This PhD course is designed to help you critically engage with the empirical complexities of corporate sustainability research.

Registration deadline: September 6, 2026

Abstract and Learning Objectives 
In the realm of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, this course delves into the empirical
issues and literature critical for understanding today’s sustainability landscape and research. Amid pressing global challenges — such as biodiversity loss, climate change, inequity and human rights issues, and risks of digitalization — there is a growing recognition among firms, investors, and policymakers of the critical importance of integrating ESG criteria into decision-making processes. In response, academics have started producing tons of empirical research, which often grapple with considerable, partly ESGspecific issues of statistical inference. This course draws on research in the fields of accounting, economics, finance, and management to discuss a variety of pivotal ESG topics and to address the need for rigorous, data-driven ESG analyses. The course lays a sound foundation for your own sustainability research and can help you prepare for your future job.
Specific learning objectives:

• Understand the basics of sustainability (ESG) topics and applied empirical research
• Get an overview of the vast recent empirical ESG research and its theoretical concepts
• Dive into particularly important topics and current research papers
• Dive into the most important ESG-specific issues regarding data and econometrics
• Discuss conceptual and empirical issues of general ESG research topics and specific papers
• Improve your econometric as well as presentation and discussion skills
• Discuss and develop new research ideas

Lecturer
Prof. Dr. Peter Limbach
Universität Bielefeld
peter.limbach@uni-bielefeld.de