ESG and Sustainable Investing
Frameworks, ratings, greenwashing and building a sustainable portfolio.
Taught by Dipesh Koirala · CFA, Financial Analyst
What you'll learn
- Explain what environmental, social and governance factors measure and why materiality matters
- Distinguish exclusion, best-in-class, ESG integration, thematic, impact investing and stewardship
- Interpret ESG ratings from major providers and explain why they often disagree
- Summarise what ISSB IFRS S1 and S2, TCFD, the GHG Protocol and SFDR require
- Calculate a portfolio's weighted average carbon intensity in Python
- Evaluate a sustainable fund for greenwashing and build a portfolio that matches your goals
About this course
Sustainable investing has moved from a niche interest to a mainstream consideration for pension funds, asset managers and individual savers, and the jargon has multiplied with it. This beginner course explains ESG investing clearly and without hype. You will learn what environmental, social and governance criteria actually measure, how exclusion, ESG integration, thematic and impact investing differ, how ESG ratings from providers such as MSCI and Sustainalytics are built and why they disagree, and what the ISSB standards, TCFD, the GHG Protocol and the EU's SFDR ask companies and funds to measure and disclose. You will calculate a portfolio's carbon intensity in Python, learn to spot greenwashing and weigh the honest criticisms of ESG. By the end you will be able to read a sustainable fund's documents critically and build a portfolio that reflects both your values and your financial goals. No prior finance or coding experience is needed.
Course content
7 lessons- 1What ESG Really MeansThe three pillars of ESG, where the idea came from and why investors care about it.Preview
- 2Sustainable Investing ApproachesExclusion, best-in-class, integration, thematic, impact investing and stewardship, and when each one fits.
- 3ESG Ratings and DataHow ESG ratings are built, how to read them, and why providers often disagree about the same company.
- 4Disclosure Standards: ISSB, TCFD and the GHG ProtocolThe frameworks behind sustainability data, from TCFD's four pillars to ISSB standards and emissions scopes.
- 5Measuring a Portfolio's Climate FootprintCalculate weighted average carbon intensity and understand financed emissions and temperature alignment.
- 6Greenwashing and the Criticisms of ESGHow to spot misleading sustainability claims, the regulatory response, and the honest debates about ESG.
- 7Building Your Sustainable PortfolioA step-by-step process to define priorities, choose funds and review a sustainable portfolio over time.