ESG Reporting and Sustainability Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Sustainability Managers, Corporate Reporting Managers 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-002

Before you join: Participants should understand basic corporate reporting, business operations or sustainability concepts and have experience working with business data, policies or performance measures.

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 reporting has moved from a communications task to a controlled business process shaped by investor expectations, customer requirements, regulation, financing conditions and assurance scrutiny. Organisations must decide which sustainability matters are material, gather dependable operational data, calculate emissions consistently, explain governance and risk responses, and publish disclosures that can withstand challenge. Weak scope definitions, fragmented data ownership and unsupported claims can create reporting errors, procurement risk, reputational damage and costly remediation.

This course develops the practical skills needed to plan, prepare, review and improve ESG disclosures. Participants work with the GRI Standards, ISSB IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, European Sustainability Reporting Standards, the GHG Protocol and materiality assessment methods. They learn to establish reporting boundaries, conduct stakeholder-informed materiality assessments, define ESG metrics, build data-collection processes, assess climate risks and opportunities, prepare transition-plan disclosures, and connect sustainability reporting with governance, finance, risk and internal control functions.

Instructor-led briefings are paired with sector cases from banking, manufacturing, energy, public services and multinational supply chains. Participants analyse reporting decisions, test evidence trails, resolve data-quality issues and prepare disclosure content from realistic source information. Each participant leaves with an ESG reporting workplan, materiality assessment structure, KPI dictionary, data-control matrix, climate disclosure outline and a completed reporting case suitable for adaptation at work.

The course suits professionals who already contribute to sustainability, finance, risk, assurance, investor relations, operations or corporate reporting and now need to produce decision-useful ESG information. It is particularly relevant for organisations preparing for new reporting requirements, responding to lender or customer questionnaires, seeking assurance, or improving an existing sustainability report.

What you will be able to do

  • Conduct a double materiality assessment using stakeholder evidence, impact criteria and financial-risk criteria
  • Apply GRI, ISSB and ESRS requirements to select appropriate ESG disclosures
  • Calculate Scope 1, Scope 2 and relevant Scope 3 greenhouse-gas emissions
  • Design an ESG data-collection process with owners, evidence requirements and control points
  • Assess climate-related risks and opportunities using scenario analysis and financial materiality criteria
  • Prepare governance, strategy, risk-management and metrics disclosures aligned to IFRS S1 and IFRS S2
  • Develop an assurance-ready ESG reporting file with traceable data and documented assumptions
  • Produce and present a complete ESG reporting package for a realistic business case

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build confidence interpreting major ESG reporting standards and disclosure requests
  • Prepare credible emissions, climate-risk and governance disclosures from operational evidence
  • Develop a reusable method for coordinating reporting across finance, risk and sustainability teams
  • Strengthen readiness for ESG reporting, sustainability controller and assurance-facing roles
  • Present materiality decisions and ESG performance information clearly to senior stakeholders

For your organisation

  • Reduce unsupported ESG claims through clearer evidence, ownership and review controls
  • Improve consistency between sustainability reports, annual reports, lender submissions and customer questionnaires
  • Create traceable ESG data flows that reduce assurance preparation effort
  • Identify material climate, workforce, supply-chain and governance issues earlier
  • Provide decision-makers with comparable ESG metrics linked to strategy, risk and capital planning

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can define an ESG reporting architecture aligned with organisational purpose, users and reporting obligations.

  • Investor, lender and customer information demands reshaping ESG reporting decisions
  • ESG reporting architecture linking governance, strategy, metrics and disclosures
  • Reporting audiences mapped by decision needs, authority and information rights
  • Mandatory, voluntary and contractual sustainability disclosure requirements distinguished clearly
  • Annual report, sustainability report and questionnaire content aligned consistently
  • Reporting calendar built around data cycles, approvals and publication deadlines

Participants can select and compare ESG disclosure requirements using major reporting standards.

