Students

AFIN8010 – Environmental Finance

2022 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-In person assessment, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Rui Xue
rui.xue@mq.edu.au
Grace Lepone
grace.lepone@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(Admission to MActPrac or MFin) or ACST603 or ACST6003 or AFIN6012 or AFIN613 or AFIN6013 or ECON649 or ECON6049 or ECON991 or ECON8091
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Environmental Finance is designed as an advanced unit to equip students with insights into the changing dynamics of the natural environment and the effects on finance and accounting decisions in the modern corporation. Students will learn about the international climate finance architecture as well as public and private investments into new projects associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation. The unit will introduce methods for evaluating the effects of environmental changes on business, introducing students to tools that will enable them to be intelligent users of risk assessment methodologies. It will also focus on exploring the implications of climate/environmental change for asset impairment, and introduces students to ideas around corporate social responsibility and the applicability to environmental finance. The unit concludes by introducing students to general ideas of how to evaluate adaptation and mitigation investment decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Changing disclosure requirements from the changing environmental landscape are discussed.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply finance techniques and theory to make sound energy finance and related investment decisions.
  • ULO2: Analyse how markets react to the new standards of sustainable finance and investment.
  • ULO3: Evaluate the state-of-art financing models for green assets.
  • ULO4: Work productively in a group to analyse and present well-justified recommendations regarding a business problem or opportunity.

General Assessment Information

Late submissions of assessments

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, no extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available assessment-task marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24-hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. Late submissions will only be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time.

No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

Table 1: Penalty calculation based on submission time

Submission time after the due date (including weekends)

Penalty (% of available assessment task mark)

Example: for a non-timed assessment task marked out of 30

<  24 hours

10%

10% x 30 marks = 3-mark deduction

24-48 hours

20%

20% x 30 marks = 6-mark deduction

48-72 hours

30%

30% x 30 marks = 9-mark deduction

72-96 hours

40%

40%  x 30 marks = 12-mark deduction

> 96 hours

100%

Assignment won't be accepted

Other assessment criteria for assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Case studies 30% No Week 8
Valuation Task 20% No Week 12
Take home examination 50% No University Examination Period

Case studies

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 30%

 

Students will work in groups to analyse two cases. Students will present their findings and recommendations from this task via a (1) 1500 to 3000 word group report, for each case study; and (2) presentation. 50% of the marks from this task will be based on a student’s individual contribution to the case study analysis and their individual presentation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply finance techniques and theory to make sound energy finance and related investment decisions.
  • Analyse how markets react to the new standards of sustainable finance and investment.
  • Evaluate the state-of-art financing models for green assets.
  • Work productively in a group to analyse and present well-justified recommendations regarding a business problem or opportunity.

Valuation Task

Assessment Type 1: Quantitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will conduct a valuation of a company and produce a 1000 to 2000 word report.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply finance techniques and theory to make sound energy finance and related investment decisions.
  • Analyse how markets react to the new standards of sustainable finance and investment.
  • Evaluate the state-of-art financing models for green assets.

Take home examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 50%

 

Student will complete a take home exam in specified timeframe.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply finance techniques and theory to make sound energy finance and related investment decisions.
  • Analyse how markets react to the new standards of sustainable finance and investment.
  • Evaluate the state-of-art financing models for green assets.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required Text:

There is no prescribed textbook. Readings (where applicable) are taken from relevant academic books and journals. Refer to iLearn for further details.

Unit Web Page:

Access to iLearn iLearn

Delivery Format and Other Details:

Classes Intensive attendance; This class will be taught in block mode, that is, on several weekends. Students must thoroughly read all assigned materials before coming to the class so that they are fully prepared to discuss the key issues

Timetables You are required to attend your timetabled classes. The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site Timetable 2022

Unit Schedule

Please refer to iLearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook