
• Risk management in the context of RI
• Fixed income and ESG investment performance
• Behavioural finance and investment biases: implications for RI

Stewardship

• System‐level stewardship
• Uses, successes and limits of escalation strategies
• Incentives, corporate culture, and long‐term value creation
• Measuring stewardship inputs (staffing and resourcing) and outputs (activities and realworld
  outcomes)
• Investor policy engagement – practices and objectives
• Boards of directors, investor voting and ESG outcomes
• Corporate reporting (e.g., TCFD) and ESG disclosure

We encourage both theoretical and empirical contributions from diverse disciplines.

Further Information:

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

• Subject line: indicate “2022 PRI Academic Network Conference – Paper Submission”
• Copy all co‐authors on the submission email
• For each paper submission, submit i) one anonymized PDF, and ii) one PDF that lists all
  coauthors
• Indicate your interest in what conference format you would be willing to participate if
  your paper gets accepted:
  a) 2‐day in person conference in Barcelona only
  b) 5‐day virtual conference only
  c) both

Please note:

• 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:www.unpri.org/research

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 Network and
the Conference Committee.

Timeline
1 May 2022 Submission deadline for all papers
31 May 2022 Notification to applicants
16 September 2022 Presentation slides to be sent to the PRI ahead of the conference

Contact
For questions regarding submission, please contact caroline.flammer@columbia.edu
For questions about the conference, please contact events@unpri.org

Link CfP & Conference: The PRI Academic Network Conference 2022