Rethinking Finance: Can Democracy Enhance Sustainable Investments?
Name of applicant
Johannes Lundberg
Institution
Score (Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research), Stockholm University
Amount
DKK 2,538,740
Year
2025
Type of grant
Internationalisation Fellowships
What?
At the center of the green transition in today’s financialized economy are pension funds, being the largest asset owner group. The project explores the potential of democratic processes to impact sustainable investment choices through the comparatively climate-progressive and democratic Danish pension funds and the relatively impactful civil society divestment (fossil fuel dis-invest) campaign.
Why?
While a swift transition from fossil fuels to green energy is urgently needed, shaky geopolitics spurs uncertainty and defense investments. To navigate how sustainable investments can be encouraged and legitimized, the research literature demands studies on divestment determinants, democracy in institutional investors, and influential civil society divestment campaigns.
How?
Through interviews with trustees, administrators, regulators, and campaigners, discourse analysis of reports and media statements, and comparisons of decisions and strategies, the project analyzes to what degree Danish funds’ climate-related investment choices have been shaped by the funds’ degree of democracy, diverse campaign strategies, fund characteristics, and prevailing financial frameworks.