Sustainability and Carbon Accounting Masterclass Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Head of Sustainability, ESG Reporting Director and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ESR-003

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in sustainability reporting, greenhouse-gas inventories, ESG data management, finance, risk, audit or climate strategy.

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 professionals are increasingly expected to produce emissions inventories and disclosures that can withstand investor, regulator, auditor and board scrutiny. The challenge is not simply calculating tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. It is defining defensible organisational and value-chain boundaries, selecting suitable calculation methods, controlling source data, documenting estimates, setting credible targets and ensuring public claims match operational evidence.

This advanced masterclass examines carbon accounting as a management, reporting and assurance discipline. Participants work through the GHG Protocol approach to Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 accounting; ISO 14064-1 inventory requirements; emissions data architecture; calculation workpapers; internal controls; emissions restatements; target setting; transition planning; assurance preparation; and reporting under IFRS S2 and ESRS E1. The course also addresses financed emissions, renewable electricity claims, carbon credits, internal carbon pricing and cross-framework reporting decisions.

Teaching combines focused technical briefings with instructor-led analysis of realistic cases from banking, manufacturing, energy, public infrastructure and multinational supply chains. Participants assess inventory boundary decisions, resolve data-quality problems, review disclosure evidence and test management claims against reporting requirements. They leave with a carbon-accounting control and reporting pack containing reusable templates, an assurance-readiness checklist and a 90-day implementation plan tailored to their reporting priorities.

The course is designed for experienced sustainability, finance, risk, audit and reporting practitioners who already contribute to climate reporting or emissions management and need greater technical judgement over accounting methods, controls and disclosures.

What you will be able to do

  • Define organisational and operational boundaries using GHG Protocol consolidation approaches
  • Calculate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions using documented activity-data methods
  • Evaluate Scope 3 calculation methods, supplier data and category materiality
  • Build carbon-accounting workpapers with emission factors, assumptions and audit trails
  • Design data controls, quality scoring and management review procedures for emissions inventories
  • Prepare IFRS S2 and ESRS E1 disclosure evidence from carbon-accounting records
  • Assess transition plans, emissions targets and carbon-credit claims against credible criteria
  • Develop an assurance-readiness plan and 90-day carbon-accounting improvement roadmap

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater authority to challenge unsupported emissions figures and climate claims
  • Practical judgement for selecting and documenting Scope 3 calculation methods
  • Stronger capability to prepare evidence for external assurance engagements
  • Ability to connect carbon inventories with targets, transition plans and capital decisions
  • Reusable methods for leading cross-functional carbon-accounting improvement programmes

For your organisation

  • More reliable emissions inventories supported by traceable calculations and source evidence
  • Reduced reporting risk from unsupported claims, inconsistent boundaries and weak controls
  • Better readiness for IFRS S2, ESRS E1 and external assurance requirements
  • Clearer prioritisation of emissions-data gaps, supplier engagement and control improvements
  • Stronger board reporting on emissions performance, target delivery and transition actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define reporting boundaries, materiality decisions and governance evidence for a defensible carbon-accounting programme.

  • Materiality assessment design using ESRS double materiality and stakeholder evidence
  • Organisational boundaries aligned with financial control, operational control and equity share
  • Value-chain mapping distinguishes owned operations, upstream activities and downstream use phases
  • Reporting perimeter decisions documented through consolidation memoranda and boundary-change logs
  • Material climate risks translated into disclosure-ready metrics, narratives and governance evidence
  • Claims inventory separates regulated disclosures, voluntary reporting and public commitments

Participants can establish an emissions inventory architecture with clear source registers, methodologies and recalculation rules.

  • GHG Protocol principles applied to relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency and accuracy
  • Emission source register links facilities, processes, fuels, refrigerants and data owners
  • Activity-data hierarchy prioritises meter readings, invoices, engineering estimates and spend proxies
  • Base-year selection addresses acquisitions, divestments, outsourcing and structural recalculations
  • ISO 14064-1 inventory requirements mapped to corporate accounting policies
  • Uncertainty assessment records data gaps, assumptions, estimation methods and materiality thresholds

Participants can calculate and review Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions using appropriate data, factors and claims evidence.

