PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND CHARTERED DESIGNATION

The Professional Standard for Sustainable Finance & Transition Capital

IISF sets the body of knowledge, examinations, and code of conduct for professionals who direct capital towards a resilient economy. Its charter, the CSFP, is earned by examination and is open to finance practitioners and to professionals entering the field from other disciplines.

Register as a CSFP Candidate Download the CSFP Syllabus and Learning Outcomes (PDF)

Next Candidate Intake: January 2027 Registration Opens 10 October 2026 Closes 15 December 2026

Flagship Designation

CSFP™ Charter

Chartered Sustainable Finance Professional

  • Proctored Examination
  • Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
  • Public Charterholder Register
Body of Knowledge

2 Levels

Sixteen domains and 177 learning outcomes, from foundations to advanced application.

Standards & Advisory Board

14 Members

Senior practitioners from development finance, banking, policy, and academia.

Research Foundation

SCRF Applied Research

The CSFP body of knowledge draws on SCRF applied research in transition finance, carbon markets, and emerging-market policy.

STANDARDS & ADVISORY BOARD INSTITUTIONAL PEDIGREE

  • World Bank
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • African Development Bank (AfDB)
  • United Nations
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN)
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
  • Standard Chartered Bank
  • Security Bank Corporation
  • Environmental Resources Management (ERM)

THE CAPABILITY GAP

Capital is Moving Faster Than Capability

Financial systems are being required to price transition risk, structure sustainable instruments, and allocate capital under constraints that conventional models were never built to evaluate.

  1. 01

    Regulation Ahead of Readiness

    Disclosure requirements and taxonomies are multiplying across jurisdictions. Few institutions have staff trained to apply them consistently.

  2. 02

    Allocation Under Uncertainty

    Credit and investment committees must now price transition risk, carbon costs, and policy exposure. Conventional valuation methods address these only in part.

  3. 03

    Competence Without a Standard

    Sustainable finance has become a technical discipline. Employers and supervisors have few reliable means of verifying who is competent to practise it.

THE CSFP CHARTER

Chartered Sustainable Finance Professional (CSFP)

The CSFP is a chartered designation earned by examination. It attests technical competence in sustainable finance, transition capital, and climate risk, and commits its holders to a code of professional conduct.

Open to finance practitioners and to professionals entering the field from other disciplines. Level I assumes no prior qualification in finance.

Level I

Foundations of Sustainable Finance

Format Proctored computer-based examination of 100 multiple-choice questions

  1. Ethics and Professional Standards10%
  2. Finance Essentials: Instruments, Valuation, Credit, and Risk15%
  3. Sustainability Economics, Climate Science, and Social Foundations10%
  4. Policy, Regulation, and Taxonomies10%
  5. Sustainability Data, Disclosure, and Materiality15%
  6. Sustainable Debt and Transition Capital Instruments15%
  7. Corporate Governance, Stewardship, and Sustainable Investment15%
  8. Climate and Nature Risk Fundamentals10%

Award IISF Certificate in Foundations of Sustainable Finance

Level II

Advanced Applications and Strategic Integration

Format Proctored written case examination, followed by a capstone paper and oral defence

  1. Ethics and Professional Judgement in Practice10%
  2. Climate Risk Measurement, Scenario Analysis, and Stress Testing15%
  3. Carbon Markets and Carbon Pricing10%
  4. Transition Finance, Industrial Decarbonisation, and Just Transition15%
  5. Project and Infrastructure Finance: Structuring and Modelling15%
  6. Blended, Development, and Sovereign Finance in Emerging Markets15%
  7. Nature, Adaptation, and Resilience Finance10%
  8. Impact Measurement, Assurance, and Integrity10%

Award Chartered Sustainable Finance Professional (CSFP) Designation

Register as a CSFP Candidate Download the CSFP Syllabus and Learning Outcomes (PDF)

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Syllabus and Learning Outcomes

Sixteen domains and 177 learning outcomes across two levels.

Examination and Assessment

Proctored examinations at both levels and a defended capstone.

INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMMES

Building Capability Across Institutions and Supervisory Authorities

Banks, asset managers, and supervisory authorities enrol staff cohorts in the CSFP and commission programmes aligned to their mandates.

Banking and Credit

Commercial Banking and Debt Underwriting

Focus Transition risk assessment, sustainable lending structures, and disclosure readiness across lending and credit teams.

Format CSFP Cohort Enrolment · Credit Risk Modules

Investment Management

Institutional Asset Management and Pension Funds

Focus Taxonomy alignment, emissions accounting, stewardship, and transition portfolio construction for investment committees.

Format Executive Portfolio Programmes · Fiduciary Governance Tracks

Supervision and Public Finance

Central Banks, Debt Management Offices and Market Regulators

Focus Supervisory briefings on climate stress testing, sovereign sustainable debt, and carbon market oversight.

Format Supervisory Fellowships · Policy Briefings

Enquire about Enterprise Solutions

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Short Courses for Practitioners and Professionals Entering the Field

Six courses provide a structured introduction to sustainable finance and its sectoral applications. They serve as continuing development for practitioners and as preparation for CSFP Level I.

01

Foundations of Sustainability

 02

Sustainable Business Models

 03

Sustainable Supply Chains

 04

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

 05

Renewable Energy and Green Infrastructure

 06

Impact Investing

Participants who complete all six courses qualify for the IISF Executive Certificate in Sustainability and Sustainable Finance.

STANDARDS & ADVISORY BOARD

Standards Shaped by Senior Practitioners

The Standards & Advisory Board reviews the body of knowledge and advises on examination standards, so that the CSFP reflects current market and supervisory practice.

Adina Manuela Relicovschi

Principal Advisor - Sustainable Finance (Retd), Environmental Policy Lead

Ali Shaker

Head of ESG & Sustainability, The Zubair Corporation

Anna Jakobsen

EMEA Regional Service Leader, Social Impact & Human Rights, ERM

Audrey Lim

Nature Finance Director, Standard Chartered Bank

Diem Thi Thanh Hai, PhD

Head of the Business Administration Department, University of Greenwich Hanoi

Erik Solheim

Former Executive Director, UN Environment | President, Europe-Asia Center

Kaiser H. Naseem, PhD

Leader in Global Development Finance, Non-Executive Director

Kevin Chika Urama, PhD

Chief Economist and Vice President, African Development Bank Group

Meeta Misra, CFA

Chief Sustainability Officer, Helicap

Nicole Kranz, PhD

Head of Climate Action and Disaster Resilience, GIZ

Nikki Lizares

Head of Sustainability, Security Bank Corporation

Rafi Cristobal

Founder, PSEA | Director, Social Impact & Sustainability Programme, THS

Samantha Shin

Climate Policy Expert & Adjunct Lecturer, Hult International Business School

Yuen Yoong Leong, PhD

Director of Sustainability Studies, SDSN Asia HQ / Sunway University

View Full Standards & Advisory Board Profiles