João Almeida, a student of the master’s in finance, received the award for the best paper presented at the conference INSURE.hub (Innovation in Sustainability and Regeneration Hub), held on November 17th at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto.
The INSURE.hub (Innovation in Sustainability and Regeneration Hub) is the result of a strategic partnership between Universidade Católica Portuguesa, through its schools, Católica Porto Business School and Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, and Planetiers New Generation. Besides being a hub for change, the conference also appealed to research and original production of studies on specific themes, rewarding the best works in the various themes.
João Almeida's paper - "Green Bonds: An Empirical Analysis of Spread and Choice Determinants", - a collaboration with Professor João Pinto and Professor Paulo Alves, was awarded at the conference.
The paper starts by briefly addressing the issue of climate change and then highlights the importance and the relationship of the financial system with this matter. This way, the term Green Finance, a still very recent topic, emerges, exploring what it encompasses and its potential definitions, namely a specific instrument, the Green Bonds.
In terms of contributions to the literature, the article compares the spread between Green Bonds and conventional Corporate Bonds, reflects if the price of both is influenced by several pricing factors, and, finally, the determinants of companies' choice between Green Bonds and conventional Corporate Bonds.
This conference included faculty members from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, discussion leaders, international researchers, entrepreneurs, and public and private organisations, namely João Vieira (General Director of Operations Technology at MDS), Benedita Chaves (Head of Research, Development and Innovation Unit at LIPOR), Paul Hodges (Chairman New Normal Consulting & Infinity Recycling The World Economic Forum Global Expert), Ana Salomé Martins (Executive Board Member at Symington Family Estates), Peter Hanenberg (Vice-Rector at UCP) and Luís Rochartre (Senior Advisor at Planetiers New Generation). The aim was to promote circular, sustainable and regenerative business solutions.
It is also important to highlight that Católica Porto Business School has launched a new Post-Graduation, "Innovation for Sustainable & Regenerative Business", which promises to illustrate how companies can prosper and grow while solving some of the world's biggest challenges and how we, as individuals, can make a difference. The directors of this new course are António Vasconcelos, João Pinto and Manuela Pintado.