  • Stationary-combustion calculations convert fuel quantities using calorific values and emission factors
  • Mobile-source emissions distinguish owned vehicles, leased fleets and fuel-card records
  • Fugitive-emissions calculations apply refrigerant mass balances and global warming potentials
  • Location-based Scope 2 reporting uses grid factors and consumption records
  • Market-based Scope 2 reporting tests contractual instruments against quality criteria
  • Dual reporting reconciles location-based and market-based results without double counting
  • Renewable electricity claims assessed through EAC retirement, vintage and geographic matching

Participants can select, document and challenge Scope 3 methods using value-chain data and materiality analysis.

  • Scope 3 screening ranks fifteen categories by expected emissions and influence
  • Purchased-goods calculations compare supplier-specific, hybrid, spend-based and average-data methods
  • Supplier engagement requests product footprints, allocation methods, boundaries and assurance evidence
  • Category 11 use-phase models define functional units, lifetimes and energy assumptions
  • Financed-emissions methods distinguish attribution factors, data quality and asset classes
  • Category exclusions documented against Scope 3 materiality and relevance tests
  • Avoided-emissions claims separated from inventory totals and value-chain reductions

Participants can design data flows, control matrices and review processes for reliable emissions reporting.

  • Carbon data model connects source systems, calculation engines, controls and disclosures
  • Data lineage traces reported figures from meter, invoice or supplier file
  • Control matrices assign preparers, reviewers, evidence retention and sign-off thresholds
  • Data-quality scoring rates completeness, accuracy, timeliness, traceability and representativeness
  • Sampling plans test facility submissions, invoices, meters and calculation files
  • Management review packs explain variances, restatements, estimates and unresolved exceptions
  • Digital reporting architectures assess spreadsheets, carbon platforms and enterprise systems

Participants can produce transparent calculation workpapers, intensity metrics and carbon-cost analyses.

  • Emission-factor governance records source, version, geography, year and conversion basis
  • Calculation workpapers document formulas, units, assumptions, rounding and review evidence
  • Intensity metrics select denominators consistent with operational and financial reporting
  • Variance analysis separates activity, efficiency, structural and emission-factor movements
  • Carbon cost models apply internal prices, taxes, allowances and procurement premiums
  • Consolidation procedures eliminate duplicate data from shared services and joint operations
  • Inventory restatement protocols maintain comparability after mergers, methodology changes and errors

Participants can assess target pathways, decarbonisation plans and carbon-credit claims using documented criteria.

  • Science-based target calculations distinguish absolute contraction and sectoral decarbonisation approaches
  • Transition plans connect emissions baselines, initiatives, capital expenditure and accountability
  • Abatement-cost curves rank interventions by cost, emissions reduction and implementation timing
  • Marginal abatement analysis tests electricity procurement, efficiency, fuel switching and process redesign
  • Carbon credits assessed using additionality, permanence, leakage and registry retirement evidence
  • Target progress dashboards separate gross reductions, offsets and residual emissions
  • Climate transition claims tested against delivery plans and financed actions

Participants can map carbon-accounting evidence to major climate disclosure requirements and public reporting controls.

  • IFRS S2 disclosure requirements mapped to governance, strategy, risk and metrics
  • ESRS E1 datapoints linked to transition plans, energy, emissions and targets
  • Double materiality findings distinguish impact materiality from financial materiality conclusions
  • TCFD-style climate disclosures connect scenario analysis, resilience and financial effects
  • Cross-framework mapping reduces duplicate data collection and inconsistent public statements
  • Disclosure controls reconcile sustainability reports, annual reports and investor presentations
  • Digital tagging implications assessed for structured sustainability reporting requirements

Participants can prepare carbon inventories and disclosures for internal review and external assurance examination.

