ESG and Sustainability Masterclass Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Head of Sustainability, ESG Reporting Manager and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ESR-001

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in sustainability, ESG reporting, climate risk, finance, risk, audit, investor relations or corporate governance.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior sustainability leaders face a reporting challenge that is no longer limited to publishing an annual ESG report. Boards, investors, regulators, lenders and customers increasingly expect decision-useful disclosures supported by traceable data, defined controls and credible transition plans. Teams must reconcile different reporting requirements, determine material topics, establish reporting boundaries, calculate emissions, assess climate risks and prepare disclosures that can withstand internal review and external assurance.

This advanced masterclass examines the reporting architecture, governance, data systems and technical judgements required to lead ESG and sustainability reporting programmes. Participants work with GRI Standards, ESRS, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the GHG Protocol, climate scenario analysis, transition planning, EU Taxonomy concepts and assurance readiness methods. The course addresses double materiality, value-chain emissions, financed emissions, human capital metrics, biodiversity dependencies, sustainability-linked finance and reporting controls. It also examines how sustainability reporting connects with financial reporting, enterprise risk management, capital allocation and board oversight.

Participants apply each method to build an ESG reporting work package from the first week. Short technical briefings are followed by sector-based cases, data-review tasks, reporting simulations and structured peer review. By the final module, each participant has produced and presented a complete reporting blueprint containing materiality outputs, data controls, disclosure mapping, climate metrics, assurance evidence and an implementation plan. The work is designed for direct adaptation within a bank, public body, multinational, infrastructure operator, NGO or large corporate.

The course best suits senior practitioners who already contribute to sustainability, reporting, risk, finance, climate, investor relations or assurance work and need to lead a reporting programme rather than support one task within it.

What you will be able to do

  • Design an ESG reporting architecture aligned to GRI, ESRS and IFRS S1 and S2 requirements
  • Conduct a double materiality assessment using stakeholder evidence, impact scoring and financial materiality criteria
  • Map ESG data flows, reporting boundaries, owners, controls and assurance evidence
  • Calculate Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions using GHG Protocol accounting methods
  • Develop climate-risk disclosures using scenario analysis, transition risks and physical-risk assessment
  • Prepare a transition plan with targets, actions, capital expenditure links and governance milestones
  • Evaluate sustainability disclosures for completeness, consistency, traceability and assurance readiness
  • Present a board-ready ESG reporting blueprint with implementation priorities and decision points

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Lead ESG reporting programmes with a clear standards, governance and data architecture
  • Make defensible materiality and reporting-boundary judgements for senior stakeholders
  • Translate climate, emissions and social data into investor and regulator disclosures
  • Prepare evidence packs that withstand internal challenge and external assurance review
  • Present a credible reporting roadmap to boards, audit committees and executive teams

For your organisation

  • Improved consistency between sustainability disclosures, financial reporting and risk reporting
  • Clearer ownership of ESG data, controls, evidence and sign-off responsibilities
  • Reduced reporting gaps against ESRS, IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and GRI requirements
  • More credible climate targets and transition-plan disclosures for investors and lenders
  • A practical implementation plan for assurance-ready sustainability reporting

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can establish governance, accountability and approval structures for an ESG reporting programme.

  • Board oversight, executive accountability and sustainability committee terms of reference
  • ESG operating model linking finance, risk, legal, procurement and operations
  • Three lines model applied to sustainability reporting accountabilities
  • Materiality governance decisions recorded through auditable approval protocols
  • Reporting perimeter choices for subsidiaries, joint ventures and value chains
  • Disclosure controls mapped to owners, evidence, review and sign-off

Participants can select and map reporting standards against organisational obligations and stakeholder needs.

  • GRI Standards structure, topic standards and material topic disclosures
  • IFRS S1 general requirements for sustainability-related financial information
  • IFRS S2 climate disclosures using governance, strategy, risk and metrics
  • ESRS architecture, topical standards and cross-cutting disclosure requirements
  • SASB industry metrics used alongside investor-focused sustainability disclosures
  • CDP, TNFD and TCFD outputs positioned within reporting architecture

Participants can build a disclosure map that identifies applicable requirements, dependencies and evidence sources.

