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Sustainability is the talk of the town. Sustainability is the prerequisite for a future worth living, especially when dealing with the farewell to fossil fuels and the dissemination of renewable energy. Finally, sustainability is not for free. Frankfurt School researches, develops and implements projects with the framework of financing sustainability.
Part of it is the extension of sustainable power generation, a gigantic project and part of a global structural transformation, eventually leading to a climate friendly, low emission and altogether sustainable economy. The question is not, whether the energy transition is going to happen. Much rather it is about the “how“ and “how quickly“ the transition to an almost carbon-free economy will be implemented. Changes in the power generating and distribution infrastructure need investments in new technologies. The structure of energy markets will evolve, in order to empower the integration and finally the dominance of renewable energy in the power mix. Nonetheless, this sector will remain strongly regulated.
Changes like these challenge investors and power suppliers, but also lawmakers. Pushing forward the financing of renewable energy calls for an understanding of rules, market structures and technologies as well as their impact on the investors perspective. How do midterm and longterm returns change? What are the associated risks? What will be the regulatory influence on investment incentives? Frankfurt School faces the numerous challenges in the growing field of sustainable finance in all sectors: In Academic Programmes, Executive Education, in Research and in many consulting projects worldwide.
There is no doubt: Green and sustainable finance constitutes a core subject of the process of transformation to a sustainable global economic and financial system. Neither the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals nor the implementation of the Paris Agreement are possible without fundamental change, to be accomplished within the framework of the basic structure of national and international capital allocations.
The Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany wants to establish forward thinking and efficient financial market structures based on the implementation of sustainable financing strategies. The network brings together activities of the various stakeholders, creates synergies shaping this transformation process in an efficient and cost-reducing manner. The aim is to support the transition to a climate-friendly and sustainable economy and to support sponsors and supporters with needs-driven work on sustainable finance topics, starting with outlining the status quo, work on standards and professional training, and to give Frankfurt a voice that resonates internationally.
The Cluster, initiated in 2017 by the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs, joined forces withDeutsche Börse Group lead Accelerating Sustainable Finance Initiative in spring 2018. It is a project that forms part of the Integrated Climate Protection Plan Hesse 2025. It is hosted at the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance.
Current global challenges, such as climate change and the progress of digitalization, need innovative and solution-oriented action. Therefore it is crucial to transform the financial system to a more sustainable system worldwide.
The Frankfurt Declaration, introduced by the Deutsche Börse Group, is a voluntary commitment which attests the signatories’ intent to take action to define a framework for a sustainable financial sector. It aims to mobilize market participants and hence a sustainable financial market infrastructure. Frankfurt School of Finance & Management fully supports the declaration.
Since March 2018, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management officially supports the Global Compact of the United Nations. The network between businesses and the UN supports a more social and sustainable globalisation. The business school proclaims to support the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. This includes to comply and support human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Frankfurt School commits to report on progress.
Frankfurt School is among the first academic institutions around the world to participate in the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME).
With that, Frankfurt School expresses a conviction that academic institutions, through integrating universal values into curriculum and research, can contribute to a more stable and inclusive global market and help build prosperous and thriving societies.
Having signed the document, Frankfurt School commits itself to integrating corporate responsibility and sustainability in a systemic manner into its curricula, research, teaching methodologies and institutional strategy.
Frankfurt School’s International Advisory Services (IAS) has recognized the demand for consultancy and training in the financial sector since the early 1990s. With funding from leading international development institutions (e.g. ADB, AFD, AfDB, EC, EBRD, EIB, GIZ, IFC, KfW, World Bank) or directly from our clients, we help institutions tackle financial bottlenecks and provide innovative and sustainable solutions by facilitating financial inclusion for all.
We believe that well-functioning and resilient financial systems are essential in boosting economic growth and employment and ensuring stability in developing states, as well as contributing to poverty reduction and income equality across the globe.
We also strongly believe that our technical assistance efforts are contributing to improved living conditions for the most vulnerable groups in the countries where we operate and support the achievement of most of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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IAS has three operational pillars – the Advisory, Training & Education and Analytical units encompass all of our core competences. Our Advisory unit is comprised of nine competence centres that target traditional fields in finance such as Financial Inclusion, SME Banking and Affordable Housing Finance, but also engage in newer topics such as Gender Finance and Women Empowerment, Climate & Green Energy Finance, and ICT Solutions. The Training & Education pillar contains our portfolio of e-learning courses, post-experience degrees and open enrolment executive programmes. Last but not least, the Analytical unit combines academic research with project implementation in delivering various studies, policy advisory, assessments and research papers.
