Students

AFCP8141 – Sustainable Finance

2022 – Term 2, In person-scheduled-infrequent, City

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lindesay Brine
lindesay.brine@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
James Waddell
james.waddell@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to Master of Applied Finance or Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit applies Financial Markets techniques and methods to the development of sustainable capital markets with a focus on financing sustainable projects and developments.

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: Recognise the role of finance in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and explain the impact of sustainable finance on financing markets, market participants and financial instruments.
  • ULO2: Critically assess and evaluate the tools and techniques used for achieving sustainable development goals and the UN Global Compact into financing markets.
  • ULO3: Create solutions which integrate principles from the United Nation's Global Compact into the full lifecycle of a finance transaction.

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

Special Consideration  

To request an extension on the due date/time for a timed or non-timed assessment task, you must submit a Special Consideration application. An application for Special Consideration does not guarantee approval.

The approved extension date for a student becomes the new due date for that student. The late submission penalties above then apply as of the new due date.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class activities 20% No Refer iLearn
Financing Proposal 40% No Week 7
Final assessment 40% No Exam Week

Class activities

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Refer iLearn
Weighting: 20%

 

Tasks set with online classes including quizzes, online or recorded presentations, learning portfolio, analytical tasks and participation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the role of finance in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and explain the impact of sustainable finance on financing markets, market participants and financial instruments.

Financing Proposal

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 40%

 

Assessment of financing transactions. Individual tasks of up to 2,500 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically assess and evaluate the tools and techniques used for achieving sustainable development goals and the UN Global Compact into financing markets.
  • Create solutions which integrate principles from the United Nation's Global Compact into the full lifecycle of a finance transaction.

Final assessment

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Exam Week
Weighting: 40%

 

A time-constrained task based on scenarios. Open book.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the role of finance in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and explain the impact of sustainable finance on financing markets, market participants and financial instruments.
  • Critically assess and evaluate the tools and techniques used for achieving sustainable development goals and the UN Global Compact into financing markets.
  • Create solutions which integrate principles from the United Nation's Global Compact into the full lifecycle of a finance transaction.

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

Learning and Teaching Activities

Strategy: Programs in the Applied Finance Centre adopt a deep teaching and learning strategy. Students acquire and retain knowledge and can make sense of the issues and concepts and apply them in the “real world”. The program relies heavily on student engagement and participation by: (a) Continuous learning throughout the term. This is encouraged through a combination of students undertaking prescribed reading throughout the units and/or completion of practice problems, online activities, case studies, assignments, class discussions, etc and interaction via forums; and (b) Assessments, which enable the student to demonstrate his/her understanding of the learning objectives achieved through the continuous learning. There are no large-scale or formal lectures.

Student Participation: This is a blended unit where students need to complete assigned activities before live Zoom sessions and weekend sessions. Students participate in this unit by: (a) Actively engaging with the videos and required readings of this unit; (b) Working systematically through and completing online activities; (c) Interacting in forums and face-to-face/online sessions, and (d) Completing all assessment tasks.

Unit Schedule

Approximate schedule which may change depending on availability of guest speakers.

Topic

    
1. Introduction to Sustainable Finance 

 

    
2. Shared Value     
3. ESG and Equity     
4. Use of Proceeds     
5. Behaviour based Finance     
6. Carbon credits and trading; Negative, positive and controversy screening     
7. Regulation    

8. Frameworks 

    
9. Second Party Opinions     
10. Review     
11. Exam week     

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

New Unit

Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook