The Sustainable Finance Operating System

The financial markets are experiencing a profound transformation with the introduction of new sustainability-focused regulations. Large shifts often come with disruptions and confusion. This book introduces the ‘operating system' for financial markets, exploring how changes are implemented across the capital value chain.

First, it presents the new operating system governing information and capital flows between the companies and the capital owners. While specific regulations differ, their general aim is remarkably similar: redirecting global capital flows.

Second, the book looks at how these regulations are implemented on the ground level. It analyzes how capital managers are taking decisions, considering the non-financial preferences of the capital owners. It also analyzes the new emerging IT landscape which helps companies to comply and leverage the new set of information provided by the new regulation.

This book offers a comprehensive look at the complex and multi-dimensional integration of sustainability into finance. The overview of the technological landscape will be an additional benefit for those looking to implement sustainability-related changes in their processes. The book will be of interest to students, researchers, and policymakers in sustainable finance and capital market regulation.

Wolfgang Spiess-Knafl is Co-Director of the European Center for Social Finance at Munich Business School, bringing experience from both practice and research. This includes an engineering degree, experience as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, doctoral research at Technical University Munich, and post-doctoral research at Zeppelin University focusing on the intersection of society, innovation, and finance.


He is also involved in Society Intelligence, developing AI models and IT systems to address social challenges. Wolfgang is the author of Impact Investing and Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Social Impact alongside multiple peer-reviewed articles.