ESG Leadership and Sustainability Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Sustainability Managers, Finance and Reporting Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ESR-013

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with their organisation's business model, reporting cycle, risk processes or sustainability commitments.

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

ESG leadership requires more than publishing sustainability statements. Organisations face investor, lender, regulator, customer and community scrutiny over climate commitments, workforce practices, supply-chain impacts and governance controls. Leaders must decide which issues are material, assign accountability, establish reliable data, manage climate-related risks and communicate performance without making unsupported claims. Weak governance or poorly controlled reporting can create regulatory exposure, financing constraints, reputational damage and ineffective capital allocation.

This course develops the leadership and reporting capabilities needed to manage ESG as a business discipline. Participants examine double materiality, stakeholder engagement, ESG governance, climate-risk assessment, greenhouse-gas inventories, transition planning, sustainability metrics, disclosure controls and assurance readiness. The course uses GRI Standards, ESRS, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and the GHG Protocol to show how reporting requirements connect with strategy, finance, risk management and operations. Participants learn to translate ESG priorities into decision rights, measurable targets, reporting processes and credible management action.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with sector-based cases from banking, energy, manufacturing, infrastructure and public institutions. Participants analyse reporting extracts, assess climate-risk scenarios, test ESG claims, map data flows and build elements of an ESG reporting programme. They leave with an ESG leadership and reporting action pack containing a materiality process, governance model, climate-risk register, data-control checklist and implementation roadmap that can be adapted to their organisation.

The course is designed for managers who contribute to sustainability reporting, risk, finance, strategy, operations, procurement or governance decisions. It is particularly valuable for professionals asked to coordinate ESG programmes across functions or prepare their organisation for external disclosure and assurance expectations.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess ESG priorities using double materiality and stakeholder mapping
  • Design ESG governance structures with clear board and management accountabilities
  • Apply GRI, ESRS and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to reporting decisions
  • Calculate and document Scope 1, Scope 2 and material Scope 3 emissions
  • Evaluate climate-related risks using scenario analysis and financial impact pathways
  • Develop transition-plan targets, milestones, capital requirements and performance indicators
  • Establish ESG data controls, evidence trails and assurance-ready reporting processes
  • Produce an ESG reporting implementation roadmap for a defined organisational context

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Frame ESG issues in board, finance, risk and operational terms
  • Interpret major sustainability reporting requirements with greater confidence
  • Build credible responses to climate-risk and investor-information requests
  • Strengthen cross-functional influence through clear ESG governance proposals
  • Create evidence-based sustainability claims and disclosure narratives

For your organisation

  • Clearer accountability for ESG decisions, data ownership and board oversight
  • More reliable sustainability disclosures supported by documented evidence trails
  • Earlier identification of climate, supply-chain and stakeholder-related business risks
  • Better alignment between transition commitments, capital plans and operating targets
  • Reduced exposure to inconsistent claims, reporting errors and assurance findings

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can establish ESG governance arrangements that connect board oversight, executive accountability and operational ownership.

  • ESG value drivers linked to revenue, cost, capital and licence
  • Board fiduciary duties, delegated authorities and management accountability for ESG
  • Double materiality distinguishes financial effects from people and environmental impacts
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies affected groups, decision rights and engagement priorities
  • ESG operating models assign ownership across finance, risk, operations and legal
  • Ethical leadership tests claims, incentives and trade-offs against stated commitments
  • Greenwashing risk assessed through evidence, materiality and claim substantiation

Participants can design a materiality assessment process that produces defensible ESG priorities.

  • Materiality assessment scope defines entities, value-chain boundaries and reporting audiences
  • Stakeholder segmentation distinguishes affected stakeholders from information users
  • Interview protocols gather evidence on impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities
  • Impact materiality scores scale, scope, irremediability and likelihood
  • Financial materiality connects ESG matters with cash flows and enterprise value
  • Materiality matrices document thresholds, assumptions, evidence and approval decisions
  • Grievance mechanisms provide stakeholder feedback, remedy routes and escalation records

Participants can select and structure sustainability disclosures using major reporting standards.

  • GRI Standards organise impact reporting through material topics and management approaches
  • ESRS disclosures apply double materiality, topical standards and value-chain information
  • IFRS S1 identifies sustainability-related risks and opportunities affecting enterprise value
  • IFRS S2 structures climate disclosures around governance, strategy, risk and metrics
  • Reporting boundary decisions reconcile legal entities, operations and value-chain activities
  • Disclosure gap analysis compares current reports against applicable standard requirements
  • Cross-reference tables connect narrative claims, metrics, policies and source evidence

Participants can interpret emissions inventories and specify reliable climate-performance metrics.

  • GHG Protocol organisational boundaries use equity share or control approaches
  • Scope 1 emissions cover owned sources, fuels and process releases
  • Scope 2 accounting distinguishes location-based and market-based electricity emissions
  • Scope 3 screening prioritises material categories, suppliers and data-quality improvements
  • Emission factors, activity data and calculation methods require documented assumptions
  • Data-quality scoring assesses temporal, geographical, technological and completeness dimensions
  • Intensity metrics link emissions to production, revenue, floor area or passengers

Participants can assess climate-related risks and connect them to financial planning and disclosure.

  • Physical risks include heat, flood, drought, wildfire and supply disruption
  • Transition risks arise from policy, technology, markets, reputation and litigation
  • Climate scenario analysis tests assumptions under alternative temperature and policy pathways
  • Risk pathways trace hazards through assets, operations, suppliers, customers and finance
  • Time horizons distinguish immediate exposures from medium-term and long-term strategic effects
  • Financial impact assessment estimates effects on revenue, costs, assets and capital
  • Climate-risk registers assign owners, controls, indicators and escalation thresholds

Participants can build credible ESG targets and transition-plan components linked to business decisions.

