Full-Time Programme and Curriculum

This pre-course aims to provide incoming students with the basic microeconomics concepts used in environmental and resource economics. The topics covered are introduction to economics; supply, demand, and market equilibrium; consumer and producer surplus; market interventions and deadweight loss.

Investors and regulators around the world are pushing companies to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their strategies and practices. This course covers the key areas of corporate governance from the perspectives of investors, companies and other stakeholders; the importance of good corporate governance as the foundation of sustainability; and corporate governance policies and practices that companies should adopt to ensure that environmental and social considerations are truly embedded within the organisation.

The course is highly qualitative. Much of the learning is through analysis, presentation and discussion of real-life corporate governance and ESG case studies. Students are expected to be able to think critically, and speak and write well as most of the assessment involves contributions to class discussions, presentations and written reports.

This course provides a theoretical and practical treatment of corporate financial theory. Topics covered in this course include: risk and return, capital budgeting and real options, financial statement analysis, capital structure, mergers and acquisitions and dividend policy.

This is a course in the theory and applications of risk and return in portfolio allocations and capital markets. This course will present the paradigm by which financial securities are valued and provide a framework for making investment decisions. Topics include the measurement of risk, diversification, optimal portfolio selection, asset pricing models, and market efficiency, as well as empirical evidence pertaining to these theories and practices.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and applications of carbon accounting and sustainability reporting, which are essential components of effective sustainability management and sustainability investing. The course will cover the frameworks and standards used for measuring and reporting on environmental impact, including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the IFRS Sustainability-related Disclosures Standard. Students will have the opportunity to develop their skills in conducting a carbon footprint analysis for a business, including calculating greenhouse gas emissions. They will also develop an understanding of the role of sustainability reporting in communicating a company’s environmental performance to stakeholders.

With the growing need to address societal issues, government and governmental agencies are no longer the main sources of solutions for these issues. Involvement from the private sector is a crucial component in the success of tackling society’s most pressing issues. Indeed, organizations and projects that champion activities to address societal issues are experiencing rapid growth around the globe. With this growth comes the increased need for funding assistance from various sources, including the government and private sector funders. The good news is that more and more private sector funders are striving to fund projects that deliver direct positive social and environmental impacts. This can be seen in a growing trend of social investments with a dual focus on both creating positive societal impacts and generating financial returns.

However, with so many social and environmental issues that need to be addressed and so much funding being funneled into projects that create positive impacts, impact organizations seeking funding are under more pressure to show their effectiveness in delivering the promised impacts. Moreover, with many projects to choose from, funders are also expected to perform stringent impact evaluations to fulfill their fiduciary duty.

This course looks at impact investments as one of the credible solutions to address critical social and environmental issues. Throughout the semester, the class will examine the role of impact investing in addressing societal issues, the motivation driving impact investors, how to properly evaluate impact, and a broad examination of the types of financing available for impact projects. The underlying theme of this course is identifying investment opportunities that can create sustainable solutions to tackle society’s most pressing issues.

This course will be structured around the theme of sustainable household financial decision making. Specifically, Sustainable Household Finance studies (1) how households make decisions relating to the consumption of utilities; (2) how to households respond to environmental factors like pollution; (3) how institutions provide goods and services to satisfy these financial functions of households; and (3) how interventions by firms, governments and other parties affect the services to households. The scope spans from finance, economics, industrial organisation, laws, psychology, and sociology.

1. Sustainability factors are becoming more influential for the financial returns and long-term value creation of a corporate. The environment, social and governance (ESG) risks must be properly managed by various stakeholders such as corporate, suppliers, customers, investors, governments, and regulatory bodies.
2. This course aims to provide the comprehensive understanding on the sources of the risks as well as financial tools, theoretical principles, and various risk management frameworks to be employed to manage various risks, such as climate change, natural and energy disaster, corporate crisis, human error crisis, and technology related crisis.
3. In the end, we will illustrate on how to make a company sustainable by considering both external and internal factors. Asian-based case studies are included.

This course endeavors to acquaint participants with fundamental concepts in cost/resource planning and profit optimization, aiming to enhance efficiency and risk management within companies. Simultaneously, it provides students with a holistic understanding of sustainability within supply chain management. Throughout the course, we will explore the integration of widely-utilized optimization methods from finance, operations, and marketing, and their application to environmental sustainability, waste reduction, and supply chain resilience. By bridging these optimization techniques with sustainability principles, students will gain insights into how businesses can achieve improved efficiency, increased profitability, and positive environmental impact. Emphasizing the significance of integrating sustainability into supply chain operations, the course highlights the potential to minimize environmental footprints, reduce waste, bolster resilience, and foster long-term value for both businesses and society. Through comprehensive discussions, students will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the intricate interplay between operational optimization and sustainable practices, ensuring a balanced and forward-thinking approach to business management.

FOR PART-TIME STUDENTS

This practicum allows students to apply the concepts and frameworks learnt from the core and elective courses on the topics of sustainable and green finance in a real world situation or environment. The students are expected to identify a gap or an application area in their current work environment, and propose and recommend a suitable solution in the area of sustainable finance.