CertSF Syllabus

Certificate in Sustainability
for Finance
About this course
Sustainability is one of the burning issues of our times and is an issue that is relevant
to us all, regardless of where we live or how we earn our living. As organisations are
rebuilding from the pandemic, there is a growing desire for a transformative and
sustainable global recovery, which is providing a fresh focus for organisations to drive
forward their position in relation to sustainability.
Accountants and finance professionals have an important part to play helping
organisations adapt as they adopt the sustainable practices required to prevent
resource depletion, facilitate long term success, and build a more stainable future.
The Certificate in Sustainability for Finance will allow finance teams to gain the skills
and knowledge to enable them to confidently lead on sustainability issues in their
organisations.
Key learning outcomes

• Explain why sustainability is important to society, to organisations, and to finance
professionals
• Evaluate business value chains, business models and business practices for
sustainability and related issues
• Define climate change risks and the financial implications associated with these
risks and understand the reporting frameworks for climate risk disclosures
• Explain the UN SDGs, their significance for organisations in terms of risks and
opportunities and the definitions of impact
• Explain why ESG issues are important for your organisation and evaluate processes
and systems for collecting, analysing and reporting ESG information
• Explain why sustainability analytics is important for your organisation and evaluate
the approach for compiling, analysing and interpreting ESG data.
Syllabus content
COURSE 1: COURSE 3:
An introduction to sustainability for finance professionals The SDGs and impact for finance professionals
This course is for finance and business professionals who want This course aims to equip you with an understanding of the
to develop their understanding on the issue of sustainability, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the value
the impact on organisations and the part they can play. creation opportunities for organisations from aligning with
The course explores how finance professionals can support the SDGs. This will enable you to support your organisation
opportunities to redefine value and businesses models to and clients in developing SDG impact-aligned business
become more sustainable. models and establish systems to report on the progress of
achievement of impact outcomes.
On completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Define sustainability and sustainable development On completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Explain why sustainability is important to society, to • Explain the development of the UN SDGs, their
organisations, and to finance professionals significance for organisations in terms of risks and
opportunities and discuss definitions of “impact”
• Understand the global challenges of sustainable
development and how business organisations can help • Identify guidelines for aligning business models with SDGs
meet these challenges and examples of impact business models and products
• Evaluate business value chains, business models and • Understand the various frameworks available for impact
business practices for sustainability and related issues reporting and accounting.
• Understand sustainability reporting frameworks
COURSE 4:
• Understand how the Science Based Targets initiative, and ESG performance and metrics for finance professionals
Big Data, contribute to sustainability This course will provide you with an understanding of the
• Understand responsible investment principles. importance of measuring and managing performance related
to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and will
COURSE 2: enable you to apply accounting techniques to the collection
Climate risk and reporting for finance professionals and disclosure of ESG data and information.
Climate change impacts every organisation, and the risks
On completion of this course, participants will be able to:
and opportunities for organisations need to be understood
and managed. Professional accountants and finance • Explain why ESG issues are important and relevant
teams are currently underutilised in this area, but our skills • Identify core ESG issues and metrics for your organisation
and knowledge are essential in building better impact • Evaluate processes and systems for collecting, analysing
management. and reporting ESG information.
In this course, we will be looking at the external forces relating
to climate change that, as professional accountants, we will COURSE 5:
have to address in order to Sustainability analytics for finance professionals
This course will provide you with an understanding and
On completion of this course, participants will be able to: overview on ESG data types, sources, tools and techniques
• Define climate change risks, including physical risk, to support sustainability analysis and its importance. We will
transition risk, and the financial implications associated explore how you can become more effective finance business
with these risks partners, enabling you to provide valuable insight to support
• Explain the stakeholder pressures for change in terms of decision making by linking sustainability to financial reporting
reporting and climate-related disclosures and business strategies.
• Describe the main reporting frameworks for climate risk On completion of this course, participants will be able to:
disclosures • Explain why sustainability analytics is important and
• Understand how organisations can improve their reporting relevant
and climate change analysis processes. • Identify core ESG data, sources, tools and techniques to
perform sustainability analytics for your organisation
• Evaluate the approach for compiling, analysing and
interpreting ESG data
• Apply relevant ESG metrics, targets, KPIs, benchmarking,
monitoring and reporting measures.
Assessment
Assessment consists of a multiple-choice quiz containing twenty-five questions from a question bank. You get three
attempts to pass the assessment and the pass mark is 50%. The assessment can only be attempted once you have
completed all five of the sustainability courses that make up the certificate.
The fees cover three attempts to re-sit the assessment if you fail but must be taken within six months of accessing the
online course. If you do not pass after three attempts, you will need to pay another registration fee to attempt the
assessment again, giving you a further three attempts to pass.

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Certificate in Sustainability

Key learning outcomes

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