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Sustainable Finance and Investment

Sustainable Finance and Investment

Learn with our expert faculty

facultyFilippo Ippolito
PhD, Saïd Business School (Oxford University)
UPF and BSE
Director
facultyAlbert Banal-Estañol
PhD, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
UPF and BSE
Director Instructor
facultyMary Pieterse-Bloem
PhD at Tilburg University

Instructor

INTENSIVE COURSE

Sustainable Finance and Investment

Applications will open soon!
  ONLINE FACE-TO-FACE
Regular Fee 2000 € 2200 €
Reduced Fee 1100 € 1200 €

10% early-bird discount applies to payments made on or before December 19, 2022 at 23:59 (CET)

See below for reduced fee eligibility

Apply to join this course

Early-bird payment deadline: December 19, 2022

  ONLINE FACE-TO-FACE
Regular Fee 2000 € 2200 €
Reduced Fee 1100 € 1200 €

10% early-bird discount applies to payments made on or before December 19, 2022 at 23:59 (CET)

See below for reduced fee eligibility

Apply to join this course

Last day to apply: January 18, 2023

  ONLINE FACE-TO-FACE
Regular Fee 2000 € 2200 €
Reduced Fee 1100 € 1200 €

10% early-bird discount applies to payments made on or before December 19, 2022 at 23:59 (CET)

See below for reduced fee eligibility

This edition is closed. Next edition TBA.

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Course overview

Our decisions can change the world and make a difference.  Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) along with Sustainability, are increasingly important for business as well as the future of the planet.  In the Financial sector, sustainability is becoming more and more important. What today is considered sustainable finance will soon be the core component of the finance industry.

Sustainable finance is the sector's response to the growing concerns about climate change, environmental degradation, and social injustice. It takes into account how companies contribute to society and the environment, as sustainable investors want to ensure that their investments are not only financially viable, but also make a positive impact on the world.

Enter the conversation, contribute to the debate, and become part of the solution

What does it mean to be sustainable? Why is this an important topic across all industries? How will it impact our future? Our experts will explore these questions and other areas surrounding this topic, to determine how insights can be converted into action.

This course aims to provide you with unique skills and valuable insights into this exciting and crucial area of the financial sector. Learn how to stay ahead of the competition in the market and gain a deeper understanding of sustainable finance.

During this course, you will:

  • Become familiar with key concepts related to sustainability and learn how to integrate them into the financial decision-making process for public and private issuers as well as investors
  • Establish core knowledge of the key ESG factors associated with assessing financial decisions and investments
  • Learn how to apply financial tools to incorporate and adopt ESG-related factors in selecting and managing a portfolio
  • Be able to assess the viability of ESG investments, both in the stock and bond spectrum

In this course, you will learn through a series of lectures, relevant examples, and case studies developed by professors with extensive experience in sustainable finance and investment. 

Start 2023 in a strong way with this intensive course that offers you the opportunity to get up to speed in a very short time

In just three days you will:

  • Understand the importance and viability of the sustainable investing sector
  • Develop an understanding of ESG factors in public market investing
  • Acquire knowledge in ESG 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
  • Develop a vision for the future of sustainable investing

Schedule

Times listed are Central European Time (CET). Compare with your time zone on time.is

Instructors, topics, and schedule are subject to change.

Day 1
Time Session Professor
13:00-14:30 Session 1: The basic of sustainable finance and investment Mary Pieterse-Bloem
14:30-16:00 Session 2: Sustainability: It’s all about the data Mary Pieterse-Bloem
Short break
16:30-18:30 Session 3: Sustainable investment techniques  Mary Pieterse-Bloem 
 
