Master Level Final Assessment: ESG Priorities for Telecommunications and Sustainability in Investing

Case Study: Oddo Securities

You are required to complete the assessment outlined below and submit your completed final document through the RKC Online Campus by the end of Unit 6. Your grade will be based 100% on this final document, to which you will also receive written feedback. Your paper must have a clear structure and must include: • Cover page (an example is available to you in Induction/Unit 4) • A subsection for each of the six questions of the assessment - no more than 5250 words in total • References (or Bibliography) – at Master level you must use in-text citations to support your arguments and any work cited must appear in the References list at the end of the work Please ask any questions about the final assessment in the Forum. Final Assessment – 4,500 words General Comment: Except for the case study, all other questions MAY be answered in an executive summary, formatted as a table with short responses (please use citations). This type of format should be well structured, clear and concise. If you feel uncomfortable with this format, I recommend answering the questions in an essay format. Questions: 1. Case Study: Oddo Securities (ca. 2 pages - 1500 words) (HBS Case 9-111-085) (25%) (ILO 1, 2) a. Prepare a brief industry overview of ESG-priorities for global telecommunications based on the SASB standard, describing at least 6 specific metrics to measure the ESG-priorities. b. Complement the SASB ESG-priority analysis with brief info from (European) telecommunications bodies e.g. the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (https://www.etno.eu/home/working-groups/overview), the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (http://gesi.org). c. Include a listing of the ESG-priorities as stated by British Telecom OR France Telecom (info from the latest annual reports and websites). d. Include issues which are being reported by non-profit stakeholders. e. Critically evaluate variances between the ESG-priorities listed in the case and those listed above (part of the variance is due to the fact that the case was written several years ago). f. Do you require further information to make a decision? If so, what information and why is it required? g. Assume that you must make a decision based on the available data - explain your recommendation. 2. Argue against the use of ESG to value companies (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 2, 3, 4) Provide 2 well-founded arguments - including citations from at least three academic papers per argument - to support the case against the use of ESG criteria in the company valuation process. 3. Sustainable soft commodities (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 1, 2, 3, 4) Choose one of the following soft commodities and briefly explore the key ESG-priorities, as well as measures being taken to address these priorities. Cite challenges to implement ESG-priorities - operational and investor-related. Information should include insights from industry associations, companies, non-profit associations, and financial institutions. Wild caught seafood Soy Beef 4. Green Real Estate Investment Trusts (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 1, 2) Critically evaluate a green REIT, briefly describing its activity, its financing model, government programs and/or regulations it uses to complement its financial performance, the metrics used to measure its environmental/social impact, the expected impact of environmental/social criteria on the financial performance, and information on the actual financial performance of the REIT. 5. Impact Investing (ca. 1 page - 750 Words) (15%) (ILO 2, 3) Critically analyze an Asian impact investing fund, briefly describing its operating model, the financial model (below-market and/or market-based returns), the metrics used to measure environmental/social impact, and the financial performance of the fund against benchmarks. The remaining 15% of the final mark will be dependent on the quality of Harvard referencing and bibliography, as well as the general presentation of your paper.