PADM 5978

Environmental Finance and Impact Investing Practicum Pre-Sessional

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This experiential learning course will provide the opportunity for students to work as a team on some of the leading questions in the area of sustainable finance and impact investing today, while developing skills in client relationship management and project execution. Students will work with experts at South Pole, a leading sustainable finance firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, to develop and propose a financial product intended to deliver both economic as well as environmental and social returns. Specifically, the student team will be charged with conceptualizing and proposing a fund focused on investments in companies and projects in the area of sustainable tourism. The fall pre-sessional will provide students with foundational knowledge required to participate in EFII fieldwork over winter break and in PADM 5979 during the spring semester. Note that this is a multi-semester course, and both PADM 5978 and PADM 5979 are required to satisfy CIPA's EFII Certificate Practicum requirement.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (SBA-HE)
Course Attribute (CU-SBY)

• Define how the tools of finance can be used to address societal challenges such as ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecosystems.
• Identify opportunities to leverage the power of the investment markets to achieve environmental and social outcomes, by unlocking cash flows inherent to preserved or sustainably-managed ecosystems.
• Critically examine investment propositions in the impact investing space and identify the non-economic returns they deliver.
• Collaborate with an external client to deliver a product that is responsive to the client's needs and meets its expectations.
• Conceptualize, articulate, and propose a financial product that delivers both economic and environmental and social returns to investors.

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