Climate change presents a risk to the global economy and consequently the finance sector. However, it also presents an opportunity for innovative financing to increase the economic and social resilience to climate impacts. As facilitators of the economy, financial institutions have a central role in the transformation to low carbon and climate-resilient development. Their responsibility is twofold: greening their portfolios towards Paris compatible financing and investments, and reflecting and integrating climate-related risks into their risk management processes. This gradual process involves harmonizing short-term business cycles and investment horizons with systemic and long-term thinking by all actors from the financial sector (e.g. banks, asset managers, insurers, pension funds, investment consultants, regulators, rating agencies). This process is supported by public actors who moderate the structural change required for a transition to climate-resilient economies. This course provides the basics of finance and investment for assessing the financial viability of investments in adaptation projects. It clusters business models to provide an understanding of the parameters according to the project scale and, for example, revenue models, ownership structure, and value proposition, and will link to the financing perspective. Different investors and intermediaries have very different investment strategies, levels of risk appetite, return expectations, and investment horizons. Crowding in the right investor for a project is essential to ensure their long-term involvement and the required scale-up of investment volumes.

Environment Social and Governance criteria (ESG) and Impact Investing have gained a lot of traction in recent years and will continue to do so in the (post-) Corona world. Calls for a green and socially equitable re-start are very prominent. The EU’s Green New Deal (“Green Deal”) and the UN`s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are good examples of how ESG criteria and ideas of Impact Investing are being incorporated into policy objectives. International development agencies have embraced ESG and impact criteria to guide investment decisions, as have many family offices, investment vehicles, and other institutional players, ranging from foundations and philanthropists to the private sector. ESG and Impact Investing are approaches to finance that are related to each other, although they may occupy different ends of the spectrum in terms of methodological intensity or operational mindset.

In the four-course online Impact and Sustainable Investing certificate program you’ll build foundational and practical expertise in impact investing for equity and sustainability. As global challenges mount, investors and corporations are increasingly striving to align their products and processes with sustainability and social justice goals. Meanwhile, local communities and advocates for social and racial justice and sustainability are developing innovative solutions that require capital investment. There is a growing need for professionals who have the vision, knowledge, and tools to harness the vast potential of the capital marketplace to complement strategies for positive change.

The overexploitation of natural resources required to achieve economic growth and development has negatively impacted the environment and adversely affected their availability and cost. So, it is easy to see why the idea of a circular economy, which offers new ways to create a more sustainable economic growth model, is taking hold across the globe. This program is designed to help you understand the growing business case for sustainable solutions and learn how to manage and grow a sustainable business by incorporating circular economy principles into your strategies.

Stand out in a crowded field with a Business Sustainability and Ethics Certificate. The Business Sustainability and Ethics Microdegree consists of 4-courses providing a concentrated perspective into the complex field of business law, economics, and ethics.