ICM407: Climate Change and Sustainable Business and Finance

Module code: ICM407

Module provider: Finance and Accounting; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: 7

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Mininder Sethi, email: m.sethi@icmacentre.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 9 September 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is an introduction to the main topics at the intersection of finance, business studies and climate change. The wider impacts of climate change are discussed, as well as the main risks inflicted by climate change on individuals, governments, businesses, and their financial decisions. Furthermore, the concept of corporate social responsibility is introduced, and the relevant climate change regulations are presented. 

The module aims to provide students with the ability: 

• To present a well evidenced analysis of the effects and risks of climate change on individuals, governments, businesses, and financial institutions.  
• To apply techniques of climate analytics, business analytics and artificial intelligence to help understand the complex relationship between climate change, businesses, and financial decisions.  
• To understand the relevant international regulations and agreements around climate change and how these impact individuals, governments, businesses, and financial institutions. 

The module places no pre-requisite of knowledge in any area of science or mathematics and is designed to be easily understood by students of any academic background. The module is ideal for students who would like to know more about the effect of climate change across individuals and institutions and potentially be part of the solution to solving these new business problems.   

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

• Explain the effects of climate change on households, businesses, and governments and the importance of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. 
• Explain the relationship between climate change and ESG factors and describe the main analytics used in the study of climate change. 
• Explain the link between climate risk and finance and describe the challenges and opportunities faced by government, corporations and individuals with respect to climate change. 
• Outline the latest related national and international regulations and agreements, describe the roles of governments and regulators in this regard, and highlight the effects of their implementations on businesses and financial institutions. 

Module content

Topic 1: Climate Change and its Impact on Households, Corporations, and Governments. 

Topic 2: Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and ESG. 

Topic 3: Link Between Climate Change and ESG. 

Topic 4: Climate Analytics, including the use Artificial Intelligence.

Topic 5: Creating Sustainable Businesses. 

Topic 6: Finance and Climate Change. 

Topic 7: Climate Change, Infrastructure, and Project Finance. 

Topic 8: The Paris Agreement: What it Means for Businesses. 

Topic 9: Latest Developments in Climate Change Regulations. 

Topic 10: Climate Change and Financial Disclosure (TCFD, ISSB). 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• Formal lectures, in which students are strongly encouraged to ask questions. 
• Practical classes and workshops, in which students are encouraged to develop their analytic skills over climate and business data.  
• Seminars for the discussion of climate change case studies. 
• Face-to-face/Online availability for student consultation. 

Study hours

At least 32 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative feedback on an early draft of the individual assignment.

Reassessment

Additional costs