French Social Investment Forum (SIF)

 

Events

THE FIR ‘FINANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY’ EUROPEAN RESEARCH AWARD – 4th Edition

The French Forum for Socially Responsible Investment (French SIF) is inviting students to submit their research work to the FIR “Finance and Sustainability” European Research Award 2009.

Why this prize?

The FIR Award was launched to foster academic research, still emerging in the Finance and Sustainability domain. By building bridges between the academic and the finance communities, as well as their stakeholders, the FIR Award aims to widen the scope of university and academic research until it brings innovative ideas to practitioners. In addition, the Award promotes university and academic research on finance and sustainability to a larger European audience and helps legitimise Socially Responsible Invesment (SRI). Lastly, it contributes to build a network of researchers in this field.

Categories rewarded

The award accepts submissions from students or researchers enrolled at European Universities or graduate schools, written in French or English.

Three 5,000 awards and three 3,000 research grants are rewarded:

  • Master’s Thesis award.
  • PhD Thesis award.
  • Academic Article award.
  • One research grant on "financial instruments".
  • One Research grant on "social issues".
  • One Research grant on "Marketing SRI".

Deadlines

  • Application deadline :October 31, 2008 at the latest
  • Selection Committee: November 20, 2008
  • Jury: December 11, 2008.
  • FIR Award Ceremony: January 19, 2009 at the Palais Brongniart (Paris)

The Selection Committee and the Jury are composed by researching professors, companies representatives and stakeholders representatives.

Contact:award@frenchsif.org

Top of page

FAIRE 2008 – Annual Forum for European Responsible Investment - 6th EDITION

The format of the event: 2 days (June 11th & 12th 2007 at the Pavillon Kléber – Potel & Chabot)

6 theme based round tables:

THE ANNUAL FORUM FOR EUROPEAN RESONSIBLE INVESTMENT - FAIRE

In June 2003 the French association “Forum pour l’Investissement Responsable (FIR)” (www.frenchsif.org), with the support of Euronext, organised the first forum for European responsible investment. It was the first "roadshow" of its kind in Europe which brought together 16 European companies who presented their sustainable development performances to over 250 asset managers as well as financial and extra-financial analysts from the major European countries active in SRI.

The FAIRE is now an annual event with an aim to promote the professionalisation of the SRI market and to facilitate the integration of non-financial criteria into mainstream analysis and fund management. This forum should develop greater links among companies and investors, as well as between SRI and mainstream analysts.

With the constant progress of companies’ extra-financial reporting and taking into account the feedback from participants in FAIRE 2005, we deemed it necessary to offer a more targeted approach for the fourth edition of the forum. In 2006 we will therefore focus on specific Sustainable Development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues.

Since 2006 we have kept the plenary session (to allow all participants to take part in all of the round tables), we have increased the “one-to-one” sessions (allowing us to welcome companies who are not presenting in the plenary session) and we will have a more specific presentation on French values that is better geared towards our international audience.

However, we introduce some major innovations: round tables are organised and co-animated in partnership with Asset Manager / Broker “pairs” each one dealing with a specific Sustainable Development issue, with three successive speaking slots: one for the experts who come from different backgrounds, one for responses from the companies facing these issues, and finally one for a debate with the participants.

The FAIRE is an event that is reserved for professionals in finance, socially responsible investment and institutional investors.

Top of page

Past events

Pharma Sector Seminar – 16th May

Hosted by CA Cheuvreux and supported by Eurosif, the seminar examined how large pharmaceutical companies address access to medicines in emerging markets and attempt to look into the future. It was drawn on Oxfam’s published briefing paper "Investing for Life: Meeting poor people’s needs for access to medicines through responsible business practices". The role of investors in promoting access to medicines will also be discussed.

Speakers :

  • Stéphane Voisin, SRI Manager, CA CHEUVREUX
  • report author, Helena Viñes Fiestas, OXFAM
  • Lee Wells – Head of Acces to Medicines Policy, NOVARTIS
  • Maria Vigneau, Director, Acces and Sustainability, ROCHE
  • Dianne Young, Investor Relations, ROCHE
  • Robert Sebbag, Vice President ‘Acces to Medicine’, SANOFI-AVENTIS

The presentations :

The participants :


3rd edition FIR "Finance and Sustainability" European Research Award

The 21st January 2008 at the Palais Brongniart in Paris, with our partner Le Monde, the FIR handed out the FIR Award of 5 000€ each to the winners selected among 31 candidates.

  • Best PhD Thesis
    "The Economic Virtues of SRI and CSR"
    Jeroen Derwall (Hollande) - RSM Erasmus & Maastricht Universities
    See the summary.

  • Best Master Thesis
    "Corporate Responsibility in Supply Chain Management – Case environmentaly Responsible Procurement"
    Kaisa Jungman (Finlande) – Helsinki University of Technology
    See the summary.

  • Best Academic Article
    "Corporate Social Responsibility and Managerial Entrenchment "
    Giovanni Cespa et Giacinta Cestone (Italie) – Universita di Salerno
    See the summary.

Two grants of 3 000€ were handed out to research projects.

