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
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: Sustainable business: boundaries, opportunities and headwinds |
- Session 1 – 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.
- Session 2 (case studies) – We will begin to embrace the shift in mind-set that is required to embed sustainability decision-making and practices in our day-to-day role, through specially designed interactive exercises.
- Session 3 (application) – Working in pairs and groups you will consider how to apply the lessons learnt to engage your colleagues in a similar shift in mind-set and to identify how collectively, your department can best contribute and complement other departments’ efforts.
Session leaders: Marc Lepere and Megan Bowman
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| Day 2: ESG in practice |
- Session 1 – We will discuss what ESG means for your business today from an operational and strategic perspective. Why has ESG become so topical and how is it different from CSR? Why does new regulation mean every department must be involved in order to 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.
- Session 2 (case studies) – Working in groups we’ll review and analyse Annual Reports (including TCFD disclosures) and Sustainability Reports to identify best (and worst) practice and how to avoid unintentional greenwashing.
- Session 3 (application) – Through individual and group exercises we’ll understand what measurement and reporting excellence looks like and how it needs to involve every department in the business.
Session leader: Marc Lepere
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| Day 3 – Sustainability data: Collecting and reporting ESG performance |
- Session 1 – One of the challenges in boosting ESG performance is around ensuring that you are able to collect the right data to begin with. How do you capture data that you don’t (yet) have? We begin with approaches to data collection, in terms of systems development. This includes software platforms, identifying who in the organisation is responsible for what data, etc. We then move into best practices and pitfalls in data analysis and reporting.
- Session 2 (case studies) – Approaches to ESG reporting have developed significantly over the last 20 years, especially since the first Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guideline was established in 2000, and as many companies have achieved B Corporation status since the first cohort was certified in 2007. More recently there has been an explosion of carbon calculators, compliance consultants and data management system providers. This means there are ample opportunities to learn from both best practices and pitfalls that organisations have encountered. In this session, we work in groups to identify what went right, and wrong, in developing ESG data collection, analysis and reporting, in the illustrative cases, and crucially, distil lessons.
- Session 3 (application) – In this final session, we apply the lessons learned to leaders and managers’ own context. This comprises developing an action plan for what questions to ask, and what steps to take, next.
Session leader: Robyn Klingler-Vidra
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| Coaching session |
All participants will join a virtual follow up session two weeks after the in-person teaching to revisit your action plan and review and adapt your plans with a coach to move forward successfully.
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*Please note the exact timetable may be subject to change.
Format
- Teaching - Four 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 leaders 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 leaders. 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.
Course fees
£3,500
Programme Impact
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
Indicative faculty list:
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.
Robyn Klingler-Vidra- Associate Dean, Global Engagement, and Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
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.
Marc Lepere - King’s Business School’s ESG executive education lead