Ricerc@Sapienza

The aim of this chapter is to introduce the aim and structure of the book. Specifically, the aim of the book is to build a bridge between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable finance in financial markets. Classic CSR topics have been investigated in the light of a modern conception of sustainability. The book is organized in two main blocks. The first block emphasizes four relevant topics in the CSR panorama of financial institutions: banks remuneration practices; human capital disclosure; the impact of environmental performance on banks, and finally, the institutional investors’ attitude towards socially responsible investments (SRIs). The second block looks to CSR practices within the financial markets and discusses risk-return profiles of SRI and non-SRI indexes in different time frames; it investigates whether thematic social responsible funds obtain different risk-return than traditional funds, and finally, assesses whether equity crowdfunding could foster social innovation.
The aim of the book is to build a bridge between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable finance in financial markets. Classic CSR topics have been investigated in the light of a modern conception of sustainability. The book is organized in two main blocks. The first block (Chapters 2–4) emphasizes four relevant topics in the CSR panorama of financial institutions: banks remuneration practices; human capital disclosure; the impact of environmental performance on banks, and finally, the institutional investors’ attitude towards socially responsible investments (SRIs). The second block (Chapters 5–8) looks to CSR practices within the financial markets and discusses risk-return profiles of SRI and non-SRI indexes in different time frames; it investigates whether thematic social responsible funds obtain different risk-return than traditional funds, and finally, assesses whether equity crowdfunding could foster social innovation. In more detail, Chapter 2 “Responsible Remuneration Policies in Banks: A Review of Best Practices in Europe”—by Stefania Sylos Labini, Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi and Elisabetta D’Apolito—explores whether bank remunerations are aligned to a set of CSR measures, going beyond the traditional (and controversial) alignment to financial performance. Results of this analysis appear promising, although European banks need to strengthen practices in terms of measurement of social performance and of a concrete link between remuneration and social performance. Chapter 3 “Intellectual Capital Disclosure: Evidence from the Italian Systemically Important Banks”—by Giuliana Birindelli, Paola Ferretti and Helen Chiappini—assesses the extent and accuracy reporting of intellectual capital (IC) of Italian systematically important banks.
The analysis shows that Italian banks may improve both the extent and accuracy of disclosure of IC to be in line with other international
competitors. Chapter 4 “Assessing the Relationship Between Environmental Performance and Banks’ Performance: Preliminary Evidence”—by
Rosella Carè and Antonio Fabio Forgione—investigates whether performance of European banks is related with their environmental disclosure
and performance. Findings support the thesis of a stringent link between environmental performance and banks value. Chapter 5 “Ready or Not, Here I Come, You Can’t Hide. Are Italian Institutional Investors Ready for Responsible Investments?”—by Duccio Martelli and Luca Testoni—analyses the institutional investors’ attitude towards SRIs. This chapter demonstrates that pension funds and family officers are more interested in SRIs than in the past, due to a growing awareness sustainability practices. However, the SRI risk-return profile does not appear always clear and understandable, limiting the investments of pension funds and family officers. Chapter 6 “Sustainable and Responsible