Sustainable Finance

Module overview

This module provides a comprehensive overview of sustainable finance, a rapidly growing area at the intersection of finance and sustainability. The module underscores the significance of sustainable finance, illustrating its potential impact in shaping financial markets and exerting influence on broader societal and environmental realms. The primary aim of this module is to provide students with the necessary foundations of theoretical and practical tools used in sustainable finance. By the end of the module, students will develop a profound insight into the dynamics of financial markets within the emerging paradigm of sustainable finance and the different strategies and approaches to sustainable finance and investment.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

demonstrate skills in written and oral communication regarding the analysis of issues relating to sustainable finance, through the group discussions, assignments, and examination.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

analyse financial market data and evaluate financial sustainability in banking, equity investing, bonds investing, insurance and risk management
critically evaluate alternative sustainable investment strategies such as exclusions, best-in-class, exercising voting rights, and shareholder engagement.
critically discuss the long-term value creation through sustainable finance and alternative investment
articulate the role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in sustainable finance and investment

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

different strategies of sustainable investment.
implications of ethical, environmental and sustainability challenges for financial systems, including the role of ethics and trust in the investment profession
different approaches to sustainable finance and its relation to financial institutions and different asset classes

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

This module will involve 24 contact hours over a twelve-week period. Lectures account for 14 hours of contact time and are used to introduce individual topics. Teaching methods include: • Lectures • PowerPoint • Presentations • Mini class exercises • Role-playing games • Discussion • Case studies • Class discussion of relevant academic papers • Videos Learning activities include: • Case study • Role-playing games • Problem solving activities • Class discussion • Independent study

Study time
Type	Hours
Teaching	24
Independent Study	126
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Vargas, C. (2023). Sustainable Finance Fundamentals. Taylor & Francis.

Per Spen Stokness (2021). Tomorrow's Economy: A Guide to Creating Healthy Green Growth. Massachusetts: MIT Press.

CFA Institute (2024). Standards of Practice Handbook. Virginia: CFA Institute.

Paola Ferretti (2023). Banking and Financial Markets. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Schoenmaker, D. & Schramade, W. (2018). Principles of Sustainable Finance. Oxford University Press..

Simon Thompson (2025). Green and Sustainable Finance : Principles and Practice in Banking, Investment and Insurance. London: Kogan Page.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Group Coursework	30%
Examination	70%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%