Online Self-Study
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Online Self-Study
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Available to HK-residents only, an in-depth introduction to Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked bonds. 80-100% of course fees reimbursable!
About the Pilot Support Scheme
The HK government has introduced a Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme to support talent development in green and sustainable finance (“GSF”) by providing training subsidies to Hong Kong residents who are market practitioners and prospective practitioners of green and sustainable finance. The Scheme will run for a pilot period of three years and is administered by the Secretariat of the Centre for Green and Sustainable Finance (“Secretariat”). The Government of Hong Kong has earmarked HK$200 million for the Scheme. Only relevant fees of programmes registered under the Scheme as “Eligible Programmes” are reimbursable under the Scheme. Eligible applicants may apply for reimbursement of up to 80% of the relevant fees (full-time student applicants can apply for a subsidy of up to 100% of the relevant fees), subject to a ceiling of $10,000, upon successful completion of Eligible Programmes. A number of conditions are set forth in this Guide.
The reimbursement application should be submitted via the application portal of the Scheme within 3 months from the date of completion of the Eligible Programme.
About the Course
This programme is one of the Eligible Programmes under the Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme
Rapid growth in the sustainable bond market is driving unprecedented demand for skilled professionals and for targeted training in the fundamentals of the products and the application of the Green, Social and Sustainability Linked Bond Principles, the foundations for sustainable bond issuance.
This introductory course gives you a deep understanding of the mechanics of green, social, sustainability and sustainability linked bonds, taking you from the big picture policy context to introducing the underlying drivers of market development, main product features and regulation. We discuss the Green and Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines, and then the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. We then explain how they work in practice, including evaluation and selection of eligible projects for funding, the role of external reviewers and guidance on reporting.
Learning Outcomes
By completing this course you will be able to:
- Identify recent trends and potential future developments and opportunities for sustainable bonds
- Discuss why the market matters and how it works
- Understand the foundation skills necessary for taking part in the sustainable bond market (i.e. how and why to align with and apply the Principles), including:
- Benefits of sustainable bonds and developing the positioning in your organisation
- Decision-makers: Identifying who is relevant
- Strategy: Alignment with overall corporate / environmental strategy
- Regulation: The Principles’ importance in regulatory trends
- Players: Mapping leading market players
- Identify principles aligned issuance framework: 4 pillars of GSS bonds and 5 core elements of SLBs
- Define green and social: Types of projects eligible for GSS bonds
- (For SLBs) identify recommendations and practice in reporting, including on the performance of KPIs and ambition of SPTs
- Recognise reporting frameworks covering recommendations and practice in reporting, including allocation and impact reports and templates offered by the GBP SBP
- Understand the role and value-added of external review (and other) service providers as recommended the various principles.
- Identify perspectives and roles of the key players in the sustainable bond market including regulators, investors, underwriters, issuers, external reviewers including rating agencies, stock exchanges, data and index providers
Who should attend?
This course is designed for a global audience and is suitable for the following participants:
- Firms who are looking to issue or invest in green, social and sustainability bonds
- Market professionals involved in underwriting, research or professional services for sustainable bonds; this includes capital markets lawyers, external reviewers including rating agencies, stock exchanges, data and index providers official sector representatives promoting, supervising or developing policies on sustainable finance
- Press, academics and other professionals with an interest in sustainable finance and the merits of sustainable bond markets
Assessment
The exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions of which candidates must answer a minimum of 30 questions correctly, with a score of 45 or more earning a distinction. You will have six months in which to study the material, book and complete an online, fully invigilated exam.
We use a third-party exam invigilation service called ProctorU to administer the exams on our assessed courses. We recommend you take a few minutes to watch this video before you take your exam, which provides information on what to expect on the day. You can also take a look at some further information here.
More information regarding your specific exam will be attached to your joining instructions and on Canvas, the ICMA training platform.
Certification and Programme Recognition
ICMA is an approved provider of Continuous Professional Training (CPT) by the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong. This course has been accredited by the CPD® Certification Service.
ICMA recommends that 15 learning hours can be associated with this course, based on attended/undertaken hours of study required to successfully complete the learning outcomes.
A Certificate of Completion will be awarded to those who successfully pass the final exam of this course – see Assessment section for more details.
ICMA is a member of the CPD® Certification Service and approved by the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong as provider of Continuous Professional Training (CPT).
Please note that your course certificate of attendance or completion should be sufficient to satisfy any professional development requirements – if you require further evidence, please contact us at education@icmagroup.org.
