Course essentials
The course is delivered over 3 days in person at King’s executive education campus in central London.
As a multi-faculty, interdisciplinary university based in the heart of London, King’s draws on our cutting-edge research and specialist expertise in business, law, policy, finance, geography, science and engineering.
As sustainable business is a rapidly evolving area, King’s is pleased to support participants after the formal programme closes with access to webinars, leading edge research and resources capturing developments and updates, through membership of our executive education alumni community.
Indicative programme outline
The course is designed to help corporate leaders embrace the shift in mindset that is required to go beyond compliance to create organisational, reputational, environmental and financial value from sustainability.
Each day of the course will dive into a core area of ESG practice, starting with a deep understanding of the topic before exploring and learning, through case studies and guest speakers, about companies who have mastered best practice and made (and effectively avoided) costly mistakes. At the end of each day, you will learn to apply the concepts and tools to your own role and organisation, building an action plan for implementation.
| Day 1: Personal valies and knowledge to credibly lead sustainability |
- Come face-to-face with the impact of the climate crisis. We’ll review the latest IPCC and scientific evidence to understand the impact of humans on earth (planetary boundaries) and the challenges we face. Participants will consider the business opportunities that these challenges present and the possibilities for sustainable growth.
- We’ll also recognise the challenges of rapid change and the headwinds presented by business-as-usual. Finally, participants will identify and share some of the limitations we experience in data and information, current business practices and management systems.
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| Day 2: Strategies to create value |
- We will discuss what ESG means for your business today from an operational and strategic perspective. How is climate risk becoming financial risk? How does new sustainability accounting help every department to get involved and succeed?
- We will explore how to navigate the landscape of voluntary frameworks, ratings, scores and certifications. And we will interrogate the role each department has to play including estates, human resources, marketing, operations, finance and more.
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| Day 3: Leading transformation |
- We will conduct an analysis of different stakeholders, their motivations and the barriers they present in leading sustainable value creation.
- We will also work with 'The Boardroom Key to Sustainability', a new decision-making tool developed by King's Business School. Finally, we'll review case studies and learn how it can help you unlock value for your organisation.
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Format
- Teaching - Three in-person teaching days including case studies and the opportunity to discuss your own work challenges.
- Location - King’s central London campuses.
Terms and Conditions for executive short courses
Who is this course for?
This course is for managers and executives in all organisations who want to make a difference and champion ESG within their business. The course will be interesting to individuals working across a range of functional areas including finance, strategy, HR, estates and facilities, marketing and communications, and operations. It is suitable for private sector companies and for public and voluntary sector managers. As well as for consultants and client managers who work with businesses in this space.
Entry requirements
This course is for managers and executives. The course is fully delivered in English and you must be confident communicating and contributing in English at an advanced level in order to fully participate in the programme.
Programme Impact
The course provides a robust and insightful grounding in the core topics (e.g. climate, corporate responsibility, sustainability, stewardship), regulations and trends, before moving into an in-depth exploration of how to apply best practice, and crucially avoid the pitfalls, around ESG reporting and leading sustainability initiatives.
Moving beyond mere compliance, this course will transfer skills and knowledge to managers and leaders in all areas of the business, ensuring they understand how the mainstreaming of ESG can, and must, be integrated into their own role and department in order to remain competitive and maximise opportunities for business. Learning lessons from best practice and failed initiatives, this course will focus on educating all areas of the business to mainstream ESG and drive substantive sustainable and long-lasting change.
Participants will leave the course with a thorough understanding of the ESG and sustainability landscape, in particular the opportunities and risks for business and your own organisation. You will leave with a detailed understanding of how the topics relate to your own area and an action plan to develop and implement business transformation in your role.
Learn from the experts
Dr Marc Lepere is a Professor of Practice in Sustainability at King’s Business School, where he also leads Executive Education in ESG and Sustainability. Marc publishes in leading publications including the Financial Times, German Public Service Broadcasting and Stanford Social Innovation Review. He has served as Chief Marketing Officer at Havas Worldwide, Executive VP for McCann Erickson WorldGroup and Deputy Chairman of Dentsu EMEA. Marc has published in leading publications including the Financial Times, German Public Broadcasting and Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Company engagement with ESG is increasingly required by regulators and reported by the world’s largest companies. But ESG is more than reporting requirements. Customers, employees, and suppliers, expect that companies go "beyond compliance." How do businesses achieve this integrated approach? In this course, we offer crucial insight into how each role and department can contribute, by mainstreaming ESG into each aspect of the business.
Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra, Vice Dean, Global Engagement and Reader in Political Economy & Entrepreneurship
Sustainable business is arguably one of the largest growth opportunities – for your career and your business – that there has ever been. Done well, ESG drives innovation, value and engagement across the whole business as well as mitigating risk. You’ll discover how to make ESG work for you; and why getting started on it now will give you and your organisation a real advantage over the next twelve months and throughout your career.
Dr Marc Lepere, Professor of Practice in Sustainability at King's Business School