  • GRI Standards applied to impact-focused sustainability reporting disclosures
  • ISSB IFRS S1 requirements for sustainability-related financial information
  • IFRS S2 climate disclosures structured around four core pillars
  • ESRS architecture, topical standards and disclosure requirements examined
  • Crosswalk method comparing overlapping requirements across reporting standards
  • Disclosure index constructed from selected standards and reporting boundaries

Participants can establish reporting boundaries and document inclusion decisions for ESG disclosures.

  • Organisational boundary methods: equity share, financial control and operational control
  • Value-chain boundaries defined for upstream, operations and downstream impacts
  • Subsidiaries, joint ventures and franchises assessed for reporting inclusion
  • Reporting perimeter reconciled with financial consolidation and legal entities
  • Boundary changes documented with comparability effects and restatement decisions
  • Entity map created with operational sites, ownership and reporting responsibilities

Participants can design a documented materiality assessment with defensible criteria and governance.

  • Materiality assessment stages from issue identification through board approval
  • Double materiality distinguishes impact materiality from financial materiality
  • Impact severity assessed through scale, scope, irremediable character and likelihood
  • Financial materiality evaluates cash flows, access to finance and enterprise value
  • Materiality thresholds defined using scoring rules and decision criteria
  • Assessment governance assigns challenge, approval and escalation responsibilities

Participants can gather, evaluate and document stakeholder evidence for materiality decisions.

  • Stakeholder mapping identifies affected groups, information users and rights holders
  • Interview guides distinguish perceptions, evidence, priorities and recommended actions
  • Survey design avoids leading questions and unsupported materiality conclusions
  • Evidence triangulation combines stakeholder input, risk data and sector research
  • Materiality matrix plotted using documented scores, thresholds and rationale
  • Decision log records dissenting views, limitations and management responses

Participants can define governance disclosures and operating accountabilities for ESG reporting.

  • Board oversight disclosures specify mandates, expertise, frequency and information flows
  • Executive accountability mapped through RACI roles for ESG decisions
  • Sustainability committee terms of reference linked to board responsibilities
  • Incentive disclosures connect executive remuneration with measurable ESG performance
  • Policy hierarchy distinguishes commitments, standards, procedures and operating controls
  • Escalation routes defined for data failures, incidents and reporting disputes

Participants can calculate and report organisational greenhouse-gas emissions using the GHG Protocol.

  • GHG Protocol Corporate Standard principles applied to inventory preparation
  • Scope 1 emissions calculated from stationary, mobile and fugitive sources
  • Scope 2 location-based and market-based methods reported separately
  • Emission factors selected by geography, fuel type and reporting year
  • Activity data converted using units, calorific values and global warming potentials
  • Inventory recalculation policy addresses acquisitions, divestments and methodology changes

Participants can prioritise, estimate and disclose relevant Scope 3 emission categories.

  • Fifteen Scope 3 categories screened for relevance and significance
  • Spend-based, activity-based and supplier-specific calculation methods compared
  • Purchased goods data requests specify product, quantity and emissions evidence
  • Supplier engagement prioritised through emissions hotspots and procurement influence
  • Data-quality hierarchy ranks primary data, proxies and economic estimates
  • Scope 3 exclusions documented with rationale, estimated effects and improvement plans

Participants can prepare credible emissions targets and transition-plan reporting content.

  • Base-year selection considers data quality, structural change and comparability
  • Absolute and intensity targets matched to business growth assumptions
  • Science-based target concepts distinguished from internal operational targets
  • Transition plans connect actions, capital expenditure, milestones and accountability
  • Carbon credits separated from gross emissions reductions and target performance
  • Progress tracking reports achieved reductions, recalculations and delivery risks

Participants can identify and assess climate-related risks and opportunities for disclosure.

  • Physical risks classified as acute or chronic climate hazards
  • Transition risks assessed across policy, technology, market and reputation drivers
  • Climate opportunities identified in products, efficiency, resilience and financing
  • Risk registers record causes, time horizons, controls and residual exposure
  • Financial effects estimated for revenue, costs, assets and capital expenditure
  • Climate risk ownership aligned with enterprise-risk management governance

Participants can use climate scenarios to support resilience and strategic disclosure statements.

