Select the correct PCAF asset class methodology for a given loan or investment exposure.
Finance & Banking
Measuring Financed Emissions in Loan and Investment Portfolios Using PCAF
Learn to calculate financed emissions across asset classes using the PCAF standard, choose data quality scores, and build a defensible disclosure.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Financed emissions - the emissions attributable to the loans and investments a bank or asset owner holds - are now the largest component of most financial institutions' carbon footprint, yet many teams still treat the calculation as a black box run by an external consultant once a year. This course opens that black box using the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials methodology. Participants learn to select the correct asset class treatment for listed equity, business loans, project finance, commercial real estate, mortgages and motor vehicle loans, and to compute an attribution factor allocating borrower emissions to the outstanding exposure. Equal weight goes to data quality: PCAF's five-tier scoring system determines how much a number should carry, and participants practise assigning scores honestly rather than defaulting to flattering estimates. Delegates work through a mixed portfolio exercise, reconcile results against a target-setting framework, and prepare a disclosure narrative covering coverage, data quality and year-on-year change. The course closes with common calculation errors - double counting, misapplied attribution factors and stale enterprise value data - so participants can review a financed emissions figure with confidence before publication.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Calculate an attribution factor and financed emissions figure for listed equity, business loans and project finance.
Assign PCAF data quality scores honestly and explain their effect on portfolio-level confidence.
Reconcile financed emissions results with sector-specific decarbonisation and target-setting frameworks.
Identify common calculation errors including double counting and misapplied attribution factors.
Draft a financed emissions disclosure narrative covering coverage, data quality and year-on-year movement.
Design a data collection plan that improves PCAF data quality scores over successive reporting cycles.
Who Should Attend
Sustainability and ESG reporting teams in banks and asset managers
Credit risk and portfolio analysts asked to support emissions calculations
Finance and disclosure teams preparing climate-related financial statements
Relationship managers who need to explain emissions data to corporate clients
Internal audit and assurance staff reviewing financed emissions figures
Sustainable finance specialists structuring emissions-linked lending targets
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01The PCAF Standard and Asset Class Methodologies
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Scope, Boundaries and Attribution Logic
- Place financed emissions within scope 3 category 15 and distinguish it from a bank's own operational footprint.
- Explain the attribution factor concept and how it allocates borrower emissions to the reporting institution's exposure.
- Compare outstanding amount and enterprise value including cash as attribution denominators and when each applies.
- Set portfolio boundaries that decide which exposures are in scope for a given reporting cycle.
Session 2Asset Class Methodologies in Practice
- Apply the listed equity and corporate bond methodology using enterprise value and reported or estimated emissions.
- Apply the business loans and unlisted equity methodology when borrower financial data is incomplete.
- Apply the project finance and commercial real estate methodologies using asset-specific emissions and financing share.
- Apply the mortgage and motor vehicle loan methodologies using property or vehicle emissions estimates.
02Data Quality and Estimation Choices
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1The PCAF Data Quality Scoring System
- Apply the five-tier PCAF data quality score from verified reported emissions down to sector-average estimates.
- Justify a data quality score assignment against the actual evidence held for a given exposure.
- Calculate a portfolio-weighted average data quality score and interpret what it signals to a reader.
- Avoid defaulting to favourable estimates when better borrower data is available but not yet collected.
Session 2Improving Data Over Successive Cycles
- Design a borrower engagement plan that requests verified emissions data from the largest exposures first.
- Prioritise data quality improvement by exposure size and sector emissions intensity rather than ease of collection.
- Coordinate with relationship managers to embed emissions data requests into existing credit review cycles.
- Track data quality score trends over time as a portfolio management metric in its own right.
03Calculation Workflow and Common Errors
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Running the Calculation Across a Mixed Portfolio
- Build a calculation workflow that applies the correct methodology exposure by exposure across a mixed portfolio.
- Aggregate financed emissions by sector, asset class and business line to identify concentration.
- Reconcile calculated results against prior-year figures and explain movements driven by volume versus intensity.
- Handle sovereign and financial institution counterparties where standard corporate methodologies do not apply.
Session 2Identifying and Correcting Calculation Errors
- Detect double counting where the same emissions are attributed through more than one financing relationship.
- Spot misapplied attribution factors caused by stale enterprise value or outstanding balance data.
- Reconcile emissions intensity metrics against physical activity data to sense-check implausible results.
- Document assumptions and overrides so a reviewer can trace every adjustment back to its source.
04Target-Setting and Disclosure
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Linking Financed Emissions to Targets
- Reconcile financed emissions baselines with sector decarbonisation pathways used in target-setting frameworks.
- Translate portfolio-level emissions intensity into sector-specific targets for the highest-emitting exposures.
- Assess how new lending and portfolio run-off affect progress against a financed emissions target.
- Coordinate financed emissions reporting with climate risk and transition planning teams to avoid inconsistent figures.
Session 2Preparing the External Disclosure
- Draft a disclosure narrative covering portfolio coverage, methodology choices and data quality distribution.
- Explain year-on-year movements in financed emissions distinguishing volume, intensity and methodology changes.
- Align disclosure language with climate-related financial reporting frameworks used by the institution.
- Prepare responses to likely assurance provider and analyst questions on methodology and data limitations.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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