This course is ideal for you if you recognize the importance of sustainable finance in shaping the future of the finance industry and you want to be at the forefront of this transformative movement. Recommended especially for:

Finance professionals

If you are working in the finance sector and want to stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving landscape of sustainable finance and investments. This course will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate this increasingly important area of the industry.

Environmental and social activists

If you are passionate about environmental conservation, social justice, and sustainability and wish to understand how finance can be utilized as a tool for positive change. This course will equip you with insights into sustainable investment strategies and how you can align your values with your financial decisions.

Business leaders and entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs and executives looking to integrate sustainability into their business models and investment portfolios. Understanding sustainable finance will not only allow you to mitigate environmental and social risks but also capitalize on emerging opportunities in the green economy.

Government officials and policymakers

Individuals involved in shaping financial regulations and policies at the local, national, or international level. Understanding sustainable finance is crucial for developing effective policies that promote economic growth while addressing pressing environmental and social challenges.

Students

Students pursuing degrees in finance, economics, environmental studies, or related fields. This course will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practices of sustainable finance, laying a solid foundation for further study and research in this area.

The focus of the course

Financing as well as capital markets- and bank-related investment decisions addressing a range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations when making decisions related to sustainable economic activities or projects.

Stretching over 7 occasions between April 16 and May 2, 2024, the course will be highly intensive and emphasizes group work as well as interaction and discussion in the classroom. 

Thereby, existing knowledge or experience in financial management and financial reporting & control is necessary.

Why to apply?

During this intensive course you are offered the opportunity to get up to speed in a very short time on relevant themes in the areas of sustainable finance and investments. 

You will

• Understand the importance and viability of sustainable investing

• Get an insight into the challenges and disruptions facing financial systems and business

• Develop an understanding of ESG-related factors in private and public market investing

• Acquire knowledge about tools and frameworks to respond to financial risks posed by sustainability issues

• Appreciate ESG-related valuation as a tool for making strategic decisions

• Understand the risk and return associated with ESG-based investment strategies

• Understand the sources of value in impact investing

• Identify and understand the different types of sustainable debt

• Measure environmental and social factors

• Gain ability to develop sustainable finance strategies and lead integration into traditional
financial management practices

• Develop a vision for the future of sustainable investing

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At the core of the Course are case studies which will require participants to not only make analytically sound and thoughtful executive management decisions in complex constellations, but especially consider ESG-related aspects when weighing in various investor views and interests, limitations imposed by stakeholders, possibly legal and corporate governance constraints and aspects of value creation alternatives.

Case Study 1: CO2 reduction with a viable commercial entity?

In March 2021, the team at Carbfix - a start-up born out of the culmination of more than 15 years of work by universities and parent company Reykjavik Energy- believed it had a
game-changing technology to fight against climate change: eliminating CO2 permanently and safely from the atmosphere by storing it in basalt rock. What was the best path forward to deliver on the company goal of reducing CO2 while building a viable commercial entity?

Case Study 2: Profitable nature protection?

Warren Adams founded Patagonia Sur in 2007 as one of the world's first for-profit land conservation businesses. His goal was to purchase over 100,000 acres of land in southern Chile and planned to derive various streams of revenue from the land-including eco-tourism, sustainable land development, carbon credits, water rights and eco-brokerage-thereby giving a financial return to investors on top of achieving a positive environmental impact.  Warren needed to convince both individual and institutional investors that his vision would succeed in both generating returns and preserving the natural beauty of Patagonia.

Case Study 3: ESG score related credit?

In June 2017, Barry Callebaut, the largest B2B cocoa and chocolate company in the
world renewed its revolving credit facility (RCF) introducing a novel feature suggested by the Dutch bank ING: the margin on the RCF would be tied to the company's ESG score from Sustainalytics, a leading sustainability agency, as a way to "make sustainability truly pay". A year later, Barry Callebaut has made progress towards the ambitious environmental and social goals of its Forever Chocolate programme, yet its ESG score has fallen almost to the level where the margin
on the RCF will increase.

Case Study 4: Investing in a developing market?

Matthew Haertzen, a timber portfolio manager for Cogent Partners, the fund manager for Cambium Global Timberland (a UK listed timber investment fund), was evaluating an opportunity from a company that employed a unique accelerated teak growth model. Mr. Haertzen needed to perform a capital budgeting analysis, including deriving an appropriate risk-adjusted cost of capital, to use in his investment analysis. Of equal importance was an assessment of the many risks associated with the teak plantation investment, given the political and economic environment in a developing market such as Honduras.

Case Study 5: Green bond markets

Lisa Jackson, vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple Inc. (Apple) and, previously, the first African American administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, was preparing for questions that might arise in relation to Apple's upcoming 10-year $1 billion green bond issue, Apple's second such offering. The case explores the economics of bond pricing in general, and green bonds in particular, by describing the results of the first issue,
focusing on possible reactions to the second issue, and surfacing concerns that arise in connection with green bond markets. The possible positive impact on the environment from green bond issues is contrasted to concerns about greenwashing.
 

Case Study 6: Exit from the solar power industry?

Angeleno Group, a clean energy private equity firm co-founded by Yaniv Tepper, is assessing a potential exit from a major acquisition in the solar power industry. The portfolio company, GT Solar, manufactures a critical component for solar cell production. GT holds the rights to a technology that disrupted the solar market by reducing the price of refined silicon and
enabling the production of low-cost solar panels. Three years after the original acquisition, Tepper and the Angeleno Group are considering a lucrative exit, but must decide between the public markets or a private sale-or possibly holding onto GT Solar.
 

Case Study 7: Strategically managing activist's pressure

On October 27, 2021, Daniel S. Loeb, founder and chief executive of the hedge fund Third Point, sent a letter to Royal Dutch Shell's Board of Directors outlining a significant value-creation opportunity. The letter suggested splitting the company in two -- a spinoff company that will include the Liquefied Natural Gas, Renewables, and Marketing businesses and the remaining
company that will include the Upstream, Refining, and Chemicals operations. How might the CEO and Board respond to this suggestion? How can Shell manage the increasing pressure from the activists? Should Shell frontally reject the proposal or try to arrive to an agreement?