  • Scenario analysis distinguishes exploratory scenarios from business forecasting models
  • Climate scenarios selected by hazard pathways, transition assumptions and time horizons
  • Assumptions documented for carbon prices, demand, energy and regulation
  • Sensitivity analysis tests material variables and potential financial effects
  • Resilience conclusions framed with uncertainty, dependencies and management actions
  • IFRS S2 disclosures explain scenario process, findings and strategic implications

Participants can define environmental metrics and disclosures supported by operational evidence.

  • Water withdrawal, consumption and discharge metrics defined consistently
  • Waste metrics distinguish hazardous waste, recovery, disposal and diversion
  • Biodiversity impacts screened using site location, habitat sensitivity and dependencies
  • Pollution indicators selected for air emissions, effluents and hazardous substances
  • Environmental incidents classified by severity, remediation and regulatory consequences
  • Metric methodologies document units, boundaries, estimation methods and exclusions

Participants can prepare material workforce, human-rights and community disclosures.

  • Workforce profile metrics cover headcount, employment type and worker turnover
  • Health and safety indicators distinguish fatalities, injuries and lost-time rates
  • Diversity metrics defined by leadership level, category and disclosure restrictions
  • Human-rights due diligence follows OECD risk-based assessment steps
  • Grievance mechanisms assessed for accessibility, confidentiality, remedy and retaliation safeguards
  • Training, pay equity and labour-practice disclosures supported by documented evidence

Participants can prepare governance disclosures supported by policies, controls and performance data.

  • Business conduct disclosures address anti-bribery, competition and conflicts controls
  • Whistleblowing metrics report channels, cases, investigations and substantiated outcomes
  • Data privacy indicators distinguish breaches, affected individuals and remediation actions
  • Supply-chain code requirements linked to monitoring, audits and corrective actions
  • Tax transparency disclosures explain governance, strategy and country-level reporting approaches
  • Political engagement and lobbying disclosures identify policies, spending and oversight

Participants can design ESG KPIs, data flows and ownership arrangements for repeatable reporting.

  • KPI dictionary defines metric purpose, formula, unit and reporting frequency
  • Data lineage traces each disclosure from source system to published statement
  • Metric owners assigned for collection, validation, approval and corrective action
  • Evidence requirements specify invoices, meter records, payroll extracts and audit trails
  • Data-quality dimensions assess completeness, accuracy, timeliness, consistency and traceability
  • Estimation protocols define acceptable proxies, assumptions and review thresholds

Participants can build control documentation and evidence files suitable for ESG assurance review.

  • Control objectives address completeness, accuracy, validity and authorisation of ESG data
  • Process narratives document inputs, transformations, outputs and responsible roles
  • Risk-control matrices connect reporting risks with preventive and detective controls
  • Management review controls test variances, anomalies and unexplained performance changes
  • Evidence files retain source records, calculations, approvals and methodological decisions
  • Limited assurance procedures distinguished from reasonable assurance evidence requirements

Participants can draft clear, balanced and standards-aligned ESG disclosures from verified evidence.

  • Disclosure writing separates factual performance, management response and forward-looking statements
  • Claims substantiation checks statements against data, policies and documented decisions
  • Balanced reporting explains progress, setbacks, limitations and corrective actions
  • Cross-references connect sustainability disclosures with financial statement information
  • Report tables present definitions, units, prior periods and methodological notes
  • Disclosure review checklist tests completeness, consistency, readability and traceability

Participants can identify unsupported sustainability claims and prepare defensible responses to scrutiny.

  • Greenwashing risk indicators identify vague, absolute and unsubstantiated environmental claims
  • Claim-review protocol tests scope, evidence, qualifications and consumer interpretation
  • Marketing statements reconciled with ESG report metrics and supporting records
  • Regulatory inquiry response packs assemble evidence, approvals and decision history
  • Stakeholder challenge scenarios address investor questions, NGO criticism and media requests
  • Corrective disclosure procedures define escalation, legal review and communication actions

Participants can create an implementation plan for an efficient annual ESG reporting cycle.