Product Landscape
- The Big Picture: Policy Context of Sustainable Finance
- Product Snapshot: Green and Social
- Market organisation and product guidance
- Dynamics in GSS bond markets
Green Bond Principles
- GBP Pillar I
- GBP Pillar II
- GBP Pillar III
- GBP Pillar IV
Social Bond Principles
- Social Bond Principles
Coming to Market
- External Reviews
- Market Participants
- Preparing for Market
Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles
- Transition Finance and the Climate Transition Finance Handbook
- Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles
- SLB Market
- SLB vs UoP – the differences
Delegates who sign up to online courses will have access for 6 months to enable them to take advantage of the additional online resources, discussion boards and other functions of our new digital learning platform.
Online courses start at the beginning of each month – please note that payment must be received BEFORE access to these courses are provided.
Eligibility Requirement
To be eligible for reimbursement under the Scheme, applicants must be:
- Hong Kong residents ; and
- Either:
- Practitioners in the financial services industry (currently or previously in service); or
- Practitioners in non-financial services industries whose roles and/or responsibilities involve GSF considerations (currently or previously in service); or
- Full-time or part-time students at a university or local tertiary institution, with a view to obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher qualifications in relevant disciplines; or
- Holders of bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate degrees in relevant disciplines.
In addition, applicants must enrol in an Eligible Programme after the Eligible Programme is registered under the Scheme, and must have successfully completed the Eligible Programme on or before 12 December 2025.
Please refer to the Guide to Reimbursement Application of Eligible Programmes (Guide) for details.
Online course fees
Self-study online course fees:
- EUR 785 | HKD 6,600
Costs include full access to the online campus and all associated learning materials.
Please note that:
- Payment for online courses must be received before the start of the course.
- Please note all payments must be made in Euro, but will be reimbursed in HKD equivalent. For more information, see Reimbursement Procedures tab.
As an indicative guide, we would recommend a total of 12 study hours is required to go through the material. Please note this is an approximate guide only.
Contact
Should you have any queries, please contact education@icmagroup.org.
Interested applicants should read the Guide to Reimbursement Application of Eligible Programmes carefully before making an application.
Application Method
You should submit one application for each successfully completed Eligible Programme only. To initiate an application, you shall:
- create a personal account.
- submit a completed Application Form for Reimbursement of Eligible Programmes, together with all the required supporting documents via your personal account.
Required Supporting Documents
The following supporting documents are required for your application:
- Copy of Hong Kong Identity Card;
- In relation to the bank account nominated for receipt of reimbursement, copy of bank statement / front of bank card / front page of bank passbook showing the name of the account holder, account number and bank name or bank code;
- ONE of the following as applicable:
- For practitioners in the financial services industry – Documentary proof of the latest relevant employment showing the applicant’s name, position, and name of company (e.g. employment contract, salary slip, letter issued by the employer); or
- For practitioners in non-financial services industries – Documentary proof of the latest relevant employment showing the applicants’ name, position, name of company and GSF-related job duties/nature (e.g. employment contract, salary slip, letter issued by the employer); or
- For full-time or part-time students at a university or local tertiary institution in relevant disciplines – Documentary proof (e.g. academic transcript, tuition fee receipt, student card) showing the applicant’s name, name of institution and field(s) of study; or
- For holders of bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate degrees in relevant disciplines – Documentary proof (e.g. graduation certificate) showing the applicant’s name, name of institution, field(s) of study and graduation date (if any);
- For applicants who were full-time students during the whole period of the Eligible Programme and wish to claim up to 100% of the reimbursable fees - Documentary proof (e.g. academic transcript, tuition fee receipt, student card showing the applicant’s name, name of institution and field(s) of study) that demonstrates that the applicants were a full-time student during the whole period of the Eligible Programme;
- Payment receipt(s) of the paid Eligible Programme fees issued by the programme provider;
- For Eligible Programme fees denominated in currency other than Hong Kong dollars but settled in Hong Kong dollars - the relevant payment records in Hong Kong dollars of the Eligible Programme;
- Documentary proof (e.g. stamped certificate of completion) of successful completion of the Eligible Programme; and
- Documentary proof of subsidy or financial assistance received for the Eligible Programme (e.g. notification of application results, record(s) of receipt of subsidy or financial assistance).
Timeframe
The application should be submitted within 3 months from the date of completion of the Eligible Programme. Late applications will not be processed. An acknowledgment of receipt with an Application Reference Number will be provided shortly after submission. After the processing of an application is completed, a notification of result will be sent to the applicant. The applicant will be notified via both email (from no-reply@greentalent.org.hk) and SMS message (from +852 6452 2670). You may log in the portal to check your application status.
Programme Identification Code: GTP-293228
Effective date under the Scheme*: 2022/12/13
* The Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme only accepts reimbursement applications in relation to an Eligible Programme with an enrolment date that is on or after the effective date.
