Johannes Freiling

Johannes Freiling is a doctoral researcher at the University of Hamburg and joined the Chair of Management and Sustainability in 2025. His research explores the intersection of impact labeling and sustainable finance, contributing to the theoretical foundation of the rapidly evolving impact investing industry.

Johannes holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Innovation, Business, and Sustainability from the University of Hamburg. During his master’s studies, he completed exchange courses at Copenhagen Business School, enriching his understanding of sustainability in global business contexts. His master’s thesis, titled Making Sense of SFDR: Bridging Theory and Practice in the Impact Investing Industry, reflects his keen interest in regulatory frameworks and their influence on sustainable finance practices.

Johannes has gained practical experience through his work in auditing and consulting firms, where he focused on the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the assessment of materiality. These roles provided him with a practical understanding of how sustainability frameworks are applied in organizational settings and informed his academic interests in sustainable finance.

His current research examines the role of impact labeling within the context of sustainable finance, aiming to contribute to a clearer theoretical foundation for the impact investing industry. By exploring these topics, Johannes seeks to contribute to some of the key challenges in the field, such as defining and standardizing impact metrics to enhance transparency and accountability.