2023-2024 / FINA9020-1

Foundations of sustainable finance

Duration

12h Th

Number of credits

 Advanced Master in Financial Risk Management2 crédits 

Lecturer

Caterina Santi

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The goal of this course is to provide the students with an understanding of the potential contribution of Sustainable Finance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Students will understand the consequences of financial decisions from an environmental and social perspective.

The course will cover, among others, the following topics:

  • Planet's social and environmental challenges.
  • UN sustainable development goals.
  • Transition of the economic system.
  • Main functions of the financial system and how to apply them to sustainability.
  • Sustainability's challenges to corporates.
  • Integrated reporting - metrics and data.
  • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance: ESG ratings, methodologies, and challenges.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand, explain, and synthesize the planet's social and environmental challenges.
  • Understand the role of Finance to achieve the UN sustainable development goals.
  • Explain the principles for responsible investment.
  • Understand, explain, and synthesize the sustainability challenges to corporates.
  • Understand how ESG scores are built and discuss them critically.
  • Apply the acquired knowledge to develop a firm sustainability report.
Specific skills and competencies trained during this course.

  • Ability to speak in English.
  • Teamwork skills.
  • Critical thinking.
  • Professional oral communication.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

- Fundamentals in finance (notion of arbitrage, net present values, financial markets). A course like Market Finance in EU (FINA0091) is a good prerequisite.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is primarily a lecture, based on the book "Principles of sustainable finance", by Schoenmaker & Schramade. During these sessions, the principles and goals of Sustainable Finance will be introduced. A session will be dedicated to the discussion of ESG data and their limitations.

In the last in-person session, students are expected to present in groups the sustainability report of a firm.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Blended learning


Additional information:

Distance learning on Tuesdays and Face-to-face on Saturdays.

Recommended or required readings

Schoenmaker, D., & Schramade, W. (2018). Principles of sustainable finance. Oxford University Press.

Berg, F., J. Kölbel, and R. Rigobon (2022). Aggregate confusion: The divergence of esg ratings. Review of Finance, 26(6), 1315-1344.

Exam(s) in session

January exam session

- Remote

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire )

August-September exam session

- Remote

oral exam

Written work / report

Continuous assessment


Additional information:

The final grade will be determined by the following two parts:

Online MCQ (30%)

MCQ online on the theoretical part of the course.

Presentation and Participation (70%)

Per group, students are expected to present the sustainability report of an assigned company. Each presentation will be followed by Q&A.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Caterina Santi, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor

HEC - Management School of the University of Liège (Belgium)

Office 104 Bat N1, Rue Louvrex, 14, 4000 Liège Belgium

email : Caterina.Santi[at]uliege.be     

Association of one or more MOOCs

There is no MOOC associated with this course.