Sustainability for Hospitality Leaders

Business, Leadership & Management

Course overview

Created in partnership with global industry experts from the Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA), this programme is designed to help hospitality investors, owners and company leaders protect long-term value from climate risks whilst addressing short-term financial pressures. The focus is on becoming commercially sustainable, not just talking about it.

17 February 2026 - 22 June 2026

Places: Available

Delivery mode: Blended

Strand Campus, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

Application deadline: 30 January 2026

Places: Available

Apply now

Course features

This programme is delivered part-time, starting with an in-person day followed by four online webinars (three hours each) and concluding with a final in-person day which also includes the presentation of your King’s Business School certificate of completion.

Participants of this course will receive a complimentary ticket to attend the EEA Symposium on 16 February 2026. Attendance is encouraged.

The programme will cover:

The science: an overview	An overview of the science and what we mean by sustainability. Topics include planetary boundaries, physical and transition risks and the nature of wicked problems.
Sustainability accounting	Investors, insurers, and lenders expect climate disclosures to meet the same standards as financial statements; hospitality leaders require investor-grade data to inform capital allocation and operational decision-making.
Enabling Law and Regulations	Explore the role of law (particularly real-estate performance) and look into the future of policy and expected developments. Discover new sustainability clauses to add to contracts.
Green Finance	How the insurance sector is transferring climate risk into the financial system; interrogate climate finance, carbon prices and markets. Learn how to assess sustainability bonds and loans and how to avoid stranded assets.
Systems Thinking and Design	Explore the core concepts of systems thinking and design. Understand how the sourcing, use and disposal of materials offers risks and rewards, especially in building design and food and beverage.
Marketing Sustainability	Asses corporate and consumer perceptions of sustainability; new models of sustainable consumption, certifications, delve into greenwashing and drive behavioural change in consumers and stakeholders.
Leading Sustainable Transformation	Deploy theories of change and cross-functional decision making to roadmap how you can lead and transform your organisation through a sustainable transition.
Managing crises, policy and community	Learn from King’s War Studies and Medicine departments how to manage a crisis...when the building catches fire or floods, how best to interact with local communities and engage policymakers in the short and longer term.
Individual project	You’ll be supported to develop a sustainability initiative and business plan for your own organisation, which together with learning from your peers’ proposals, will give you the opportunity to make a commercially sustainable difference.

Hear about Kelli's and Brenda's experiences.

Programme schedule

Monday 16 February 2026 – In-person, full day at EEA Symposium (London)
Tuesday 17 February 2026 – In-person, 09.00-17.00 at King’s Business School (London)
Thursday 26 February 2026 – Virtual, 08.30-11.30
Thursday 12 March 2026 – Virtual, 08.30-11.30
Thursday 26 March 2026 – Virtual, 08.30-11.30
Thursday 16 April 2026 – Virtual, 08.30-11.30
Monday 22 June 2026 – In-person, 12.00-19.00 at King’s Business School (London)

Our expertise

King’s College London’s world-renowned economists, marketers, engineers, lawyers and medics combine with global industry experts from the Energy & Environment Alliance to equip hospitality leaders with a unique mix of key concepts, knowledge transfer and practical tools to tackle current sustainability challenges.

Entry requirements

The programme is designed explicitly for hospitality investors, owners and corporate leaders responsible for strategy, capital allocation and operational decision-making at the company level. This may include, but is not limited to, the roles of:

CEOs, CFOs and Treasurers
Investors, lenders, financial analysts
Hotel owners & operators
Non-executive directors
Sustainability directors

Further information

On completing this programme, participants will be able to:

Learn how well-designed sustainability initiatives can enhance guest experience and revenue, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower operating costs.
Understand how hospitality investors, insurers, and lenders expect climate disclosures to meet the same standards as financial statements.
Identify material risks and opportunities of sustainability; understand how Net Zero Plans supports better access to finance
Review data and management tools needed to drive business decisions.
Examine the latest sustainability regulations and and how organisations can benefit from new accounting standards.
Uncover greenwashing; how to spot it and how to avoid it.
Upskilling, managing and incentivising sustainability in your organisation
Analyse your different stakeholders, their motivations and barriers they present in resisting sustainable transformation.
Understand the science of climate change and sustainability