How Sustainability Improves Bankability: A Practical Guide for Businesses - Sustainable Finance

Getting a loan today isn’t just about showing profits and cash flow. Banks also want to know how ready your business is to manage sustainability — like how you handle environmental risks, your future transition plans, and how responsibly you run your operations.

This one-day course is designed for SMEs and commercial borrowers who want to improve their chances of securing green or transition finance. You’ll learn what banks really look for, how to explain your sustainability efforts clearly, and how to prepare documents that support your funding application.

You’ll also get a simple, practical introduction to Bank Negara Malaysia’s Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT) — a tool banks use to assess whether business activities align with climate goals. This course keeps it non-technical and focused on what businesses need to get ready. Through real examples, easy-to-use templates, and role-play exercises, you’ll walk away knowing how to improve your "bankability" — and speak the language that helps you move closer to funding approval.

Programme Outline

Learning Objectives

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

Understand what banks look for when assessing green or sustainability-related business loans
Identify how environmental efforts and responsible business practices can improve your funding eligibility
Learn how to explain your sustainability efforts clearly, using simple language and examples
Gain a basic understanding of Bank Negara Malaysia’s CCPT and how it connects to your business activities

Programme Outline

Module 1: What Funders Look for Today
Why banks now ask about sustainability
Common myths vs. real expectations
What matters most to credit officers
What businesses often misunderstand about "being green"
Module 2: What Sustainability Means for Your Business
Activity-Based
What is sustainability in simple business terms?
Warm-up activity: ESG topic mapping by sector
What a banker might ask you — and why it matters
Governance, transparency, and simple actions that build lender trust
Module 3: Understanding the Basics of CCPT
What is CCPT, and why do banks use it?
What counts as "green" or "transition" activities
Examples from key industries (manufacturing, services, logistics)
How to describe your business activity in a way banks understand
Module 4: Telling Your Sustainability Story to the Bank
How to avoid greenwashing or vague claims
What makes a good sustainability or transition plan
Explaining your business journey using a "Problem–Action–Impact" format
Module 5: Practice Session – Banker–Business Simulation
Simulation: green or transition-aligned case
Banker–Borrower Dialogue Role play
Wrap-up: Recap key points and your next steps

METHODOLOGY

Presentation, Group discussion, role play, case study activity-based learning approach

Participant profile

SME & corporate owners, CFOs, sustainability or operations managers
Relationship Managers (RMs), Credit Analysts, and Sustainable Finance team
Business owners, CFOs, sustainability leads, commercial borrowers, and bankers involved in sustainability-linked lending or credit decisions

Trainer

Sharon Liew Siu Wei

Head of Sustainability Centre;

Senior Training Consultant,
Asian Banking School

Found a programme that you think would be suitable for your organisation?

Many of our courses can be customised and delivered in-house. We also provide consultancy services to create tailor-made training programmes that are specifically aligned with your organisation’s strategic learning requirements. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your team’s development by completing the In-House Request Form here or Emailing Us here.

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Sharon Liew Siu Wei

Head of Sustainability Centre; Senior Training Consultant, Asian Banking School

Sharon Liew is an experienced Sustainable Finance Trainer with over 17 years of expertise spanning central banking, auditing, consulting, education, and training.

She began her career at BDO, leading audits across various industries and government-linked entities. She later joined Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), where she supervised financial institutions and led thematic reviews on risk management control functions. In 2012, she represented BNM at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Banking Supervisory Training. Driven by a passion for teaching, Sharon transitioned to academia, where she taught banking and finance at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC). She also taught foreign languages to corporate learners from diverse backgrounds, further enhancing her ability to connect with individuals from various cultures.

At ABS, Sharon designs, develops, and delivers sustainable finance programmes, including
the Sustainable Finance Structured Learning Pathway, which covers foundational to advanced levels and is aligned with the Green Finance Advisor (GFA) certification. Her recent projects include collaborations with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on renewable energy policy focus groups and green finance training tailored to ASEAN-specific challenges.

Sharon has built strong academic partnerships with leading learning institutions in China, including Tsinghua University and the International Institute of Green Finance at Central University of Finance and Economics (IIGF-CUFE), focusing on, fintech, sustainable finance and AI integration in financial education. Her regional expertise is further demonstrated through her role as a judge at the I-CEE Student Case Competition at the International Business School-Beijing Foreign Studies University (IBS-BFSU) and her presentations at ASEAN+3 and RCEP conferences.

Sharon is a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a Certified HRDF Accredited Trainer, a Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, and a holder of the Professional Certificate in Islamic Finance from INCEIF. She is also TESOL certified by the London Teacher Training College and certified in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CTCSOL) by Hanban.