Programme Overview

50% funding available for eligible applicants. Please contact jane.flanagan@tcd.ie for further information.

Delivered over nine months in a flexible, part-time format designed to support your work schedule and busy life. Focused on providing a practical approach to connecting ESG priorities with financial management, the course equips participants to look at strategic finance, investment decisions, and internal finance processes in ways that can lower organisational carbon footprint, comply with emerging compliance frameworks and provide competitive advantage. It supports professionals who are working to align sustainability plans with regulatory requirements such as the EU Taxonomy, SFDR, and CSRD, while also understanding how to secure and apply sustainable finance effectively.

As expectations around sustainability continue to shift across regulation, reporting, and organisational strategy, this programme helps professionals apply financial knowledge with confidence, supporting ESG progress within their business context.

About the Programme
The Leading and Implementing Sustainable Finance programme supports mid to senior professionals working in financial management or related roles who seek to address sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities. It is also relevant to those responsible for applying sustainability strategies who wish to understand the financial aspects of doing so. This includes professionals preparing to meet new expectations in regulation, disclosure, and performance measurement, particularly when accessing and using sustainable financial products and in analysing the financial costs and benefits of engaging in a sustainability strategy.

The programme features four core modules and an applied Action Learning Project. Content spans leadership and change management, access to sources of sustainable finance, capital expenditure and internal investment issues, and reporting requirements. It also places a strong focus on cost-effective means of implementing sustainability initiatives. Teaching is led by academic faculty alongside senior professionals from financial services, investment, banking, and advisory backgrounds, offering insight grounded in real-world decision-making. Participants will build the knowledge to evaluate their organisations’ impacts on environmental and social developments, and the related financial risks and opportunities, structure sustainability-linked investment plans, and improve ESG-related reporting.

Course Highlights

• Apply Sustainable Finance in Practice
  Use real business scenarios to strengthen how you plan, assess, and report on sustainability-related financial decisions.
• Keep Up to Date with Regulation
  Build working knowledge of the EU Taxonomy, SFDR, CSRD, and TCFD. Apply regulatory insight to strengthen your organisation’s compliance and planning.
• Strengthen Strategic Finance Skills
  Advance your ability to link ESG goals with financial tools, investment decisions, and risk management.
• Learn from Experienced Industry Professionals
  Gain insights from a teaching team with senior backgrounds in investment, banking, risk, and corporate sustainability across top-tier financial and advisory institutions.
• Complete a Hands-On Project
  Apply course learning directly to your workplace or chosen organisation through a practical, outcome-focused Action Learning Project.

Learning Outcomes: 

• Lead with Purpose
  Drive sustainable finance strategies that align ESG goals with investment and corporate finance decisions.
• Use Financial Products and Techniques for Impact
  Access and invest capital including green and sustainability-linked bonds and loans to meet stakeholder expectations and support businesses in achieving social and environmental goals.
• Evaluate Risk and Opportunity
  Interpret ESG data and assess financial risks and opportunities to guide business planning and investment.
• Strengthen Compliance and Oversight
  Manage regulatory requirements under EU and global frameworks. Develop and implement internal controls that support transparency and risk management.
• Build Internal Systems for ESG Delivery
  Embed ESG principles into budgeting and capital expenditure plans across your organisation.
• Champion Sustainable Finance in Practice
  Advance sustainability-related projects, internal governance, and corporate reporting to support long-term business value.

Who is this course for?

This course is suitable for mid to senior level professionals in corporate roles who lead or support sustainability initiatives that require financial input. Mid to senior managers in financial services, corporate finance roles and financial decision making roles would also benefit from the strategic role of the programme in connecting finance with sustainability goals. The programme would especially suit those in sectors such as pharma, tech, infrastructure, and manufacturing, where ESG goals need to align with finance. If you wish to access sustainable finance, manage ESG reporting, or work with finance teams to deliver sustainability plans, this course is ideally suited to you.

Professional Advancement 

Strengthen your leadership in sustainable finance. Gain the skills to connect financial planning with ESG priorities, lead regulatory compliance, manage sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and guide investment strategies. Use this programme to advance within your organisation or step into new roles that require financial insight and sustainability expertise in a rapidly evolving area.

Admissions

The Postgraduate Certificate course is open to: 

• Graduates with a degree (or equivalent) with a strong academic record in any discipline from a recognised third-level institution
• Applicants without a degree with a proven managerial track record
• As a part-time executive programme, participants must be resident in Ireland or the EU.

All applicants are required to have a minimum of 3 years of professional or managerial work experience and should provide two references confirming their eligibility and suitability for the programme, which together with the applicant’s academic performance during their undergraduate years and their CV will be used to select the most suitable candidates. Interviews may be conducted to clarify applicants’ motivation and interest in the programme.
Language requirements for students whose first language is not English are IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL IBT 90 for non-native English speakers.

Contact jane.flanagan@tcd.ie for course enquiries. 

Programme Director:

Dr. Louise Gorman

Dr. Louise Gorman, having successfully completed her PhD in corporate governance at Dublin City  University in 2016, brings a wealth of financial and academic expertise. Specialising in accounting,  finance, corporate governance, and ESG, Louise has achieved publications at ABS 3 level. In 2022,  she joined Trinity Business School as Assistant Professor in Finance. Louise actively contributes to prestigious national and international publications and events, enhancing scholarly and professional  discourse in the corporate governance and ESG professional and academic communities.

Lecturers:

Alan Duffy

Alan has over 10 years of investment experience at tier 1 institutions. Prior to joining ILIM, he worked in the proprietary trading group of Credit Suisse AG, where he was Portfolio Manager responsible for arbitrage strategies. Alan has an MSc in Finance from Warwick Business School, and a BSc in Economics & Finance from University College Dublin. Alan holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Kevin McConnell

Kevin leads out on the Implementing Sustainable Finance module with deep insights from a career spanning 20 years in the investment and banking industry. His expertise spans market behaviour analysis to the impact on investments, particularly in sustainable finance, where he explores current trends, ESG investments, and regulatory evolutions with participants. Kevin has significantly contributed to the asset management industry, working with international investment groups, especially in private equity.

Sean MacHale

Sean will delve into the requirements and best practices in reporting and disclosure. Sean’s professional background is in investment banking. He is currently a partner with EY, in charge of the Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) and in his last role he was the Head of Sustainability strategy and Group Climate lead for a leading Irish financial institution. Sean has extensive experience in capital markets, risk evaluation and delivering transformational business change programmes for clients within financial services.

Ben Lynch

Ben together with Louise, will guide participants through the Action Learning Project. Benjamin completed a PhD in Sustainable Finance from Trinity Business School in 2022. His overarching research interests relates to investigating the incentives for investors and firms to alter the sustainability of their practices. His research portfolio encompasses a diverse range of topics within sustainable finance including the value and risk implications of varying levels of ESG (Environmental,  Social, and Governance) performance, Carbon markets, and the importance of materiality in ESG integration investment strategies.

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