Dear Colleagues,

The International Journal of Financial Studies is pleased to announce a call for papers for a Special Issue focused on Sustainable Finance.

Sustainable finance has emerged as a critical area of study as societies worldwide strive towards a sustainable future. Sustainable finance seeks to promote investments that deliver long-term value while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and society. It considers the environmental risks and opportunities associated with climate change, the social impact of investments on stakeholders, and the governance structure of the organization. By integrating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors into investment decision-making, sustainable finance can facilitate a more sustainable and equitable future. Additionally, it can help to mitigate the financial risks associated with environmental and social challenges, such as transitioning to a low-carbon economy and the physical impacts of climate change. This Special Issue will also examine the drawbacks of ESG finance, the potential for greenwashing, and the current status of standardization. We will explore the challenges and opportunities associated with investing in ESG firms and the impact they can have on the financial industry and society as a whole. The goal of this Special Issue is to advance our understanding of sustainable finance and its potential to align financial systems and practices with environmental, social, and governance goals.

We welcome original research papers, reviews, case studies, and conceptual papers that offer novel insights into various aspects of sustainable finance. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Sustainable investment strategies;
• Socially responsible investing;
• ESG hype vs. Reality;
• The impact and unintended consequences of policy and regulation on sustainability;
• Counter-intuitive research, demonstrating that sustainable business practices may not be linked to superior long-term company performance;
• Sustainability accounting;
• Green bonds and other sustainable financial products;
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) finance and investment;
• Environmental risk assessment and management;
• Impact investing;
• Greenwashing;
• Corporate sustainability reporting and disclosure;
• Climate finance and risk;
• Sustainable banking and insurance.

All submissions must be original and not under review by any other journal or publication. Manuscripts should be submitted via the International Journal of Financial Studies online submission system and must comply with the journal's author guidelines. All submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the quality and relevance of the papers selected for publication.

We welcome your submissions and look forward to your contributions to this critical and timely topic.

Dr. Saurabh Ahluwalia
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. International Journal of Financial Studies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1800 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.

• environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors
• sustainability risks
• banking and insurance
• environmental regulation
• accounting for sustainability
• sustainable investment goals
• ethics in finance
• corporate social responsibility
• climate change
• carbon footprint
• social impact
• stakeholder engagement
• greenwashing
• sustainable development
• renewable energy
• circular economy
• responsible investing