  • Reporting programme roadmap sequences standards assessment, data preparation and publication
  • Work breakdown structure assigns deliverables, dependencies, owners and due dates
  • Readiness assessment scores current capability across governance, data and disclosures
  • Gap-analysis register prioritises deficiencies by reporting risk and implementation effort
  • Budget assumptions cover systems, external support, assurance and staff time
  • Management dashboard tracks milestones, data completion, decisions and unresolved issues

Participants can build, review and present a complete ESG reporting package for a realistic organisation.

  • Reporting boundary, material topics and stakeholder evidence consolidated into reporting scope
  • Selected GRI, ISSB and ESRS disclosures mapped to case requirements
  • Emissions inventory, climate risks and transition actions prepared from source data
  • KPI dictionary and data-control matrix completed for priority metrics
  • Draft disclosures reviewed against evidence, assumptions and assurance challenges
  • Executive presentation explains material findings, reporting decisions and implementation priorities

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

What you take back to work

  1. ESG reporting implementation roadmap
  2. Double materiality assessment template
  3. ESG KPI dictionary
  4. Greenhouse-gas inventory workbook structure
  5. ESG risk-control matrix
  6. Assurance-ready disclosure review checklist

Who should attend

  • Sustainability Managers — responsible for ESG strategy, disclosures and reporting coordination
  • Corporate Reporting Managers — integrating non-financial disclosures with annual reporting cycles
  • Finance Managers — validating ESG metrics, estimates, controls and financial effects
  • Risk and Compliance Managers — connecting climate, sustainability and enterprise-risk processes
  • Internal Auditors — reviewing ESG controls, evidence trails and assurance readiness
  • Investor Relations and Communications Managers — explaining credible performance and transition information

Skills and tools covered

Materiality assessmentESG data managementClimate disclosureEmissions accountingReporting controlsSustainability assurance

Tools and standards

GRI Standards, ISSB IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, European Sustainability Reporting Standards, GHG Protocol

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to explain reporting requirements, followed by sector-based cases, group analysis and structured application tasks. Participants compare GRI, ISSB and ESRS requirements, interpret source data, define metrics, assess materiality and test reporting evidence. Simulations include data-owner interviews, assurance challenge sessions and disclosure review meetings. Trainers provide worked examples, reporting templates and feedback on application choices. Participants progressively assemble reporting components, then use the final capstone to prepare, review and present an integrated ESG reporting package.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic corporate reporting, business operations or sustainability concepts and have experience working with business data, policies or performance measures. Familiarity with annual reports, risk registers, greenhouse-gas terminology or stakeholder engagement is useful but not essential. The course assumes confidence reading tables, interpreting business information and contributing to cross-functional discussions. Prior use of GRI, ISSB, ESRS or the GHG Protocol is not required. No specialist climate-science qualification, accounting designation, assurance credential or advanced spreadsheet modelling experience 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

Participants should have basic familiarity with business reporting, sustainability, finance, risk or operational performance data. Experience with formal ESG standards is helpful but not required, and the course does not assume an accounting or climate-science qualification.

Bring a laptop for reviewing templates and working with case materials. If permitted by your employer, bring a current sustainability report, ESG questionnaire, KPI list or reporting challenge you want to improve.

It suits sustainability, finance, corporate reporting, risk, compliance, internal audit, operations and investor-relations professionals. It is designed for people who contribute to ESG information rather than those seeking an introductory sustainability awareness course.

This course focuses on reporting decisions, disclosure standards, data, controls, materiality, emissions metrics and assurance preparation. General sustainability courses usually focus more on environmental concepts, strategy or organisational commitments.

Participants can use the templates to assess reporting gaps, assign data owners, improve evidence trails and prepare disclosures for annual reports, customer questionnaires or lender requests. The capstone structure can be adapted to a current reporting cycle.

The first week establishes reporting scope, materiality, governance, emissions and climate-risk methods. The second week focuses on social and governance metrics, data controls, assurance, disclosure drafting, implementation planning and a final integrated reporting capstone.

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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