Haut de page

FAIRE 2007 – Annual Forum for European Responsible Investment

The format of the event

2 days (June 11th & 12th 2007 at the Pavillon Kléber – Potel & Chabot)

4 theme based round tables :

  • Corporate Ageing (WestLB – AXA IM)
  • Human Resources and Performance (ODDO Securities – BNP Paribas AM – Sarasin Expertise)
  • The build up of Consumer Power (Cheuvreux – Société Générale AM)
  • Reducing GHGs – the means, the results & the costs (Société Générale – Caisse des Dépôts – Crédit Agricole AM )

Interventions by experts at each round table :

14 company presentations, of which 5 are European,

Multiple "one-to-one" sessions

Round tables presentations :

Haut de page

FIR/ MEDEF SYMPOSIUM
DOES NON-FINANCIAL REPORTING IMPROVE GLOBAL COMPANY PERFORMANCE ?
April 4th 2007

This symposium – the first of its kind in Europe – was an opportunity to encourage exchanges among different actors (companies, investors, rating agencies, brokers) on their respective perception of non-financial reporting.

It allowed for a better understanding of their points of view and their expectations, as well as create recommendations for improved consideration, by the markets, of non-financial reporting as a way to enhance the value of companies.

  • Introduction : “Non-financial reporting: issues at stake” - Laurence Parisot – president of Medef
  • 1st round table : Company point of view: What practices have been developed to build non-financial reporting?
  • 2nd round table : Market point of view: what can be said about the progress made in non-financial reporting?
  • 3rd round table : Standardisation and verification of non-financial items: What balance can be found between “hard law” and “soft law”?
  • Plenary session : Paths of progress for improved non-financial reporting
  • Conclusions : The future of non-financial reporting - Robin Edme – French SIF president
Haut de page

2006 French SIF « Finance and Sustainability » European Research Award
(December 4th, 2006, Palais Brongniart – Paris)

On December 4th, in partnership with Le Monde, our association awarded the laureates of the second edition of the French SIF « Finance and Sustainability » European Research Award and handed out prizes for best PhD Thesis, best Master’s Thesis and best published Article respectively to Danyelle Guyatt, University of Bath - Great Britain (« Identifying and Overcoming Behavioural Impediments to Long Term Responsible Investments-A Focus on UK Institutionnals Investors »), Eeva Lappalainen, University of Helsinki – Finland (« Risk Management Strategies and Practicesin Response to European Union Emissions Trading Scheme »), and Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné/Pauline Barrieu – France (« On Precautionary Policies »).

Each Award is worth €5 000

Besides the Awards, our association decided to finance 2 Research grants : Emilie Alberola – Univerity of Paris X (« The European CO2 market : effectiveness and determinants for quota prices »), and Simon Cornée – University of Rennes 1 (« Risk patterns in solidarity finance : a factual analysis via experimental economics »)

Each Research grant is worth €3 000

For the 2nd version of the Award the French SIF received 45 submissions from 16 different European Universities.

The articles of LE MONDE ECONOMIE

2006 Award Sponsors

Candidates and titles

Top of page

FAIRE 2006 – Annual Forum for European Responsible Investment

FAIRE 2005

The format of the event

  • 1.5 days (June 22nd & 23rd 2006 at the Hôtel Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme),
  • 3 theme based round tables (human rights, mobility challenges, scenarios & implications and environmental liabilities),
  • Interventions by experts at each round table,
  • 11 company presentations, of which 7 are European,
  • Multiple “one-to-one” sessions

2005 Finance and Sustainability Research Award
(December 5th, 2005, Palais Brongniart – Paris)

On December 5th, 2005 our association, in partnership with Le Monde, awarded the first laureates with the French SIF “Finance and Sustainability” European Research Award and handed out prizes for the best PhD thesis, best master’s thesis and best published article respectively to Celine Louche, researcher at Vierick Gent Leuven Management School in Gent, Belgium (“Ethical Investment; Processes and Mechanisms of Institutionalisation”), Anna Kumpulainen from the University of Helsinki (“Environmental Business Accounting in four Finnish Case companies”) and Jeroen Derwall from the University Erasmus of Rotterdam (“The Eco-efficiency Premium Puzzle”) respectively.

The three Prize winners have been selected among the authors of 7 PhD, 12 Master’s thesis and 17 articles. Three special mentions have also been awarded in each Prize category.

As a reminder, each award is worth €5,000.

Application procedure

Our sponsors

  • AGF Asset Management
  • AXA Investment Managers
  • Carrefour
  • Caisse des Dépôts
  • Suez
  • Dexia
  • Oddo Securities

With the support of

  • Paris Europlace
  • EuroSIF
  • Le Monde
Top of page

FAIRE 2005 – Annual Forum for European Responsible Investment / Forum Annuel de l’Investissement Responsable en Europe

The format of the event

  • 2 days (June 21 & 22, 2005)
  • 12 company presentations
  • 3 “sectors” represented (Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Large French Caps)
  • Continuous “One-on-one” Sessions
  • Thematic round-tables
Top of page

French SIF Roadshow (FAIRE) 2004 - June 24 & 25, 2004

The format of the event

  • 2 days (June 24 & 25, 2004)
  • 20 company presentations
  • 4 sectors represented (Automobile, Chemicals, Building Materials, Utilities)
  • “One-on-one” Sessions
  • Thematic round-tables
Top of page

French SIF Roadshow (FAIRE) 2003 – June 4 & 5, 2003

The FAIRE was the first European “Roadshow” of its kind, where 16 European companies presented information concerning their sustainable development performances to over 300 financial and extra-financial analysts coming from the main European countries who are active in SRI.

Its success was such that the French SIF has decided to continue the event in 2004.

Top of page

French SIF conference / Europe Confrontations – September 12, 2002

Conference theme: “Retirement funds, a lever for socially responsible companies in Europe?”

Top of page

Launching of the French SIF 2001 – March 8, 2001

The French SIF project was first thought of in January 2000. The association was created in November of the same year and its official launch, under the patronage of Euronext, took place on March 8, 2001. It was coupled with the presentation of the first study on SRI funds in France.

Top of page