  • CSRD reporting scope, phased requirements and group reporting considerations
  • ESRS disclosure requirements translated into a disclosure inventory
  • EU Taxonomy eligibility, alignment and minimum safeguards assessment
  • SEC climate disclosure considerations for cross-listed and multinational issuers
  • Jurisdictional reporting register maintained through legal horizon scanning
  • Disclosure mapping matrix linking requirements, metrics, owners and evidence

Participants can design and govern a double materiality assessment using documented scoring and evidence methods.

  • Impact materiality assessed through scale, scope, irremediability and likelihood
  • Financial materiality assessed through enterprise value effects and time horizons
  • Stakeholder mapping distinguishes affected stakeholders, users and rights-holders
  • Evidence hierarchy combines internal data, stakeholder input and external research
  • Scoring thresholds calibrated through documented management and board judgement
  • Materiality matrix converted into ESRS reporting decisions and topic boundaries

Participants can obtain, assess and document stakeholder evidence suitable for materiality decisions.

  • Stakeholder engagement plan defines purpose, methods, sampling and governance
  • Interview protocols separate stakeholder concerns from management assumptions
  • Survey design avoids leading questions and unsupported materiality conclusions
  • Grievance mechanisms provide evidence on salient human-rights impacts
  • Trade unions, communities and suppliers engaged through appropriate channels
  • Evidence log records sources, limitations, decisions and approval history

Participants can define ESG data flows, quality controls and traceable reporting evidence.

  • Data lineage traced from source systems to published disclosure
  • ESG data dictionary defines metrics, units, boundaries and calculation rules
  • Control activities address completeness, accuracy, timeliness and authorisation
  • Manual spreadsheet risks assessed through version control and reconciliations
  • Evidence retention schedule supports audit trails and assurance testing
  • Key performance indicators reconciled with financial and operational datasets

Participants can calculate and report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions using recognised accounting methods.

  • GHG Protocol organisational boundaries using equity share and control approaches
  • Scope 1 emissions calculated from stationary combustion, mobile sources and refrigerants
  • Market-based and location-based Scope 2 methods reconciled transparently
  • Emission factors selected by geography, fuel type, year and source
  • Renewable electricity instruments evaluated against quality criteria and contractual claims
  • Base-year recalculation policy addresses acquisitions, divestments and methodological changes

Participants can prioritise, calculate and disclose material Scope 3 categories with stated limitations.

  • Scope 3 screening identifies material categories and primary-data priorities
  • Spend-based, activity-based and supplier-specific calculation methods compared
  • Category 15 financed emissions calculated using PCAF attribution principles
  • Supplier engagement requests product footprints, activity data and methodological evidence
  • Data quality scoring documents temporal, geographic, technological and completeness limitations
  • Avoided emissions claims separated from inventory accounting and reduction targets

Participants can assess climate-related risks and opportunities for reporting and strategic decision-making.

  • Physical risks assessed through hazards, exposure, vulnerability and adaptive capacity
  • Transition risks classified across policy, legal, technology, market and reputation drivers
  • Climate opportunities linked to products, operations, markets and capital access
  • Risk time horizons aligned with strategic planning and asset lifecycles
  • Enterprise risk registers incorporate climate causes, impacts, controls and owners
  • Financial effects estimated through revenue, costs, assets, liabilities and capital

Participants can design scenario analysis that informs climate disclosures, resilience assessment and management action.

  • Scenario purpose distinguishes resilience testing, risk quantification and strategic choice
  • NGFS scenarios selected for orderly, disorderly and hot-house pathways
  • Assumptions documented for carbon prices, demand shifts, hazards and technology
  • Sensitivity analysis tests material variables, thresholds and management responses
  • Qualitative narratives connected to quantitative financial and operational effects
  • Scenario outputs translated into IFRS S2 disclosure statements and evidence

Participants can prepare a credible transition plan connecting emissions targets, actions and financing.

