Grantham Institute, London School of Economics, UK
“Conflict Resolution: The Experience with Mainstreaming Sustainability in Multilateral Financing”
I am a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute at LSE, and a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Environment and Development (SUM) at the University of Oslo. My research interests are centered on the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into project lending and portfolio investment practices, and the emergence and effectiveness of global voluntary sustainability standards in the financial sector.
My present research focuses on three themes. First, the origins and impact of the Equator Principles, and related, the diffusion of process standards for managing environmental and social risks in the global banking sector. Secondly, the obstacles and opportunities for implementing the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the global banking sector. And third, the drivers of new financing to renewable energy and clean technology, and more generally, investor responses to climate change.
A cross-cutting interest of mine is examining the role of state authority and regulation in driving sustainability standards and practices, and under what conditions, if any, strictly voluntary business regulation works. In the past, I have worked in several capacities on responsible investment issues for numerous organizations, including multilateral development banks, socially responsible investment funds, environmental NGOs, and government ministries.
I am as transnational as my research, and born and raised in Oslo, Norway. I have a Ph.D in International Relations from LSE, and masters degrees in environmental policy and international political economy from LSE and Columbia University. I participated in the oikos PhD Summer Academy in 2004. Outside of work, I enjoy squash, cycling, and all things politics.