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Sustainable Investment and Finance
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Sustainable Investment and Finance

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 25061

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Adam Zaremba

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
University of Dubai (UAE), Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland
Interests: asset pricing; asset allocation; investment strategies; financial markets; equity anomalies; alternative investments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Asset and wealth managers have seen an impressive influx of funds flow into sustainable investment products. In the years 2012–18, U.S. assets under management that use sustainable investing criteria rose by more than 220%. Furthermore, given the generational change in financial markets and regulatory innovations, demand for sustainable investments is likely to grow.

Sustainable investing, also known as socially responsible investing, assumes incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values into the investment management process. Accordingly, institutions and individuals pursuing sustainable investment strategies aim to generate significant environmental and social influence alongside financial profits. The investment impact covers a range of different sectors, such as health, safety, climate change, renewable energy, and community development.

This Special Issue aims at offering a venue for an in-depth discussion of sustainable investment theory and practice. This Issue will cover studies dealing with sustainable investment products, strategies, approaches, theories, and opportunities. The suitable topics include but are not limited to ESG factors, sustainability, investment management, impact investing, green finance, environmental risks, financial stability, responsible investment, shareholder engagement, socially responsible investment (SRI), sustainable investment strategies, sustainable corporations, sustainable stock indices, sustainable information and reporting, sustainability performance measurement, sustainable investment products, sustainable mutual funds, sustainable portfolio management, ranking methodologies, sustainability measurement, sustainability and microfinance crowdfunding, social ratings and social rating agencies, and corporate reputation.

Dr. Adam Zaremba
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable investment strategies
  • sustainable investment products
  • corporate social responsibility
  • environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors
  • impact investing
  • socially responsible investing (SRI)
  • sustainable investment strategies
  • sustainable portfolio selection
  • green finance
  • social ratings
  • social rating agencies
  • sustainable corporations
  • sustainable information and reporting
  • sustainable mutual funds
  • sustainability measurement
  • financial stability
  • responsible investment
  • shareholder engagement
  • microfinance
  • crowdfunding
  • asset pricing
  • asset allocation
  • finance and climate change
  • environmental risk
  • sustainable stock indices
  • stock selection

