Sustainable Finance Online Short Course from the Univeristy of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is offering an 8 week online short course on sustainable finance. This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the social and environmental pressures facing the current financial system, and explore how sustainable finance strategies can create long-term value for business and society.  This self paced course is a flexible learning opportunity that will give students an understanding of the strategic implications of sustainability challenges on financial systems, including capital management in private sector businesses and public sector policy formation.
It will also provide an understanding of how the current financial system can be rewired to positively impact society and enhance your organisation’s long-term financial value. The course will help students understand the strategies and frameworks for responding to financial risks posed by social and sustainability issues, including impact investing, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, and positive screening. It will enhance core competencies for the public and private sector, including managing complexity, systems and long-term thinking, and collaborative approaches.

Course outline (modules)

• Module 1: Introduction to sustainable finance (learn about the current financial system).
• Module 2: Steering capital for a sustainable future  (investigate the flow of capital in the financial system).
• Module 3: Strategies that work for sustainable finance (explore sustainable finance approaches).
• Module 4: Rewiring risk and return (understand the relationship between risk and return, and the impact on sustainable finance).
• Module 5: Sustainable finance solutions (learn about the key attributes for promoting sustainable finance).
• Module 6: The role of the public sector in sustainable finance (investigate the role of the public sector in sustainable finance).
• Module 7: Trends, disruption, innovation, and sustainable finance (explore megatrends and the innovations required to deal with them).
• Module 8: Creating impact (develop an action plan that promotes sustainable finance in your environment).

Convenors

Martin Roberts: Director of Digital Learning, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Roberts is a programme director at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, where he helps companies with a global reach to derive value from embedding innovative approaches to sustainability across their organisation and their supply chains. Roberts has extensive experience working with companies and NGOs on sustainability challenges, with particular expertise in the food, agricultural, utility, tourism and extractive sectors. He has lived in several African countries working with governments and the private sector to tackle the resource challenges of today and the future.

Rose Dunne: Programme Manager (E-Learning and Creative), the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. As the programme manager of CISL’s e-learning portfolio, Dunne has designed and delivered courses for students working within the charity, education, and corporate sectors, up to master’s level. Prior to joining CISL, Dunne worked as a conservation e-learning specialist and designed an online course in collaboration with National Geographic. She holds a master’s in visual communication, and has produced creative and digital media projects across a range of mediums.

Alice Chapple: Subject Matter Expert. Chapple has worked on sustainable finance for more than 30 years. Her career has focused on finding ways to ensure capital creates positive social and environmental outcomes alongside financial return. Through her company, Impact Value, she works with several funds and companies to help them articulate, measure, and maximise their social and environmental impact. She is also the independent chair of the CDC Plus Committee, a trustee of the Shell Foundation, a member of the advisory board of the Sainsbury’s Foundation, and a chair of Investor Watch. Previously, Chapple was director of sustainable financial markets at Forum for the Future, a sustainable development charity, as well as an investment analyst and portfolio manager at CDC, the UK’s development finance institution. She holds an MA in economics from the University of Cambridge and is a chartered accountant.

Click here to request a prospectus.