For Individuals
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  • ESG program: 13 total courses, 10 required to earn ESG certificate
  • Self-paced & 100% online
  • Get full ESG program, community, & more with a CFI membership
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  • Get this program and CFI's full training catalog for your organization
  • Manage learning, create custom paths & measure progress
  • For teams of 2 or more learners
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The ESG Certificate at a Glance

CFI’s Environmental, Social, & Governance specialization teaches the essential skills required to be successful in today’s rapidly changing financial landscape.

The nature of risks and opportunities facing the business community have evolved, and operators and capital allocators alike must better understand the implications. The ESG program includes a unique combination of theory and application, delivered in a condensed, self-paced curriculum that will better prepare you for today’s corporate pressures and stakeholder expectations.

Whether you’re a research analyst, investment professional, operator, business student, or board director, holding an ESG designation will broaden your horizons and provide actionable implementation strategies for you and your firm.

Program Overview

13 courses

10 required courses and 3 practice labs

30–35 Hours

Average completion time

Receive a Certificate

To verify your skills

500,000+ 5-star ratings

Best-in-class training, as rated by you

Our Learners Work At:

Earning Your ESG Certification

CFI’s curriculum includes 13 courses covering finance, reporting, investing, and business strategy. This an ideal ESG certification for individuals looking to gain practical, real-world skills that will translate to roles at top global institutions.

10 Required Courses

Introduction to ESG
4.8 (996 Ratings)
Level 1
1.5 hours
Preview
ESG Fundamentals
4.9 (50 Ratings)
Level 2
2.5 hours
Preview
ESG Disclosure
4.9 (31 Ratings)
Level 2
2 hours
Preview
ESG Integration & Financial Analysis
4.9 (38 Ratings)
Level 3
6.5 hours
Preview
Greenhouse Gas Accounting
4.9 (36 Ratings)
Level 3
2 hours
Preview
Human Capital Management
4.9 (20 Ratings)
Level 1
2 hours
Preview
Professional Ethics
4.9 (4,988 Ratings)
Level 1
3 hours
Preview
Corporate Governance
5 (31 Ratings)
Level 2
2.5 hours
Preview
Carbon Market Fundamentals
5 (13 Ratings)
Level 3
1.5 hours
Preview
Introduction to Climate Risk Management
4.8 (32 Ratings)
Level 1
2 hours
Preview
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Practice Labs

Conducting a Materiality Assessment
4.7 (11 Ratings)
Level 3
1.5 hours
Preview
Developing ESG Policies
4.8 (6 Ratings)
Level 2
1.5 hours
Preview
Developing an ESG Governance Structure
5 (1 Ratings)
Level 2
1.5 hours
Preview
See All Practice Labs

Why Get ESG Certified?

Specialization certificates allow narrow and deep focus on a targeted subject area, with particular attention to specific analysis techniques and actionable skills.

They are designed to deepen your industry acumen and to prepare you for faster professional growth within your sector.

Skills & Learning Objectives in ESG

ESG - The Big Picture

Hide Details
  • Describe key ESG concepts like materiality, physical climate risks, human capital management, and governance issues
  • Analyze ESG risks and opportunities for an organization or an industry
  • Differentiate between good ESG disclosure and Greenwashing, and connect ESG efforts to competitive advantages

ESG Analysis

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  • Build an ESG scorecard to measure company performance over time and to benchmark against peers
  • Calculate a company’s scope 1 & 2 emissions in order to understand and implement greenhouse gas accounting best practices
  • Explain carbon taxation and calculate the weighted average carbon intensity of an investment portfolio

ESG Integration

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  • Explain the differences between ESG integration and ESG investing
  • Incorporate ESG factors into a financial model
  • Calculate an adjusted enterprise value based on ESG integration techniques

ESG Investing

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  • Define different types of ESG investing
  • Identify and act upon ESG trends in the capital markets

ESG & Business Intelligence

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  • Identify key data sources for ESG information
  • Translate ESG information into business intelligence
  • Create dashboards and present ESG metrics for multiple stakeholders

Taught by Industry Experts

Noah Miller

Noah is Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of Rho Impact, and the Founder and CEO of Calibrate Partners. He provides organizations around the world with advisory services to address key barriers to ESG performance and brings a wealth of knowledge to its strategic planning, implementation, and reporting.

