Introduction to Sustainable Finance

Overview

Programme type: Executive Education
Location: Bentham House, London
Dates: 8- 11 July 2024
Duration: 4 days
Fees: £3250

The programme

As sustainable finance products are becoming increasingly important to wholesale and retail allocations, there are a plethora of international standards and leading jurisdictional regulatory regimes that differ from each other. This course aims to systematically examine the jigsaw pieces of relevant regulatory frameworks, as well as to map key international differences.

The course will introduce the regulatory policies and frameworks for popular sustainable finance products, i.e. sustainably/responsibly/ESG labelled investment funds as well as green bonds, biodiversity bonds, and social impact bonds.

There are international divergences in regulating these products and their offerings, and we hope to be able to offer a knowledge base as well as mapping and comparative insights between the EU and UK regulatory regimes in particular. Several of these new regimes will enter into effect soon (or have entered into effect recently) meaning that different stakeholders are having to adapt their operations and increase their knowledge of these issues.

Key information

Entry requirements:

There are no formal entry requirements to our executive education programmes, however, typically our applicants will have:

a minimum of three years' work experience
a bachelor's degree or higher, or significant work experience in a relevant role(s) to the degree expectation.
a fluency in English (an English language test is not required for this programme, however, the programme is taught entirely in English without translation, and so you should be comfortable communicating in English.)

Who will course appeal to?

This course will appeal to a broad audience who are interested in learning more about how these markets are governed by law and regulation.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

Have an understanding of the EU and UK regulatory frameworks for sustainably/responsibly/ESG labelled investment funds.
Have an understanding of the EU, UK and international frameworks for green, biodiversity, and social impact bonds.
Have an understanding of the emerging regulatory regimes for the various intermediaries involved in ESG, their offerings, as well as expectations/liabilities.
Be able to navigate and find regulatory sources for the various relevant regulatory frameworks for sustainable finance more confidently, while understanding the role of different stakeholders and the risks arising from climate litigation.
Critically consider what regulatory frameworks may achieve.

Content

Key topics: Day One – (IC) Green/ESG Investment Funds and Regulatory Frameworks
Introduction to sustainably/responsibly/ESG labelled investment funds, the rationale for regulatory frameworks and the EU SFDR/CSRD, Taxonomy Regulations, as well as the UK funds labelling regime.

Day Two (PS) – Green, Biodiversity, and Social Impact Bonds
Introduction to green, biodiversity, and social impact bonds. Discussion of (i) macro issues, such as relevant private standards, such as those issued by the ICMA and CBI, alongside the emerging public standards, such as the EU GBS, as well as (ii) micro issues, such as KPIs and drafting practices for these new products.

Day Three (IC) – ESG Intermediaries
Introduction to the infomediaries that support the sustainable finance industry, mapping and comparing the regulatory frameworks for credit ratings, ESG ratings, anti-greenwashing, benchmarks regulation, and the audit and assurance industry for corporate reporting. The differences between the EU’s legislative and the UK’s soft law approach will be highlighted.

Day Four (PS) – Climate Activism and Litigation
Understand contemporary theories and current debates in the interdisciplinary field of sustainable law and finance, including ESG investing and activism, the role and duties of the board of directors in relation to sustainability issues, asset managers and shareholder stewardship, private equity, venture capital and sustainable executive pay. Risks and impacts of climate litigation, as well as the different entry points that have been used in different jurisdictions.
Course structure and assessments: Delegates will receive four hours of lectures/ seminars each day. There will therefore be a total of 16 hours of classroom teaching over the four days. There will be no assessment but delegates will receive a certificate of completion provided that they attend at least 12 hours (75%) of classes.

Teaching staff

Professor Iris H-Y Chiu (Convener)
Pedro Schilling de Carvalho

Research expertise

The latest Research Excellence Framework positions us as the leading Law School in the UK. Key highlights include:

Out of 69 law faculties in the UK submitted to the 2021 REF, UCL Laws has been rated as the leading institution in the UK for research quality
UCL Laws’ 2021 REF results reflect a consistently excellent performance across all three measures of REF assessment: outputs, impact and research environment
The faculty has the top GPA (3.62), the highest number of overall 4* results, and the highest quality index (QI) in the UK
UCL Laws is ranked in the top five across all three measures (outputs, impact and research environment)

Choosing this programme will give you access to world-leading academics in their field, delivering impactful research with solid, topical and practical application.

Fees

The fees for this course are £3250. We offer discounts* for the following:

20% discount for UCL students, staff and alumni
15% discount for delegates from non-commercial sectors
15% discount to commercial organisations that send three or more delegates
15% discount for those currently not in work

*discounts can only be applied once if any of the above apply.