Sustainable investing is a topic of increasing interest to the financial community. With global environmental and social challenges growing, and with meaningful millennial participation in markets anticipated, trillions of dollars are beginning to shift. The battle for future market share may well be won by those who respond best to this new investment paradigm. Sustainable Finance and Trends in Sustainable Investing provides participants with the experience, tools and community of practice they will need to become an important part of this global paradigm, including understanding that while there has been some ESG backlash, sustainable investing is here to stay.
Through a combination of lecture, discussion and group exercises, participants will learn about financially material Environmental Social Governance (ESG) indicators and data providers, and learn how to translate corporate performance on sustainability into financial performance, including using the Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI™) Framework. They will also review best practices in ESG and impact investing, and develop their own sustainable investment strategies. Executives will leave this course with concrete ideas about how to incorporate sustainable investment practices within their organizations.
Upon completion of this course, participants will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Program Takeaways
During this course, participants will:
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Leadership Skills
Develop the skills required to invest in businesses in a rapidly evolving environmental, social and political ecosystem. Those skills include system and design thinking, developing and executing ESG investment strategies, and managing radical transparency. -
Stakeholder Engagement
Broaden executive perspectives beyond Milton Friedman’s view that companies exist solely to deliver profits to shareholders to consider other stakeholders in the company (i.e., customers, employees, suppliers, etc.) and how they can be recruited as partners to help your organization succeed -
Innovation & Efficiencies
Develop the skills to identify and accelerate innovation in the organization by embedding the evaluation of sustainability impacts and outcomes in your products, services, and processes.
Who Should Attend
Although there are no formal education or background requirements, this course is designed for executives who meet the criteria below. While we strongly encourage global participation, please note that all courses are taught in English. Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.
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Years of Experience
Designed for professionals with 5+ years of work experience -
Job Functions
Ideal for executives in significant leadership roles who are interested in learning more about sustainable finance -
Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. The course is Intended for individuals with limited exposure to sustainable investing, though students with a background in finance will benefit most from the course.
Agenda
The following agenda is a sample and subject to change.
Please note: this agenda has been modified for live online instruction.
9:00 - 10:30 am ET: Session 1: Key Trends in Sustainable Business and Relevance for Finance
- What is ‘sustainable business’
- Key economic, environmental, social and governance issues
- Sustainable business: profitability and social impact performance
- The sustainable consumer and consumer demand for sustainability
- Current trends for embedding sustainability in corporate strategy
- Impact of COVID-19 coronavirus
- Kick off with small group discussion: Reflections on the readings
10:30 - 11:00 am ET: Break
11:00 - 12:30 pm ET: Session 2: Case Studies - Companies Setting the Standard
- The specific case studies used in this session will be tailored to the audience, but could include:
- Nike: Sustainability and Innovation through Flyknit Technology
- Nespresso: Supply Chain and Stakeholder Engagement Case Study
- Avery Dennison: Innovative Marketing of Sustainability Attracts More Loyal Customers
- Citigroup, Inc.: Innovation in Energy Efficiency Financing
- Domtar: Embedding Operational Efficiency
- KKR: Sustainability as a Performance Enhancer
- Small group working session: What are the commonalities across these corporate approaches to sustainability? As an investor, what should we be looking for?
Please note: this agenda has been modified for live online instruction.
9:00 - 10:30 am ET: Session 3: Emerging Strategies and Trends in Sustainable Finance
- The current state of sustainable investing, multiple emerging strategies
- The evidence on delivering alpha from sustainability
- Key challenges ahead for sustainable investing
- Impact of COVID-19 coronavirus
- Pathways to overcome barriers
- Small group discussion
10:30 - 11:00 am ET: Break
11:00 - 12:30 pm ET: Session 4: Measuring Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance
- Materiality and frameworks, strengths and weaknesses (including SASB, GRI, TCFD)
- Specific investor case studies
- Compare and contrast (including overnight exercise)
- Opportunities and challenges for delivering impact by addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Specific strategies and the roles of asset owners and fund managers
- Small group working session: work on a case to identify key ESG issues (including separate fund manager and asset owner discussions)
Please note: this agenda has been modified for live online instruction.
9:00 - 10:30 am ET: Session 5: Monetizing the Value of Sustainability
- New measures for quantifying operational ESG performance
- Turning non-financial performance into financial value
- Quantifying the impact of ESG performance on the corporate bottom line
- Monetizing the benefits delivered outside the company
10:30 - 11:00 am ET: Break
11:00 - 12:30 pm ET: Session 6: Monetizing the Value of Sustainability (cont.)
- Small group working session: work on a case
Please note: this agenda has been modified for live online instruction.
9:00 - 10:30 am ET: Session 7: Investing Strategies
- Reflections on the overnight exercises
- ESG issue and shareholder engagement
- New financing mechanisms for scaling up investment in sustainability
- Impact investing and Impact Measurement
- Other techniques for ESG integration
- Global considerations
10:30 - 11:00 am ET: Break
11:00 - 12:30 pm ET: Session 8: Hands-on Investment Strategy Development
- Build a portfolio objective and related fund materials
- Teams will produce a one-page sheet including a paragraph objective and target financial metrics of a single sustainable or impact investment fund that you intend to launch
- Small group working sessions
Please note: this agenda has been modified for live online instruction.
9:00 - 10:30 am ET: Hands-on Project: Build Your Own Investment Strategy
- Building on the one-page fund sheet designed in the previous session, participants practice creating and deploying a specific investment process, resulting in a starting portfolio of companies or investments
10:30 - 11:00 am ET: Break
11:00 am - 12:30 pm ET: Project Presentations & Wrap-Up
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