We deliver world class expertise from our Frankfurt Head Office, as well as the regional centres in China, India, Kenya, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. We operate in more than 130 countries and have implemented over 800 projects in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Pacific, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. Our strength lies in understanding the organisational context of our clients and offering flexible solutions in terms of feasibility and sustainability.
Climate Adaptation: Tajikistan Climate Resilience Financing Facility Climate Adaptation
Tajikistan is regarded as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. In particular, its water resources and hydropower production will be increasingly affected by changes in temperature, melting of glaciers and precipitation. Land degradation, already another major concern in Tajikistan due to its mountainous terrain and poor land management practices, is also expected to intensify due to climate change. All these natural developments are dramatic and can have severe negative economic and social impact on the country if left unmitigated.
Unfortunately, climate change may not be stopped, however mitigation and adaptation measures are possible. To address these challenges, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) appointed Frankfurt School to manage the Tajikistan Climate Resilience Financing Facility (ClimatAdapt). The Facility is currently cooperating with four selected Tajik Partner Financial Institutions to gain access to the target private sector participants, i.e. smaller borrowers from the agriculture, business/manufacturing and residential sectors that will benefit from the Facility through specific lending windows reflecting their diverse needs.
We have successfully implemented and financed innovation in the field of water efficiency, sustainable land management, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our multi-disciplinary team has offered capacity-building activities to support PFIs in the provision of climate financing solutions for Tajik private sector. We also helped disburse a USD 10 million credit line through systematic sub-project pipeline development and technical assessments.
Financial Inclusion: Frankfurt School assists EIB in the lending operations in the Southern African region
We believe that it is vital to develop the local and regional financial sectors, by enhancing access to finance and ensuring a sustainable economic development, in order to promote job creation and to maximize the impact of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In line with the EU Agenda for Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the European Investment Bank has focused on private sector development and has offered lines of credit to approved Financial Intermediaries in the Southern Africa region. The goal is to encourage them to support lending to MSMEs.
Since March 2015, a Frankfurt School team of experienced international, regional and local experts trains and advises 11 partner institutions in Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The team is designing and delivering training programmes focusing on credit and banking risk management to the financial intermediaries, as well as strengthening environmental and social risk management. We also provide targeted capacity building to the financial intermediaries in areas such as lending operation, product development, branch management, governance and marketing and providing financial literacy, managerial and entrepreneurship skills to current and potential final borrowers (MSMEs).
In addition to the in-house training and advisory, we have also established the annual EIB Southern Africa SME & Microfinance Academy to bring financial intermediaries, bankers associations, development finance institutions and development partners together for knowledge exchange on trends and sector-related challenges.
Agriculture: Enhanced Competitiveness of Tajik Agribusinesses – Supporting the Tajik agricultural sector from farm to fork
Since late 2014 the IAS team of Frankfurt School has been supporting the Tajik agricultural sector in all areas of food production, processing and consumption practices. Integrated in this approach are the objectives to enhance environmental, economic, social and nutritional health. ECTAP currently works in the fruit, vegetable, livestock and dairy, poultry as well as honey value-chains. These efforts are being funded by the EU.
The ECTAP initiative for improved genetics of livestock is a great example of our work. We connect Tajik farms with international providers of high quality technology and best practices to improve fodder production, feeding practices, animal nutrition, as well as management of genetic material. We also, implement trainings in dairies and agricultural advisory services in all areas of food safety, health and certification for local farmers. Last but not least, we support financial institutions in designing investment loan products for farmers and agribusinesses working in animal husbandry and establishing a grant-funding scheme for the co-financing of investments.
Faires und umweltbewusstes Wachstum – diese Prinzipien kennzeichnen die Angebote der FS Sustainable World Academy (SWA). Die Sustainable World Academy entwickelt Fach-, Aus- & Weiterbildungskurse zur Förderung der UN-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, auch bekannt als „UN Sustainable Development Goals“ oder kurz „SDGs“. Profund und praxisnah vermitteln unsere Kurse jenes Know-How und jene Fähigkeiten, die in den Bereichen Finanzen und Management für die Gestaltung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung gefragt sind. Bankiers, Mikrofinanzfachleute, politisch Entscheidungsträger*innen, Studierende und Unternehmen profitieren von unserer Expertise, sobald sie die Bedeutung des Themas Nachhaltigkeit erkannt haben.
