Sustainable Finance Reporting & Disclosures

Who is it for?
This programme is aimed at those who are employed or aspiring to be employed in (Financial) Reporting, Risk or Finance functions, or working in dedicated Sustainability Teams with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to report, advise on, and advance the sustainability agenda across and within the financial services industry sector.

The programme will greatly enhance your knowledge and expertise of reporting and disclosures in relation to sustainable finance and provide you with the practical skills and tools to implement sustainability practices in your own organisation.

Award
Upon successful completion of the programme you will be awarded with the Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance Reporting and Disclosures from UCD.
This is a level 9 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications.

Existing ESG reporting frameworks (NFQ Level 9, 10 ECTS)
At the end of this module, you will be able to:

Explain the various types of ESG risks, such as climate (both physical and transition risks) and nature-related risks (environmental) including their potential financial implications, and how financial actors and supervisors are beginning to address them - through disclosures, climate risk analysis, and climate stress tests among other tools

Describe ways in which your firm may be exposed to ESG risks and how it may take advantage of ESG opportunities

Identify the major international frameworks and their key elements including: the Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Taskforce for Nature- Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) sustainability and climate standards, and the work of other important standard setters in the space - the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF- including SASB)

Dive more deeply into the 11 recommended disclosures of the TCFD framework that have been adapted for the ISSB standards and are being picked up by regulators around the world.

New ESG reporting frameworks (NFQ Level 9, 10 ECTS)
At the end of this module, you will be able to:

Understand the regulatory landscape within Ireland and the EU related to current and impending ESG regulations including being able to assess what requirements your firm may have now and in the future

Describe the objectives, structure, and timelines around the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

Compare the elements of the CSRD to the ISSB and understand the areas of interoperability and the important differences between the guidances including their perspectives around materiality

Consider the key elements of the range of Environmental and Social Reporting Standards (ESRS) developed for a variety of ESG subjects by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)

Explore the EU taxonomy and apply it to evaluate activities as well as understand the expectations around sustainable finance products under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) including Articles 6, and 8, 9 funds

Identify practical examples and case studies of issues related to greenwashing and understand the emerging scrutiny around green claims (in funds, products, and carbon markets) as well as legal risks

Assess the impactfulness of your firm’s sustainability initiatives in light of these new standards and expectations.

Implementing an ESG reporting framework (NFQ Level 9, 10 ECTS)
At the end of this module, you will be able to:

Undertake a capstone exercise to determine the ways in which ESG and sustainability fit into your current organisation’s governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets and conduct a gap analysis to identify areas of improvement

Consider the different roles and responsibilities required to integrate sustainability within your firm as well as the skills required and the creation of policies and procedures to align business and operational goals with sustainability requirements

Determine from peer best practices and case studies the elements of effective ESG disclosures, data, and assessment techniques

Determine the types of data required to conduct sustainability analyses and the common challenges and limitations as well as case studies on how these may be overcome. In addition, understand common metrics and calculations such as the process of financed emissions calculations by Partnership for Carbon Accountant Financials, (PCAF)

Understand the scenarios commonly used for scenario analysis such as those from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the International Energy Agency (IEA)

Explore the landscape of sustainability and climate tool and data providers including being able to understand differences in methodology, key questions for vendor assessment, and benefits and limitations of approaches such as ESG scores Begin the process of developing a transition plan for your firm as well as net-zero targets in accordance with the work of the Glasgow Financial Alliances for Net-Zero (GFANZ), the UN’s Race to Zero, the Science-based Targets Initiative, and the European regulations discussed in module 2

Develop an implementation plan to advance sustainability and ESG reporting within your firm in line with relevant Irish and EU ESG reporting requirements.

The minimum entry requirements to the Professional Diploma in Sustainable Finance Reporting and Disclosures are as follows:

An Honours degree (minimum 2.2 L8 NFQ)
or
Admission may be considered for experienced professionals who do not meet the admission requirements as set out above, where they can demonstrate knowledge through their work i.e. they have more than 5 years’ experience in a management role (to be considered on a case by case basis).

Professional body membership
You must be a current member of IOB, or become a member, to undertake this programme.

3 Trimesters.
This programme is delivered online on a part-time basis. Each module will have a weekly workplan throughout the trimester. There will be three full day instructor led webinars for each module which will be recorded and available to students.

Next intake Autumn Trimester - (2024-2025 academic year)

Please note that the programme content and fees are subject to change in the 2024/2025 academic year. Any changes will be outlined in the 2024/2025 prospectus and at iob.ie in August - the start of the new academic year.