  • Science Based Targets initiative criteria applied to target-setting decisions
  • Transition plan elements link targets, actions, dependencies, costs and governance
  • Decarbonisation wedges quantify operational, procurement and technology interventions
  • Capital expenditure and operating expenditure linked to transition activities
  • Offsets, carbon credits and removals distinguished from gross-emissions reductions
  • Target progress reporting explains variances, recalculations and corrective actions

Participants can identify nature-related dependencies, impacts and disclosure priorities using recognised methods.

  • TNFD LEAP approach identifies nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities
  • Location screening identifies sensitive ecosystems, water stress and protected areas
  • Biodiversity metrics distinguish pressures, state, response and outcome indicators
  • Water accounting separates withdrawal, consumption, discharge and water-quality effects
  • Value-chain traceability supports commodity sourcing and deforestation-related disclosures
  • Nature transition actions linked to procurement standards and capital decisions

Participants can prepare material social disclosures supported by workforce and human-rights evidence.

  • UN Guiding Principles applied to human-rights due diligence processes
  • Salient human-rights issues prioritised by severity, scale and irremediability
  • Workforce metrics define headcount, turnover, diversity, pay and collective bargaining
  • Health and safety indicators distinguish leading measures from injury outcomes
  • Living wage assessment compares remuneration with credible local benchmarks
  • Supplier social audits assessed for coverage, findings, remediation and limitations

Participants can connect ESG reporting with sustainable finance classifications, covenants and investment decisions.

  • EU Taxonomy substantial contribution criteria applied to eligible economic activities
  • Do no significant harm assessment tested against environmental objectives
  • Green bond frameworks connect use-of-proceeds, allocation and impact reporting
  • Sustainability-linked loan KPIs assessed for materiality, ambition and verification
  • Financed emissions integrated into credit risk and portfolio steering
  • Capital allocation narratives explain sustainability-related investment and asset-retirement decisions

Participants can identify and explain links between sustainability disclosures and financial statement judgements.

  • Connectivity analysis links climate assumptions to impairment and useful-life testing
  • Provisions and contingent liabilities assessed for environmental remediation obligations
  • Asset retirement obligations connected to transition plans and decommissioning estimates
  • Revenue assumptions tested against demand shifts and policy exposure
  • Consistency checks compare narrative disclosures, estimates, risks and financial statements
  • Management representation process addresses sustainability-related accounting judgements

Participants can prepare ESG disclosures, controls and evidence for internal review and external assurance.

  • ISAE 3000 assurance engagements distinguish limited and reasonable assurance
  • Assurance scope defines subject matter, criteria, boundaries and reporting period
  • Control testing evaluates design effectiveness, operating evidence and exceptions
  • Evidence packs organise source records, calculations, reviews and approvals
  • Management assertions address completeness, accuracy, existence and consistency
  • Internal audit plan prioritises material metrics, high-risk estimates and disclosures

Participants can govern sustainability claims and identify statements that create greenwashing exposure.

  • Claims inventory captures advertising, investor communications, labels and public statements
  • Substantiation files link claims to evidence, boundaries, methodologies and limitations
  • Absolute claims distinguished from comparative, aspirational and conditional claims
  • Net-zero claims tested against transition plans, offsets and interim targets
  • Legal, marketing and sustainability review protocols govern external communications
  • Correction procedures address misleading statements, restatements and stakeholder notifications

Participants can manage the production, review and approval of a decision-useful ESG report.

  • Reporting calendar sequences data collection, drafting, review, assurance and publication
  • Disclosure committee papers present material judgements, gaps and approval decisions
  • Narrative drafting connects metrics, strategy, risks, targets and performance
  • Cross-referencing reduces duplication across annual reports, websites and questionnaires
  • Board dashboards distinguish leading indicators, outcome metrics and unresolved issues
  • Restatement protocol governs corrections, comparatives, explanations and stakeholder communication

Participants can create an implementation roadmap for improving ESG reporting capability and assurance readiness.

