Antin IP Associate Professorship in Infrastructure Finance - Private Infrastructure and Sustainability: Does Private Equity Promote Firms’ Sustainable Performance?
Infrastructure is by nature a sector subject to sustainability scrutiny. The United Nations estimates that infrastructure generates about 79% of total global GHG emissions and is expected to represent about 90% of the $82 billion global climate adaptation costs to 2050. Furthermore, infrastructure is increasingly subject to disruptions due to climate change and related economic losses. So it comes as no surprise that in the last few years, sustainable fundraising has constantly grown, reaching a peak of $1.1 trillion in 2022. Behind this trend, there are a number of factors explaining the growing importance of sustainable infrastructure investments, among others escalating crackdowns from regulators, the need to avoid possible litigation from environmental campaigners as well as reputational damage, evolving stakeholder expectations and growing investor scrutiny. Against this backdrop, the integration of sustainable investment principles into investment decisions has recently ignited a policy debate about the role of finance in addressing global challenges and balancing financial performance with broader societal impacts. Academic research is not conclusive on whether sustainable investing is compatible with the f iduciary duty of financial advisors, fund managers, and institutional investors to act in the best interests of their clients or beneficiaries. This annual event, the third of the new five-year partnership under the Antin IP Associate Professorship in Infrastructure Finance, presents the preliminary results of the research on these key issues and focuses on how private investors in infrastructure contribute to more sustainable corporate performance of their portfolio investments. At this event, we will also present the findings from the fourth issue of the Observatory on Infrastructure Pricing, which centers on the related topic of climate change and impact on the returns of infrastructure as an asset class.
3:00 pm - Welcome Address
Francesco Billari Rector, Bocconi University
3:10 pm - Welcome Speech
Angelika Schöchlin Antin IP Senior Partner
3:20 pm - The Outlook for Infrastructure Investing
Stefano Gatti Antin IP Professor of Infrastructure Finance, Bocconi University
PART 1: SUSTAINABLE INVESTING AND FIDUCIARY DUTY: EVIDENCE FROM PRIVATE EQUITY
3:40 pm - Presentation of the Research and the Preliminary Results
Brunella Bruno Researcher with tenure, Bocconi University
Carlo Chiarella Professor CUNEF Universidad and BAFFI Centre - Bocconi University
4:10 pm - Private Infrastructure and Sustainability: The Roadmap for ESG and Value Creation in Face of the New Backdrop
Discussion
Stefano Gatti Bocconi University
Alex Kesseler Antin IP Partner – Performance Improvement
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet Antin IP Senior Partner
PART 2: THE OBSERVATORY ON INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET PRICING
4:30 pm - Climate Change and Impacts on Infrastructure Returns
Carlo Chiarella Professor CUNEF Universidad and BAFFI Centre - Bocconi University
4:55 pm - Closing Remarks
Riccardo Taranto Managing Director, Bocconi University
Registration will close on 13 November at 10:00 am