The FS-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Renewable Energy Finance (the Centre) is a strategic cooperation between the United Nations Environment (formerly United Nations Environment Programme / UNEP) and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. It is committed to facilitating essential structural changes in climate mitigation and adaptation, including various topics within the scope of climate and sustainable finance, most prominently energy supply and use as well as climate change resilience, sustainable finance and disaster risk management.
The Centre combines project implementation on the ground with think tank activities. Its work is cutting edge: the team of expert’s experiments with new financial mechanisms and implements cutting edge projects, informs policy development and changes the way the financial industry operates. The primary objective is to mobilize significantly increased levels of sustainable energy and climate finance, bridging the public-private sector gap and thereby contributing to the development of a global green economy.
As a think-and-do tank combining research, education and project implementation, the Centre is in a position to combine academic know-how with practical project experience. This maximizes lessons learnt, allowing developing countries to leapfrog from their current status to leading global solutions.
Global Trends Report (GTR)
The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report (GTR) was first published by the Frankfurt School–UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance (in cooperation with Bloomberg New Energy Finance) in 2011. It grew out of efforts to track and publish comprehensive information about international investments in renewable energy.
The latest edition of this authoritative annual report tells the story of the most recent developments, signs and signals in the financing of renewable power and fuels. It explores the issues affecting each type of investment, technology and type of economy.
Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme (GCF)
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a financial mechanism that intends to provide financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. This fund differs significantly from others as it applies the principle of country ownership - GCF’s activities are aligned with the development agenda of each developing country and not the other way around.
The Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme builds countries' capacity to access the Green Climate Fund, through preparing countries to plan for, manage, disburse and monitor climate financing. The Centre strengthened the institutional capacities of national climate finance institutions in several countries such as Benin, Colombia, Ghana and the Philippines through trainings, market assessments and feasibility studies.
Seed Capital Assistance Facility (SCAF)
The Seed Capital Assistance Facility (SCAF) is implemented through the United Nations Environment Programme and managed by the FS-UNEP Centre. The Facility supports clean energy investment funds and development companies in seed financing early-stage clean energy projects.
Numerous barriers inhibit private sector financing of low-carbon projects in developing countries. During the early stage of development, projects carry a significant risk that is reduced only once all permits have been secured and legal, operational and financial viability has been demonstrated.
SCAF addresses this financing gap by providing financial support on a cost-sharing and co-financing basis to low-carbon projects via private equity (PE) funds, venture capital (VC) funds and project development companies (DevCos). Funding for the second phase of SCAF is contributed by the Department for International Development which leads the United Kingdom’s work to end extreme poverty and by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, under its International Climate Initiative.
Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Germany and Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance (FS-UNEP Centre) have been developing the financial regulation tracker finance fit for Paris (3fP).
The Paris Agreement, formulated at the COP21 in Paris, sets the ambitious target to hold temperature increase well below 2°. Furthermore it aims to make “finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development”.
3fP is addressing this paragraph and assesses whether financial regulations and policies in a given jurisdiction support the low carbon transition and greening of financial markets or not. This tool is meant to inform a wider range of target audiences related to this subject that is often perceived to be technical and inaccessible to non-experts. The results should inspire discussions between civil society, regulators and market participants and help by finding pathways and concrete actions for greening the financial system.
Reflecting sustainability criteria, especially climate change, in financial markets is increasingly gaining attention as opportunities and risks arising in this context are changing business practices.
The course will prepare participants to understand major drivers and constraints of transforming the financial system to a more sustainable one. Furthermore, it will familiarize participants with the business, regulatory and technical perspective of sustainable finance and will acquaint them to take an active part in the discussion around the topic.
Wind energy, solar energy, photovoltaics, biomass, geothermal energy and hydropower - the renewable energy market is growing and growing. For financial service providers and investors, the financing of renewable energy is therefore a promising business area. Anyone who wants to make a success of such a financing project needs in-depth knowledge of economics, business, law, engineering and banking.
The interdisciplinary certificate programme "Renewable Energy Finance" covers the entire range of renewable energy financing issues and highlights these from the point of view of both the project developer as well as the financier.
