How to Pass the CFA Sustainable Investing Certificate — 100 Questions in 140 Minutes, Here's How
- Kateryna Myrko
- 43 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The Sustainable Investing Certificate exam is a speed-and-accuracy test on applied ESG knowledge. Officially, the exam is 100 multiple-choice questions completed in 2 hours and 20 minutes (140 minutes). That leaves you about 84 seconds per question, so your winning strategy must combine (1) clean conceptual command of the syllabus and (2) disciplined execution under tight time constraints.
Below is a professional, comprehensive game plan grounded in the latest official guidance.
1) Build your strategy around the real exam clock
Your appointment includes on-screen steps (candidate details, NDA, tutorial, survey), but the exam content time is 140 minutes. Treat 140 minutes as sacred: you can’t afford long stalls.
A practical pacing model:
Pass 1 (≈ 95 minutes): Answer everything you can in ≤60–75 seconds. Mark anything that requires rereading, calculation, or deliberation.
Pass 2 (≈ 35 minutes): Return to marked questions and work them carefully.
Final check (≈ 10 minutes): Ensure every question has an answer and catch misreads (especially “most likely,” “least appropriate,” “best describes,” etc.).
This approach works because the exam is not designed for you to write essays in your head—your edge comes from avoiding time sinkholes.
2) Know the rules that affect how you practice
Many candidates lose points because they prepare using tools they won’t have on test day.
Two critical official policies:
No calculator in the test room for the Sustainable Investing Certificate exam.
The exam is 100 standard multiple-choice questions, delivered in English, with in-person and online testing available.
Implication: practice with no calculator habit. If you encounter arithmetic, it’s typically simple enough to do mentally, and questions more often test interpretation, definitions, and framework logic rather than heavy quantitative work.
If you’re taking the exam online, CFA Institute also offers an online proctoring “test drive” with mock questions to rehearse the experience and technical setup. (This is less about content and more about eliminating test-day friction.)
3) Study the syllabus like a portfolio manager, not a memorizer
The official curriculum is organized into topic areas with weights. The highest ROI comes from allocating study time roughly in proportion to those weights—and building mental models you can apply fast.
The main topic areas and weights include: Overview to ESG Investing and the ESG Market, Environmental Factors, Social Factors, Governance Factors, and Engagement and Stewardship—each commonly weighted 8–15% in the official outline.
A high-performance way to learn this material is to build a “decision tree” for each topic:
ESG market & approaches: When is integration vs screening vs thematic vs impact appropriate? What are the tradeoffs and typical pitfalls?
E/S/G factors: What does “materiality” mean in practice? How do factors show up at country/sector/company levels?
Engagement & stewardship: Purpose, principles, and how tactics differ by asset class, mandate, and time horizon.
The exam rewards candidates who can move from concept → application quickly.
4) Use official materials as your source of truth, then train for exam behavior
A common mistake is “reading the curriculum twice” without doing enough retrieval practice. Your goal is to convert reading into fast recognition and accurate selection under time pressure.
Here’s a proven weekly loop:
Learn (2–3 sessions): Read a section, then write a one-page “framework sheet” (definitions + what it’s for + typical examples).
Recall (1 session): Close the book and explain the framework out loud or in bullet points from memory.
Practice (1–2 sessions): Do timed question sets (20–30 questions). Your target is accuracy first, then speed.
Review (mandatory): For every miss (and every lucky guess), note the trigger: definition gap, nuance gap, or misread stem.
Because the exam is pass/fail and the minimum passing score is set via a formal standard-setting process that is not publicly disclosed, you should focus on building broad competence rather than chasing a rumored score target.
5) Master the most “testable” skills: reading discipline and option elimination
With 84 seconds per question, technique matters:
Read the last line first. Know what you’re being asked to choose (definition, best action, interpretation, “least likely,” etc.).
Underline qualifiers mentally. Words like most appropriate and primarily are often the entire question.
Eliminate before you select. Aim to remove two options quickly; then choose between the remaining two with the framework logic.
Don’t litigate edge cases. If two answers seem close, choose the one that best matches the curriculum’s “default” framing (common principles, widely accepted practice).
6) Exam-day checklist that prevents unforced errors
Rehearse a full timed run at least once (100 questions, 140 minutes).
Practice without a calculator (per official policy).
If taking online proctoring, do the official test drive to validate your setup and environment.
On the day, commit to your two-pass pacing plan and protect your time.
How to Pass the CFA Sustainable Investing Certificate?
Passing the Sustainable Investing Certificate exam is about structured knowledge + ruthless time management. Use the official curriculum weights to prioritize what matters most, practice under real constraints (especially no calculator), and adopt a two-pass system that keeps you moving. That’s how you turn 100 questions in 140 minutes from a constraint into an advantage. How to Pass the CFA Sustainable Investing Certificate
Unlock your potential with our comprehensive Sustainable Investing Certificate practice exams and study packages!
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