This conference organized by the Accounting and Control Department and the MSc in Sustainable Development of HEC Paris during the 2011 October FrenchSIF week for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) aims to explore SRI in a broad sense and the potential role of non-financial criteria in the management of sovereign bonds. Indeed, the precarious situation of the sovereign debt market has driven changes in the political agenda of many European countries, often driven by the balance of payment and debt situation of the respective national governments. Analysis of social and environmental sustainability of countries and the related rankings offer a potential alternative to mainstream and dominantly financial analysis of sovereign bonds. Some of the questions to be addressed in this conference are:

- What are the possible relationships between (the lack of) environmental, social and governance sustainability and the current debt crisis?

- Could attention to environmental and social sustainability in the investment process contribute to minimizing the probability and/or risk of future debt crises?

- What are the political and technical barriers to integration of environmental and social factors in the sovereign debt investment processes and products?