On June 17, 2026, Jana Todorovic, PhD, President and Co-founder of Blufin, had the honor of presenting the key issues and findings of her research at the CESG diploma award ceremony of the Société Française des Analystes Financiers (SFAF).
A 2024 graduate of the CESGA program and a doctor in international law and sustainable finance, she revisited the conclusions of her thesis, which focuses on the responsibility of financial market actors in relation to human rights and environmental protection.
An urgent observation: The interdependence between finance and societal challenges
Environmental and social crises are worsening: the collapse of biodiversity, the increasing frequency of climate disasters, rising precarity, and the persistence of forced labor are all tangible signs of the urgency to act. Yet, for decades, finance has considered these issues external to its core mission. Today, this perspective is obsolete: ESG factors have become an essential lens for assessing long-term risks and opportunities. Moreover, finance can play a transformative role by directing capital toward more sustainable activities.
A rapidly evolving regulatory framework… but still incomplete
Driven by the European Union, an ambitious set of regulations has emerged in recent years: SFDR, the EU Taxonomy, and CSRD. These frameworks have revolutionized industry practices by strengthening transparency and providing reference systems to assess the sustainability of economic activities.
However, as Jana Todorovic’s research highlights, three major limitations persist:
- The “transparency trap”: Regulations increasingly require the measurement and disclosure of the negative impacts of investments, but they do not always mandate reduction thresholds or binding targets. The result? An inventory of harms… without concrete commitments to prevention.
- The complexity of the regulatory framework: While these standards have structured sustainable finance, their interpretation remains challenging, leaving significant room for discretion among actors. This complexity can hinder adoption and create market uncertainties.
- A bias toward the measurable: Easily quantifiable criteria (such as CO₂ emissions) capture attention, often at the expense of equally critical but less tangible issues, such as biodiversity or certain social dimensions.
Toward responsible and impactful finance
Despite these challenges, the momentum is irreversible. International and European standards have already profoundly transformed risk management, opportunity assessment, and portfolio construction. Sustainable finance is no longer an option—it is a driver of change. Its next challenge? Moving beyond mere transparency to generate real, measurable impact—both environmental and social.
Link to the SFAF article : https://www.sfaf.com/les-actualites-et-publications/actualite/999/intelligence-artificielle-et-finance-durable-au-coeur-de-la-remise-des-diplomes-de-lacademie-sfaf