  • Baseline selection defines reference years, recalculation rules and organisational boundaries
  • Science-based target principles distinguish ambition, coverage, timeframes and accountability
  • Transition plans connect emissions reductions with operations, procurement and capital expenditure
  • Abatement options compare technical feasibility, costs, emissions reduction and dependencies
  • Marginal abatement cost curves rank interventions by cost and reduction potential
  • Key performance indicators link executive incentives with verified ESG performance
  • Target governance establishes approval gates, progress reviews and corrective actions

Participants can establish control processes that improve ESG data reliability and assurance readiness.

  • ESG data inventories identify metrics, owners, systems, evidence and reporting deadlines
  • Data lineage maps source records through calculations, consolidation and published disclosures
  • Control matrices specify preventive controls, detective controls and accountable reviewers
  • Evidence files retain invoices, meter readings, supplier records and calculation workpapers
  • Materiality thresholds determine review depth, error escalation and restatement decisions
  • Limited assurance examines evidence quality, control design and disclosure consistency
  • Management representations confirm responsibility for reported information and supporting records

Participants can incorporate material social and governance issues into ESG management and reporting.

  • Human rights due diligence identifies salient risks, affected groups and remedy actions
  • Workforce metrics cover health, safety, diversity, turnover and workforce development
  • Supplier codes address labour standards, environmental requirements and audit rights
  • Responsible procurement scorecards evaluate supplier risk, performance and improvement plans
  • Anti-bribery controls link third-party screening, training, reporting and investigations
  • Board composition disclosures explain independence, expertise, diversity and committee oversight
  • Incident management records allegations, investigations, corrective actions and recurrence trends

Participants can communicate ESG performance credibly to internal and external stakeholders.

  • Disclosure narratives distinguish commitments, actions, results, assumptions and limitations
  • Claim substantiation links public statements to metrics, methodology and retained evidence
  • Balanced reporting explains progress, setbacks, uncertainty and corrective measures
  • Investor questions test governance, targets, capital expenditure and risk exposure
  • Customer sustainability requests require consistent product, supplier and emissions information
  • Crisis communication protocols assign spokespeople, approvals, facts and response timelines
  • Stakeholder feedback loops capture concerns, responses and changes to reporting priorities

Participants can create a phased ESG reporting roadmap with accountable owners and measurable milestones.

  • Current-state assessment identifies reporting gaps, data weaknesses and governance constraints
  • Priority sequencing considers regulatory deadlines, material risks, resources and dependencies
  • RACI matrices clarify responsible, accountable, consulted and informed ESG roles
  • Implementation roadmaps define workstreams, milestones, budgets, owners and decision gates
  • Change management addresses capability gaps, resistance, incentives and communication needs
  • Dashboard design tracks target progress, data quality, risks and assurance findings
  • Ninety-day action plans convert course priorities into assigned workplace commitments

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

What you take back to work

  1. Double materiality assessment template
  2. ESG governance and RACI model
  3. Climate-risk register and scenario-analysis worksheet
  4. GHG inventory data-quality checklist
  5. ESG disclosure gap-analysis matrix
  6. Ninety-day ESG reporting implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • Sustainability Managers — coordinate ESG strategy, disclosures and internal reporting processes
  • Finance and Reporting Managers — connect sustainability information with financial reporting controls
  • Risk Managers — assess climate, environmental and social risks within enterprise risk frameworks
  • Corporate Strategy Leaders — align ESG priorities, transition plans and capital allocation decisions
  • Procurement and Supply Chain Managers — address supplier emissions, labour practices and data requests
  • Board Secretariat and Governance Professionals — strengthen ESG oversight, committees and disclosures

Skills and tools covered

ESG governance designDouble materiality assessmentClimate risk analysisGHG emissions accountingSustainability disclosureESG data controls

Tools and standards

GRI Standards, European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, GHG Protocol

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to establish concepts and reporting requirements, followed by guided analysis of realistic disclosures, climate-risk cases and ESG governance decisions. Participants work in groups to conduct materiality assessments, map data ownership, review emissions evidence and test transition-plan choices. Simulations examine board-level trade-offs between risk, investment, targets and disclosure claims. Instructor feedback links each activity to recognised standards and reporting controls. Individual application planning converts course outputs into priorities for participants' own roles and organisations.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with their organisation's business model, reporting cycle, risk processes or sustainability commitments. Experience in finance, risk, operations, procurement, strategy, governance or sustainability is useful. Participants should be comfortable reading business reports and discussing performance measures. Prior knowledge of GRI, ESRS, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, greenhouse-gas accounting or climate scenarios is not required; these are introduced and applied during the course. No technical environmental science background, prior assurance experience or specialist carbon-accounting software is 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

You should understand your organisation's business model and have some exposure to reporting, risk, operations, finance, governance or sustainability work. Prior knowledge of ESG standards or carbon accounting is not required.

Bring a laptop if possible and, where permitted, your organisation's latest sustainability report, annual report or ESG policy. These materials help you relate the course methods to current reporting arrangements.

It suits managers and specialists responsible for sustainability, finance, risk, strategy, procurement, operations or governance. It is also relevant to professionals supporting board oversight or responding to investor and customer ESG requests.

Carbon accounting is covered as one component of ESG reporting, including Scope 1, 2 and material Scope 3 emissions. The wider course addresses governance, materiality, climate risk, social issues, disclosures, controls, assurance and leadership decisions.

You can use the templates to assess reporting gaps, clarify data ownership, improve ESG controls and structure management discussions on climate risk and targets. The implementation roadmap supports a practical first phase of action.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme progresses from governance and materiality through reporting standards, emissions, climate risk, targets, data controls and implementation planning.

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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