The Massey Sustainable Finance Conference 2026 is an academic conference on finance and sustainability, running 7–8 December 2026 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown Lakefront.
The Massey Sustainable Finance Conference 2026 is an in-person academic gathering at the intersection of finance and sustainability, running 7–8 December 2026 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown Lakefront. It draws academics, practitioners and policymakers to Queenstown for two days of research presentations, keynote addresses and discussion spanning climate finance, ESG, carbon markets and green finance.
Now in an established annual series, the 2026 edition moves to the Southern Lakes and carries a full keynote line-up alongside competitive paper awards.
The conference is organised by the Massey Sustainable Finance Cluster, which sits within the School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance at Massey University. Prof. Hung Do is Conference Convenor, with Prof. Ben Marshall as Scientific Coordinator and Prof. Liping Zou as Finance Coordinator. Financial Advice New Zealand and Plaxo Mortgages are listed as sponsors.
The organiser positions the event for academics, practitioners and policymakers working on finance and sustainability, and invites scholars worldwide to present research. The 2026 keynote programme features Prof. Iftekhar Hasan (Fordham University), Prof. Dragon Yongjun Tang (University of Hong Kong), Nick Hakes (CEO, Financial Advice New Zealand) and Assoc. Prof. Lei Xu (Adelaide University), signalling an audience that is both international and academic. Sessions cover sustainable finance, climate and green finance, carbon markets, ESG and CSR reporting, renewable energy finance and fintech, with best-paper awards including a dedicated Household Finance category.
The conference is held at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown Lakefront, on the corner of Frankton Road and Adelaide Street, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and a short walk from Queenstown's town centre. The organiser lists three session rooms, high-speed Wi-Fi throughout and meals included. Delegates fly into Queenstown International Airport, with taxi or rideshare for local transfers. Queenstown is one of New Zealand's established resort-town conference destinations, with a compact lakefront precinct that places the venue, hotels and hospitality within walking distance.
The conference brings an internationally programmed academic event to Queenstown, with offshore keynote speakers and a worldwide delegate pool arriving through Queenstown International Airport. It is an example of a specialist research conference choosing a Southern Lakes resort venue over a main-centre campus, reinforcing Queenstown's standing as a business-events destination capable of hosting multi-day international academic meetings.
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