The University of Oxford Prize for Greening Finance was established in 2023 to recognise research and service that helped society better understand how environmental change influenced finance and investment, and how economic and financial systems could contribute to achieving global environmental sustainability. An endowment was established to support the Prize in perpetuity through a generous donation.
The winner of the outstanding research category in 2024 was Rob Bauer, Professor of Finance (Chair of Institutional Investors) at Maastricht University and holder of the Elverding Chair on Sustainable Business, Culture and Corporate Regulation.
Professor Bauer’s work on the financial performance of socially responsible investment strategies was instrumental in challenging misconceptions and providing empirical evidence on the relationship between sustainability and financial returns. As the Director of the European Centre for Sustainable Finance at Maastricht University, he fostered collaboration between academia and industry, translating research insights into practical applications for sustainable investing. Professor Bauer’s commitment to rigorous empirical methods and his ability to bridge theory and practice made him a leading voice in shaping the future of sustainable finance research and education.
Professor Bauer gave his public lecture as part of the prize, entitled ‘What Investors Really Want: Beliefs, Preferences, and the Practice of Sustainable Investing’, on 19th June 2025, at the H B Allen Centre, Keble College, Oxford, followed by a drinks reception.