Participants learn about current developments in renewable energy and discuss financing forms, cash flow projections, profitability and critical success factors. From practice, they learn about stumbling blocks in structuring contracts and in negotiations.
The target group consists of specialists and executives from the area of financing, credit analysis and credit risk, as well as corporate account managers and sales staff who are involved in the evaluation and financing of EEG projects.
This e-learning course is developed and implemented jointly with the Frankfurt School - UNEP Collaborating Cente.
The Paris Agreement marks the beginning of a new era with the focus shifting from finding a consensus on the common goals to realising jointly agreed goals. “Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development” (Article 2 c of the Paris Agreement) will require a significant increase in funding – with new instruments and approaches required to mobilize a broad range of investors and to achieve scalability in financing climate action. Financing the global energy transition will be one key building block.
14.06.2024 12:00:00
Frankfurt School and Rödl & Partner start ESG Academy
Nürnberg/Frankfurt am Main, 12 June 2024
17.04.2024 12:00:00
Climate vulnerable communities of Pacific Island Countries supported by the Global Shield
Funding is provided via the Global Shield Solutions Platform, managed by Frankfurt School
Our academic programmes also offer courses on renewable energy. Professor Moslener offers electives in the subjects of Master of Finance and Bachelor of Science, which provide our students with information on the growing field of renewable energies.
As only property used for mixed purposes (offices and university) in Germany, Frankfurt School's new campus has been awarded the platinum seal by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). To get this award, a building has to meet the highest standards not only regarding its ecobalance and the responsible use of resources, but also concerning indoor air quality, design for all and thermic comfort.
Frankfurt School has invested in renewable energies as part of the construction of its new campus. A solar system with an area of 336 m² on the roof provides the campus with up to 57,000 kWh per year. In addition, there is a small wind turbine generating approximately 10,000 kWh per year.
To stabilise the ecosystem in the urban area and to support the preservation of vegetation and biodiversity, the Frankfurt School has placed bees on its site. 4 beehives produce 20 kg of honey each year.
Our Campus on Adickesallee has modern technology that uses resources sparingly. In addition to a combined heat and power plant, which alone covers 33 % of the total Frankfurt School electricity requirement, the building also has a reversible heat pump and a gas fired condensing boiler for heating and cooling.
The screw compressor, heat exchanger and cooling unit efficiently use the energy required to heat and cool the premises. The lighting system with presence detectors in public areas, in combination with LED lighting and corresponding control via a BUS system, saves resources and is sustainable for the environment.
The roof of the listed and historic petrol station on the site will continue to be used as a petrol station roof. Now, however, in the form of an innovative quick charging station for electric vehicles. The e-filling station is equipped with 2 charging stations for e-cars in the outdoor area, 2 charging stations in the garage and 3 charging stations (230V) for e-bikes.
As part of a sustainability rating, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management has created its first CO2 balance for the year 2022, establishing an initial metric for the business school's carbon footprint. This year was marked by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the operations were not regular.
Significant portions of the CO2 emissions were found to be caused by business travel via airplane, as well as electricity and gas consumption at the school. In response to emissions from electricity use, the school switched to a climate-neutral electricity contract, which will likely result in a carbon-neutral Scope 2 for the year 2024. For heating, the school has utilised sustainable options like a heat pump and a cogeneration unit since its establishment.
It aims to further optimise heating to achieve carbon neutrality without significant compensation measures. The main challenge in reducing key emissions lies in Scope 3, which relates to essential business travel by air, particularly for consultancy services. Employees are required to not use flights for destinations that are comparably accessible by train or car. Moreover, the impact of these travels, including trips to developing countries to support sustainability and climate agreement goals, must be weighed against the emissions caused.
Looking ahead, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management plans to further refine its emissions reduction process. Starting from 2026, the school will report on reduction measures and their effects according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
The FUTURE Institute for Sustainable Transformation is a research-driven and action-focused organization committed to sustainable transformation. Co-founded by the Werte-Stiftung and the innovation platform Futury,
the institute aims to generate knowledge and connect key stakeholders to drive sustainable impact across individuals, organizations, industries, and value chains.
At the FUTURE Institute, we assess impact and handling imperatives for organizations & business. Thus, we partner with organizations like the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Frankfurt Zoological Society, the ReAct initiative and other renowed organizations to translate their state-of-the-art research for global businesses.