Sustainability as a leitmotifProf. Dr. Alexander Bassen Awarded the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

27 February 2026, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: Andreas Weiss

Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen has been focusing on sustainability for more than 20 years, both as a research topic and in his own scientific work. As Professor of Capital Markets and Corporate Management at the University of Hamburg, he contributes his knowledge and experience to science and practice. He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his commitment on 27 February 2026.

You have been researching sustainable management at the University of Hamburg for more than two decades. How has the perception of your subject area changed in recent decades?

The topic has changed very much in cycles. I focused early on the question of the relevance of sustainability for the financing of companies and on organized capital markets. Initially, this was mainly a niche topic. As a result, it was hardly possible to publish in top journals. Implementation in practice was also primarily driven by the question of whether taking “non-financial information”—as sustainability indicators such as CO₂ emissions were called at the time—into account would result in a higher return or a lower risk.

This changed significantly after 2018, when the topic became more integrated into European regulation and became a standard part of reporting for most companies and investments. Today, we are experiencing headwinds both in research and in practice, as sustainability is once again increasingly being discussed as an obstacle to economic success. However, I am very positive that this will also be balanced out, sustainability risks for companies and capital markets are physical considerations independent of social perceptions.

You have been also been committed to sustainability and the scientific debate surrounding it at the University from the very beginning, for example as director of the Competence Center for a Sustainable University or as coordinator of the HOCHN joint project. What successes are particularly important to you?

The greatest success is certainly that through our work with colleagues both at the University of Hamburg and with the other universities we have brought the topic of sustainability to many university faculties and departments. At the very least, every sector asked itself about the topic, and, in most cases, provided exciting answers as to the social relevance of its own work. This is also reflected in the success of the 2019 Excellence Strategy under the heading “Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future”. I am particularly pleased that the topic has taken on a completely different relevance today than 20 years ago.

The award also honors your knowledge exchange achievements. How important is the exchange between research and practice for you? 

It doesn’t make sense for me to work as an economist completely isolated from practice. Transfer is a central obligation for me, not only to implement my research results, but above all to learn a lot from the work on the ground and derive new research questions. In particular, working on the many political advisory bodies such as the German Council for Sustainable Development or the German government’s Scientific Advisory Council on Global Change as well as committees for the development of standards, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, is very enriching, if sometimes also laborious, as the scientific recommendations are often not implemented or only selectively. But these are also exciting findings for research.