Duration
12h Th
Number of credits
| Advanced Master in Financial Risk Management | 2 crédits |
Lecturer
Substitute(s)
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
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.
- 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.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@
- Microsoft Teams
Further information:
Schoenmaker, D., & Schramade, W. (2018). Principles of sustainable finance. Oxford University Press.
Roncalli, T. (2024). Handbook of Sustainable Finance.
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
Dr. Patrick Schwarz | Assistant Professor
HEC - Management School of the University of Liège (Belgium)
Office 104 Bat N1, Rue Louvrex, 14, 4000 Liège Belgium
email : patrick.schwarz[at]uliege.be
Association of one or more MOOCs
There is no MOOC associated with this course.