Day 2
Time Session Professor
09:00 -10:30 Session 4: Does sustainable investing hamper or help performance? Mary Pieterse-Bloem
Short break
11:00-12:30 Session 5: Dealing with climate risks in an investment portfolio Mary Pieterse-Bloem
12:30-14:00 Session 6: The sustainable investment frontier Mary Pieterse-Bloem
Lunch Break
15:30-17:00  Session 7: Sustainable finance: products, structures and corporate valuation Albert Banal-Estañol
Dinner 
Day 3
Time Session Professor
9:00-10:30 Session 8: Cases and evidence on corporate performance: what works and what doesn’t? Albert Banal-Estañol
10:30-12:00 Session 9: Green finance Albert Banal-Estañol
Lunch Break
13:30-15:00 Session 10: Case study - Repsol: Stepping up and financing the energy transition

Buenaventura González Jiménez

(Guest Speaker: Repsol)
 

Course content

Read an outline of the topics for this course

Course outline

Session 1: The basic ingredients of sustainable finance and investment

  1. What is missing from traditional (corporate) finance?
  2. How to bring externalities into business models
  3. How to bring sustainable development goals (SDG) into the investment equation: ESG, SDG and impact data and ratings

Session 2: Sustainability: It’s all about the data

  1. The regulatory force: Company reporting and EU taxonomy and SFDR
  2. The main data providers of ESG scores and controversies: Sustainalytics, MSCI and others
  3. How to deal with differences in sustainability scores

Session 3: Sustainable investment techniques: what is green washing and what is not?

  1. Exclusions and dilemma’s (nuclear energy, palm oil)
  2. ESG best-in-class tilts
  3. Impact through SDGs and Engagement
  4. Impact through Green bonds, Social Bonds and SRI Bonds
  5. Impact through alternative investments (e.g. private equity, investing in agricultural land and forests, solar parks etc.)  

Session 4: Does sustainable investing hamper or help performance?

  1. Evidence on a company level
  2. Evidence on a mutual fund level (incl active – passive debate)
  3. Solving the sin stock puzzle
  4. Evidence on green bonds

Session 5: Dealing with climate risks in an investment portfolio

  1. Dissecting the different types of climate risk (stranded assets, asset value depreciation, carbon pricing of future production)
  2. How to model climate risk in an asset portfolio – bottom-up from a company / institutions footprint of transition risk (through carbon emission) and physical risk
  3. The pros and cons of mitigating climate risks

Session 6: The sustainable investment frontier

  1. Betting on new sustainable investment themes (such as biodiversity, circular economy, the future of mobility, healthy living)
  2. (Companies) investing in new technologies (such as electric mobility vehicles)
  3. The market for carbon pricing – panacea or fluke?

Session 7: Sustainable finance: products, structures and corporate valuation

  1. Products (e.g. bonds, loans) that may be available to provide capital to the SDG
  2. Financing ESG projects from proceeds of Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds
  3. How to include ESG factors in corporate valuation (adjustments of forecasted cash flows and WACC; materiality matrix)

Session 8: Cases and evidence on corporate performance: what works and what doesn’t?

Session 9: Green finance

  1. Climate change and the energy transition
  2. Are Green bonds making a real difference? What if the ECB turns Green?
  3. Financing renewal energy projects – can our energy markets cope with renewable energy? (instability of renewable energy supply, battery storage)
  4. Green infrastructure finance and regulation (stranded assets)
  5. New green developments: e.g. green hydrogen

Session 10: Case study - Repsol: Stepping up and financing the energy transition

Speaker: Buenaventura González Jiménez, Head of Corporate Finance at Repsol who has been leading the sustainable finace program for the company for the last year and a half. 

 

Participant Profile

This course is specifically aimed at:

  • Financial managers and Investment professionals
  • Executives from management companies and other institutional investors
  • Banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, private equity firms, government and non-governmental organizations, and financial market regulators
  • Lawyers, auditors, consultants, human resources, and marketing professionals who work in the finance sector and want to further understand the match between sustainability and finance

Fees

Below are the fees for this course. 

Discounts are available for participants with predefined criteria, please check the BSE Executive Education Courses Policies [pdf] for more information. 

* Reduced Fee applies for PhD or Master's students, Alumni of BSE Master's programs, and participants who are unemployed.

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