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6683 KiB  
Article
An Analysis on the NASDAQ’s Potential for Sustainable Investment Practices during the Financial Shock from COVID-19
by Rachel Shields, Samer Ajour El Zein and Neus Vila Brunet
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3748; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073748 - 27 Mar 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3726
Abstract
There is a growing demand for sustainable business practices and for sustainable and impact investment as has been signaled by the Sustainable Development Goals ratified by all the United Nations members. However, there is not that much evidence on how sustainable investments perform [...] Read more.
There is a growing demand for sustainable business practices and for sustainable and impact investment as has been signaled by the Sustainable Development Goals ratified by all the United Nations members. However, there is not that much evidence on how sustainable investments perform during crises compared to regular investments. This paper investigates if sustainable investments within the NASDAQ have a lower volatility rate when reacting to a significant global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It groups the shares of businesses with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices that are ranked 70% or higher given by CSRHub, Inc. and compares it to business shares with the lowest-ranked CSR business practices at 30% or lower. The top 30% and bottom 30% CSR stocks’ volatility will be predicted using variations of the GARCH model. The top 30% CSR stocks of the NASDAQ had a lower rate of volatility for a global crisis than the bottom 30% CSR stocks. Technology is the only sector whose top 30% showed higher volatility. However, the top 30% of companies in the Health Care and Utilities sectors show a higher increase in returns and a lower drop in returns. These results signal the higher uncertainty associated with some cutting-edge products and services offered by the top 30% of technology companies and the preference for more established companies that offer higher quality services when it comes to satisfying basic needs such as health and utilities in difficult times. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Investment and Finance)
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42 pages, 883 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Economic Barriers and Drivers on Energy Efficiency Investments in Maritime Shipping, from the Perspective of the Principal-Agent Problem
by Ángeles Longarela-Ares, Anxo Calvo-Silvosa and José-Benito Pérez-López
Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 7943; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197943 - 25 Sep 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4141
Abstract
Maritime transport stands out as a strategic sector; the increasing trend in maritime traffic makes it essential to reduce energy consumption and emissions through investment in energy efficiency. However, investments can be hindered by barriers, and drivers are necessary to reduce or overcome [...] Read more.
Maritime transport stands out as a strategic sector; the increasing trend in maritime traffic makes it essential to reduce energy consumption and emissions through investment in energy efficiency. However, investments can be hindered by barriers, and drivers are necessary to reduce or overcome them and promote investment. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to analyze what factors influence investment decisions—and how they do so—when there are principal-agent problems in the shipowner–charterer relationship. The methodology is based on the following process: model and hypotheses formulation, variable definition, the creation of a study sample and statistical treatment through a descriptive analysis of variables and a binomial logistic regression model, all based on a state-of-the-art application. The results corroborate the hypotheses and indicate that principal-agent problems and split incentives, especially in time charter contracts, and a lack of verified information make the shipowners less likely to invest. Moreover, energy efficiency measures are less likely to be implemented in older vessels, possibly due to the difficulty associated with recovering the investment; they are more likely in larger and newer vessels, and regulation encourage their adoption. Furthermore, investment is more likely in vessels with verified information and high levels of both activity and harmful emissions. Improved knowledge in this field could help businesses and governments to act in a more sustainable manner, without detriment to an innovative and competitive sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Investment and Finance)
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18 pages, 521 KiB  
Article
Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance: Does Customer Satisfaction Matter?
by An-Pin Wei, Chi-Lu Peng, Hao-Chen Huang and Shang-Pao Yeh
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7545; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187545 - 13 Sep 2020
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 8600
Abstract
Academic research has shed light on the empirical relationships among a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) and firm performance and on the firm’s customer satisfaction–firm performance relationship in different markets. However, little notice has been taken of whether the [...] Read more.
Academic research has shed light on the empirical relationships among a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) and firm performance and on the firm’s customer satisfaction–firm performance relationship in different markets. However, little notice has been taken of whether the coexistence of corporate social responsibility, corporate social irresponsibility and customer satisfaction has an interactive effect on firm performance. This study aims to examine the effects of their interaction on firm performance from an investment perspective. Using unbalanced panel regression to test a sample of publicly traded firms from the United States, this study finds that, in general, firms with higher customer satisfaction earn positive changes in abnormal stock returns. For firms that engage in CSR, CSR positively affects corporate performance, whereas firms’ social irresponsibility activities reduce firms’ financial performance. All else equal, a positive interactive effect of CSiR and customer satisfaction on stock return was observed. The results reveal that high customer satisfaction can alleviate the negative effect of corporate social irresponsibility on firms’ financial performance. Our findings will help management executives and investors to understand that the negative effect of a firm’s unforeseen events on firm performance can be weakened by increasing customer satisfaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Investment and Finance)
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24 pages, 3762 KiB  
Article
Impact of Investment Sources for Sustainability on a Country’s Sustainable Development: Evidence from the EU
by Indre Lapinskaite, Viktorija Skvarciany and Patrikas Janulevicius
Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2421; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062421 - 19 Mar 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2735
Abstract
All countries face several issues while running the process of sustainable development—the absence of a uniform means of sourcing investment for sustainable development and the lack of a unified index for the evaluation of sustainable development. No doubt, ensuring sustainable development requires constant [...] Read more.
All countries face several issues while running the process of sustainable development—the absence of a uniform means of sourcing investment for sustainable development and the lack of a unified index for the evaluation of sustainable development. No doubt, ensuring sustainable development requires constant financial investments. Hence, it is essential to examine the investment sources for sustainable development at the country level and to comprehend if the current financial investment has a direct impact on the results of a country’s sustainable development. The article aims at identifying the financing sources for sustainable development for each of the European Union (EU) countries and assessing their impact on each of the EU countries’ sustainable development, which is expressed as the Integrated Sustainable Development Index (ISDI). After the detailed analysis of investment sources for the sustainability of the EU countries, two sources of investment, assignation of budget and the EU structural funds, were selected, and ISDI calculation was applied for twenty-five of the EU member states for the period 2003–2017. Correlation analysis (using SPSS software) helped to identify the strength of the connection and to select countries for the Johansen Cointegration Test (using Eviews software) in order to determine how variables interact. The results show that the combination of the assignation of budget and the EU structural funds has a positive impact on the coherence of five (Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Slovenia, and Austria) out of twenty-four countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Investment and Finance)
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16 pages, 5725 KiB  
Article
An Efficient Deep Learning Based Model to Predict Interest Rate Using Twitter Sentiment
by Muhammad Yasir, Sitara Afzal, Khalid Latif, Ghulam Mujtaba Chaudhary, Nazish Yameen Malik, Farhan Shahzad and Oh-young Song
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1660; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041660 - 22 Feb 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4453
Abstract
In macroeconomics, decision making is highly sensitive and significantly influences the financial and business world, where the interest rate is a crucial factor. In addition, the interest rate is used by the governments to manage the monetary policy. There is a need to [...] Read more.
In macroeconomics, decision making is highly sensitive and significantly influences the financial and business world, where the interest rate is a crucial factor. In addition, the interest rate is used by the governments to manage the monetary policy. There is a need to design an efficient algorithm for interest rate prediction. The analysis of the social media sentiment impact on financial decision making is also an open research area. In this study, we deploy a deep learning model for the accurate forecasting of the interest rate for the UK, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, and Mexico. For this purpose, daily data of the interest rate and exchange rate covering the period from Jan 2010 to Oct 2019 is used for all the mentioned countries. We also incorporate the input of the twitter sentiments of six mega-events, namely the US election 2012, Mexican election 2012, Gaza under attack 2014, Hong Kong protest 2014, Refugee Welcome 2015, and Brexit 2016. Our results provide evidence that the error of the deep learning model significantly decreases when event sentiment is incorporated. A notable improvement has been observed in the case of the Hong Kong interest rate, i.e., a 266% decline in the error after incorporating event sentiments as an input in the deep learning model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Investment and Finance)
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