Frankfurt School of Finance & Management - Sustainable World Academy
Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Certificate
DURATION
6 months
LANGUAGES
English, German
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Jul 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
01 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,700 **
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
* Early bird discount available until January 15
** discounts are available
Key Summary
Reflecting sustainability criteria, especially climate change, in financial markets is increasingly gaining attention as opportunities and risks arising in this context are changing business practices. The course will prepare participants to understand the major drivers and constraints of transforming the financial system into a more sustainable one. Furthermore, it will familiarize participants with the business, regulatory and technical perspective of sustainable finance and will acquaint them to take an active part in the discussion around the topic. The course aims to enable financial professionals to integrate Sustainable Finance related aspects into their work through new knowledge and tools for advising their clients and business partners.
The online course can be complemented by a classroom component. This is voluntary and not a requirement to get certified by Frankfurt School. You can either book each of them individually or as a package.
This course is also available in German.
What Do We Offer?
- An interactive e-learning course including video lectures, PDF scripts, examples, practical exercises, online tests, and case studies.
- A discussion forum for course-related issues as well as for the exchange of opinions and experiences with tutors, peers, or the FSDF e-Campus team.
- Personalized support from your e-Campus team.
- The possibility to achieve a Frankfurt School certificate after passing the final exam or a confirmation of course completion after completing the course.
- An international network of institutions hosting our final exam all over the world.
- Optional: 2-day classroom training in Frankfurt, Germany.
Workload
The course takes approximately 6 months assuming 5-8 hours of self-study per week. It consists of 8 mandatory units, which build upon each other.
You are not sure if you manage to complete the course within 6 months? No worries! You can apply for a course extension (6 more months) against an administrative fee.
Finance experts and professionals, including retail bankers, financial advisors, asset managers, risk managers, etc., and all other financial industry professionals interested in the topic of sustainable finance.
The course starts with an introduction to Sustainable Finance and the necessary transformation of the financial sector before providing a broad overview of sustainable investment strategies and products. Next, three topical deep dives will allow the participants to understand the topics Environmental, Social and Governmental (ESG) data, Sustainable ratings and labels as well as scenario analysis and science-based targets. Real-life business case examples round up the course and share best practices and lessons learned. Through the assignment exercise, the participants conclude the course, implementing their newly acquired knowledge while benefitting from support and feedback from our experienced trainer team.
General information for the online course and classroom training
- Each of the courses can either be booked individually or as a package.
- You will receive the certificate only after successful completion of the e-learning course. Participation at the classroom training is voluntary and does not affect participation at the e-learning course.
- However, the classroom training is closely related to the contents in selected units of the online course.
- For further questions please contact your e-Campus Team.
| Unit 1: Sustainable Finance - from niche to mainstream Unit 1 will set the scene and introduce participants to the world of sustainability and how it affects financial institutions’ operations. It will also provide a broad overview of the different rationales why integrating sustainability considerations into business decisions can be important. Furthermore, Unit 1 summarizes existing trends and developments as well as leading industry initiatives. | Unit 2: The financial sector - enabling the transformation Unit 2 will take a look at the economic side of sustainable finance. It will discuss the role of the financial system in the transformation to low carbon and more sustainable economy. Furthermore, the Unit will provide a compendium on recent regulatory trends in financial markets worldwide and dare to take an outlook on what may evolve in the future. | Unit 3: Sustainable financial products Unit 3 will provide insights into major sustainable financial products on the debt and equity side (e.g. ESG and green bonds, sustainable equity funds, sustainable lending, etc.). Furthermore, it will provide an outlook on market development and discuss the offer and demand side for sustainable financial products. |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 4: Sustainable investment strategies and methodologies Unit 4 will explain major methodological approaches to measure and manage the non-financial impact of investments and how these approaches can be used for developing sustainable investment strategies. Furthermore, it will prepare the participants for the three deep dive Units 5, 6, and 7. | Unit 5: ESG data Unit 5 will shed light on the universe of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. It will provide an overview of the different sources, users, and purposes of use for ESG data. Furthermore, it will tackle the difficulties and limitations related to ESG data. | Unit 6: ESG- Ratings & labels Unit 6 will provide an overview of existing ratings and labels. It will take a look into the methodologies of sustainable rating agencies and how ratings can be used and interpreted. Besides, it will assess labels in a similar way while discussing challenges that relate to ratings and labels. |
| Unit 7: Climate scenario analysis This Unit will make participants familiar with climate-related scenario analysis tools and science-based targets. It will outline why using such tools can be helpful for financial institutions to steer risks and opportunities on a company level but also in the due diligence process. | Unit 8: Case Studies This Unit will provide two real-life case studies that guide participants to dive into social success notes and impact funds. Participants will be required to summarize/compose a short case on their own applying the newly acquired knowledge from this unit and the previous units. | Assignments - applying your knowledge In this exercise, each participant has to prepare the solution to a given assignment. The assignments are a bit more extensive case studies followed by a number of questions. The participant needs to answer these questions in writing. Passing the assignment is a precondition to register for the final exam. |
*Subject to change
Suggestions & Recommendations
While you decide on the timing and pace of your learning experience we would like to give you some recommendations on how to get the most out of this course:
Your schedule: We will provide you a course schedule including voluntary and mandatory deadlines. The course schedule serves as a guideline for your personal learning schedule and will help you complete the program within the given time frame.
Assignments: With the assignments, you will learn how to apply the knowledge learned during the course. It is important that you take time to read the necessary material and to solve the assignment.
Networking Opportunities: Use the forum to introduce yourself to your peers and start interesting discussions.
Training Approach
The flexibility of our courses offers you the opportunity to follow your own schedule and to combine daily work with professional development.
The high quality offered will immediately improve your daily job performance as well as the performance of your institution.
Training Material
| Video Lectures | Online Tests | Reading Material |
|---|---|---|
| Each unit ends with an online test comprising a set of 10 - 15 multiple-choice questions. Only after having successfully completed an online test, you will gain access to the next unit. | A PDF script is for most of our courses the main studying material. This reading material provides basic concepts and principles applicable to the subject of each unit. |
| Assignments | Discussion Forum | |
| The key to successful learning is the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge and the transfer of theory into practice. Our online courses are therefore supplemented by mandatory assignments. | A course discussion forum enables the interaction between participants and trainers and facilitates the exchange of experiences as well as possibilities to ask questions or get clarifications. |
Final Exam
Passing a final examination is a requirement for obtaining your certificate.
- Location: The final exam takes place online
- Duration: The final exam takes 2 hours.
- Costs: An additional final exam fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempt
- Certificate: Your digital certificate will be available upon passing the final examination.
If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.
Course Details - classroom training
The e-learning course units are complemented by two elective classroom training days at Frankfurt School in Frankfurt, Germany. These days provide the opportunity for participants and trainers to meet in real life for reflection, discussions, and deep-dives into current trends as well as tailored training sessions.
The next classroom training will take place from 27th until 28th January 2022 at Frankfurt School Campus (Frankfurt, Germany). The teaching language will be English or English/German, depending on the composition of the participants.