  • Maturity assessment scores governance, standards, data, controls and assurance
  • Gap analysis prioritises mandatory disclosures, material risks and resource constraints
  • Workstream plan assigns milestones, dependencies, budget and accountable executives
  • RACI matrix clarifies reporting responsibilities across corporate functions and subsidiaries
  • Training plan targets data owners, reviewers, executives and board members
  • Performance measures track reporting readiness, data quality and control completion

Participants can build, review and present a complete ESG reporting blueprint for a defined organisation.

  • Reporting scope defines entities, value chains, standards and reporting boundaries
  • Double materiality findings justify selected topics, impacts, risks and opportunities
  • Disclosure map assigns requirements, data owners, evidence and review stages
  • Climate metrics include emissions inventory, targets, scenario outputs and transition actions
  • Assurance plan identifies controls, evidence files, testing priorities and remediation
  • Board presentation defends judgements, implementation priorities, risks and resource requirements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. ESG reporting architecture template
  2. Double materiality assessment pack
  3. ESG data dictionary and control matrix
  4. Climate disclosure and transition-plan model
  5. Assurance evidence-file checklist
  6. Board-ready ESG reporting implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • Head of Sustainability — lead reporting strategy, governance and board disclosures
  • ESG Reporting Manager — build disclosure processes, evidence files and reporting controls
  • Chief Risk Officer — integrate climate and sustainability risks into enterprise risk reporting
  • Finance Director — connect sustainability metrics, financial reporting and capital allocation
  • Investor Relations Director — prepare credible investor-facing sustainability communications
  • Internal Audit or Assurance Lead — assess reporting controls, evidence quality and assurance readiness

Skills and tools covered

ESG reporting architectureDouble materiality assessmentClimate disclosure designEmissions accountingAssurance readinessTransition planning

Tools and standards

GRI Standards, ESRS, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, GHG Protocol

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course combines short technical briefings with reporting cases drawn from banking, energy, manufacturing, infrastructure and public-sector settings. Participants analyse disclosure requirements, assess materiality evidence, test ESG datasets, calculate emissions and review sample assurance findings. Group work focuses on decisions senior teams must make: reporting boundaries, data ownership, target credibility, control design and board escalation. Structured simulations develop judgement under scrutiny from investors, auditors, regulators and executive committees. Participants apply each method to a reporting blueprint throughout the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in sustainability, ESG reporting, climate risk, finance, risk, audit, investor relations or corporate governance. They should understand core ESG terminology and be able to interpret annual reports, policy documents and management information. Familiarity with one reporting framework, such as GRI, TCFD, SASB, ESRS or CDP, is useful. This is not an introductory sustainability course. Prior emissions-calculation expertise, legal training, assurance qualifications, data-science skills or detailed knowledge of every reporting standard are not required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should already work with ESG, sustainability, climate, risk, finance, reporting, audit or investor relations topics. The course assumes familiarity with basic ESG terminology but does not require prior assurance qualifications or advanced emissions-accounting expertise.

Bring a recent sustainability report, annual report, materiality assessment, climate plan or reporting challenge from your organisation if possible. Participants can use these documents to shape their reporting blueprint, although course cases are available for those without internal materials.

It is designed for senior practitioners who lead, review or influence ESG reporting decisions. Typical participants include sustainability leaders, reporting managers, finance directors, risk leaders, internal auditors and investor relations professionals.

This course focuses on technical reporting decisions, reporting controls, standards mapping, climate disclosures, assurance evidence and board-level implementation. It does not spend extended time introducing basic sustainability concepts or generic corporate responsibility programmes.

Participants build a reporting blueprint that can be adapted to their own reporting cycle, regulatory obligations and governance structure. The templates support materiality review, data ownership, disclosure mapping, climate reporting and assurance preparation.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes reporting architecture, materiality, data and climate methods; the second week addresses finance links, assurance, claims governance, implementation and the capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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