The A To Z Of Esg - Environmental & Social Governance

A Perspective for Businesses on How to Manage ESG - Why it matters to Financial Performance and to the Economy

What you'll learn
Understand how an ESG strategy drives Economic and Financial Performance
Learn about the new evolutionary risks in the world and how ESG can help prepare for them
Understand how to Manage all ESG aspects in an organisation, What to gain from it and the dangers of ignoring it
Learn what are ESG goals, why businesses need them and how they are set up and measured
Learn how Small Businesses are affected by ESG (and how Banks/Big Corporates are helping)
Learn about the regulatory frameworks that help businesses manage and measure ESG targets
Be able to discuss about Sustainability, Impact Investing, Greenwashing, Sustainable Finance, Taxonomy, etc.
Understand why there is controversy about ESG and be able to identify the doubtful behavior around it
Requirements
No significant knowledge of the ESG topic is required
Basic knowledge about businesses being subject to risks, and the role banks and investors play in supporting the economy with financing
A genuine interest in the future of society within a healthier planet and fairer human conditions
Description
This course explains what is Environmental and Social Governance, and why it is vital for businesses to embrace this new perspective in order to achieve better performance. Traditionally, evaluation of businesses focused on financial performance only. But today, organisations and institutions face new and increasingly important environmental and social evolutionary risks that demand adjusting their activities and governance. Businesses must evolve to prepare for a triple bottom line evaluation, where not only financial, but also social and environmental performance matter.To do this, companies and institutions need to go through a process of self evaluation and identify how they can have a positive impact in people and the planet, and what are the social and environmental risks they are exposed to. This exercise will imply modernizing the companies' Governance, and must involve all stakeholders that relate to the company. There is guidance available to do this and the course helps navigating this process.As Investors and Creditors are increasingly concerned with the environmental and social performance of companies, managing ESG risks and having a proper ESG strategy is becoming essential. While Big Corporations are capable of allocating resources (financial and otherwise) to this task, small businesses have bigger constraints in this area. The course provides guidance and inspiration for smaller businesses to navigate the task of managing ESG risks taking into account the small size of operations and limited resources, while preparing them to face the increased scrutiny from bigger clients, banks or investors.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction and meaning of the E, the S and the G

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 The origin of ESG: timeline and history

Lecture 3 What are ESG factors and why Businesses need to care about them

Section 2: How ESG is related to Economic and Financial Performance

Lecture 4 ESG: A new tool for Performance analysis (on top of Financial Statements)

Lecture 5 ESG is Worth the Effort: How ESG strategies affect Financial Performance

Lecture 6 How are ESGs determinant for Small Businesses' Performance. What can SMEs do?

Section 3: The particular case of ESGs in the Financial Industry

Lecture 7 ESGs in Banks and Credit Institutions

Lecture 8 ESGs in Investment companies (Fund and Wealth Managers, Venture Capital…)

Lecture 9 ESGs in Insurance - Impact Underwiting and sustainable Insurance

Section 4: Implementing an ESG strategy and its Reporting in Businesses

Lecture 10 The 4 Steps in Implementing an ESG Strategy - Introduction

Lecture 11 ESG Management: Materiality Assessment, Goal Setting, Communication, Reporting

Lecture 12 Setting the right ESG targets: Prevent Risks and Improve ESG Impact

Lecture 13 ESG Reporting and Disclosure: Frameworks and Standards, Greenwashing

Lecture 14 The Emergence of ESG Ratings and Third Party Assessments

Lecture 15 ESG Skepticism: Inaccurate Interpretation of What ESG really Means

Section 5: Developments Expected and Ahead in the ESG Space

Lecture 16 Regulation, Ratings and EU Taxonomy

Lecture 17 Small Businesses (Supply Chains)

Lecture 18 Growing Criminal Liability around ESG

Lecture 19 New Jobs and Career Opportunities

Lecture 20 Conclusion

Employees in any position that requires analysing clients' businesses and risks,Anyone that deals with Sustainability and ESGs in any capacity within any company/institution,Employees involved with KYC procedures, or due diligence on clients/suppliers activities,Employees in Banks, Insurers, Asset managers, Rating Agencies responsible for any ESG related topic,Anyone responsible for establishing/developing Sustainability accounting, processes and/or governance,Students in Economics/Management or young hires looking for an understanding of the ESG topic,Anyone looking to develop their businesses and attract business partners, financing or investment