Kyle Peterdy

Kyle is VP, Commercial Banking & Credit with CFI. Kyle’s background is in commercial lending, including real estate transactions and construction project financing, where he spent significant time assessing physical environmental risks.

Lisa Dorian

Lisa Dorian is Co-Founder, and formerly Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director, of CFI. As a finance executive, she gained extensive experience in governance, risk, and compliance, as well as business process and strategy.

Derek Young

Derek is a Managing Director and leads the ESG Consulting Services Practice for Summit Strategy Group. Derek has over 20 years of consulting experience in ESG, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility across both the for-profit and nonprofit sector, as well as multiple public policy roles.

Careers in ESG

  • Asset Management

    Enhance your ability to navigate the ESG landscape in professional investment or portfolio management for institutional clients.

  • Management Consulting

    Support clients, including private companies, public issuers, and the investment community, in implementing effective, comprehensive ESG strategies

  • Business Analyst

    Distill complicated concepts and data to help management teams drive better performance and manage risk more effectively

  • Credit Analyst

    Incorporate ESG considerations and analysis techniques into your assessment of a borrower’s creditworthiness

  • Corporate Development

    Make more informed and nuanced decisions around organic and inorganic growth opportunities

  • Senior Leadership

    Make more informed strategic decisions by understanding how ESG issues create material risks and opportunities for your business

  • Research

    Conduct more comprehensive, ESG-integrated analysis to inform buy, hold, or sell recommendations

What Our Students Say


This particular course is very engaging and clear even for me, who have very little knowledge of finance.

Akshay Sanwal


The introductory course was very concise, detailed, and informative with relevant real world examples which significantly helped apply the concepts in assessing my own business’ footprint.

Brittian Foster


ESG specialization is highly required skills and glad CFI is solving that issue.

Chaitanya Korra


CFI’s ESG programme is a very useful tool towards mitigating contemporary challenges facing the business world.

Johnny Marudu

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will these courses help me advance my career?

Reviews from learners who have taken CFI courses include numerous stories about how people have been able to advance their careers. There is a proven track record of CFI graduates marking successful transitions into the careers of their dreams and this is based largely on the resources that we make available to our learners upon enrolment. Our training is designed to be fully practical and simulates the experience of being trained as a professional financial analyst. Additionally, we offer a wealth of information through our free career resources. The unique blend of all these elements is what sets us apart from other eLearning platforms when it comes to giving you all the tools you need to create a successful career in finance.

Admission Requirements

This specialization bundle is recommended for learners and professionals with knowledge or experience in environmental, social and governance analysis. To take the courses and complete the exercises, learners will only need access to a PC and/or Mac, Microsoft Suite (2016 or newer), and a stable internet connection.

What is the duration of the program?

It takes an average of 30-35 hours to complete the entire program. However, you are given the freedom to complete all of the training at your own pace! Please see the “Earning Your ESG Certification” section for recommended study hours for each course to give you a better idea for your time management.

How much time do I have to complete the courses?

Take as much time as you need. You will have access to all courses and all future upgrades in your subscription. You can review the video lessons as many times as you like and complete the courses at a pace that is most convenient for you. All of the required courses, resources, and assessments to obtain the certifications will be provided, for as long as your subscription is active.

How are the exams conducted?

Learners are required to complete an online assessment (MCQ’s, Fill-in-the-Blanks, and Excel Questions) at the end of each course. You can take the exams at your own schedule and will need to earn at least 80% to pass the course and earn your certificate of course completion. Please note that course exams can be repeated as many times as you need.

Can I download and edit the course material and templates?

Yes! You can download the resources included in your courses. All of the files needed in a course are available for download. Please note that while our study materials can be downloaded, the lecture videos are only available online due to copyright infringement issues.

How do I earn my certificates?

You need to complete all the video lessons, quizzes, and final assessments in each course to earn your course certificates. The certificate will then be available on your learner dashboard and also emailed to you as soon as you have completed all of the requirements.

What currency are your courses priced in?

All of our online courses and programs are priced in USD.

What payment methods do you accept?

As this is a recurring payment, we accept all major credit and debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Are there any additional fees or costs?

None! The program tuition includes everything and there are no additional fees required to earn your digital certification.

More Questions?

Please Email us and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions!

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