BAI Workshop Sustainable Finance & ESG

The BAI workshop Sustainable Finance & ESG 2025 provided a comprehensive overview of the regulatory framework for sustainable finance, sustainability reporting, ESG reporting, and impact investing. The topics were examined and discussed from a wide range of perspectives such as legislators, institutional investors, advisors, and, of course, asset managers. 

In his keynote speech entitled “Sustainability reporting in transition – costs and benefits of current regulations from an investor perspective”, Prof. Dr. Maximilian Müller from the University of Cologne reported on the impact of the CSRD on the information landscape for investors, among other topics. In addition, Dr. Christina Stappert, Technical Principal Financial & Sustainability Reporting at the Institute of Public Auditors in Germany (Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland e.V.), gave a summary of past sustainability reporting priorities, existing uncertainties, and future reporting audits in her keynote speech “Current developments in sustainability reporting and its auditing”. Furthermore, Susanne Schenker, Policy Officer for Sustainable Finance at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union, provided initial insights into the European Commission's proposal for SFDR 2.0, published on November 20, 2025, in her keynote speech “Regulatory update on Sustainable Finance”. The panels on the topics of “ESG Regulation and ESG Reporting” and “Impact Investing & Private Markets” and many other specialist presentations—ranging from nature capital to financing the energy transition, etc.—successfully rounded off this year's “class reunion” of practitioners for practitioners and investors.