  • Assurance readiness assessment identifies evidence gaps, control failures and estimation risk
  • Limited and reasonable assurance compared through procedures, evidence and reporting conclusions
  • Materiality thresholds set for quantitative misstatements, qualitative claims and control deviations
  • Assurance evidence files organise source records, calculations, approvals and management representations
  • Root-cause analysis corrects recurring errors in source data and calculations
  • Internal audit testing examines design effectiveness and operating effectiveness of controls
  • Management representations support reported assumptions, exclusions, estimates and forward-looking statements

Participants can prioritise carbon-accounting improvements and present clear decisions to senior stakeholders.

  • Sector case analysis compares carbon-accounting choices in banking, manufacturing and public infrastructure
  • Decision logs record material judgements, owners, deadlines and escalation routes
  • Reporting calendar coordinates data collection, review, assurance and publication milestones
  • Executive dashboards present emissions, target progress, data quality and decision requests
  • Stakeholder challenge sessions test claims against evidence, boundaries and anticipated scrutiny
  • 90-day implementation plan prioritises inventory fixes, controls, disclosures and capability gaps

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

What you take back to work

  1. Carbon inventory boundary and materiality memorandum template
  2. Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 calculation workpaper model
  3. Emissions data control matrix and evidence-retention checklist
  4. IFRS S2 and ESRS E1 disclosure evidence map
  5. Carbon-accounting assurance-readiness assessment checklist
  6. 90-day carbon-accounting improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Head of Sustainability — accountable for credible climate metrics, targets and disclosures
  • ESG Reporting Director — responsible for reporting controls and cross-framework consistency
  • Carbon Accounting Manager — responsible for emissions calculations, documentation and inventory quality
  • Finance Controller — aligning sustainability metrics with financial reporting and assurance processes
  • Internal Audit Manager — testing emissions controls, evidence and management assertions
  • Climate Risk or Strategy Lead — connecting transition plans, targets and capital decisions

Skills and tools covered

Carbon inventory designScope 3 accountingEmissions data controlsClimate disclosure reportingAssurance readinessTransition plan analysis

Tools and standards

GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, ISO 14064-1, IFRS S2

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by facilitated case analysis, group problem-solving, calculation reviews and reporting simulations. Participants examine emissions inventories, supplier datasets, carbon-credit claims, disclosure extracts and assurance evidence files drawn from realistic organisational settings. Faculty-led discussions focus on judgement calls: boundaries, estimates, materiality, control design and public claims. Application planning converts course methods into specific actions for each participant's reporting cycle, data estate and assurance timetable.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in sustainability reporting, greenhouse-gas inventories, ESG data management, finance, risk, audit or climate strategy. They should understand basic emissions terminology, including Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3, and be comfortable reviewing spreadsheets, operational data and management reports. Prior exposure to GHG Protocol, IFRS S2, ESRS or assurance is useful but not essential. The course does not require advanced mathematics, programming, environmental science qualifications or previous third-party assurance experience.

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 understand basic emissions terminology and have experience in sustainability, finance, risk, audit, reporting or climate strategy. The course builds technical judgement for senior practitioners; it is not an introductory carbon-literacy programme.

Bring a laptop for reviewing case materials and, where permitted, anonymised examples of your reporting challenges, data gaps or inventory structure. Participants do not need to bring specialist software or pre-built calculations.

It suits leaders and senior specialists responsible for emissions inventories, ESG reporting, climate risk, assurance, internal control or transition planning. It is particularly relevant where carbon figures are moving into annual reporting, investor communications or external assurance.

This course concentrates on the technical accounting, evidence and control decisions behind reported climate figures. It examines how emissions are calculated, documented, reviewed, assured and connected to disclosures, targets and public claims.

Participants can use the course templates to review inventory boundaries, rank data gaps, improve calculation workpapers and prepare for assurance. The final implementation plan identifies practical actions for the next reporting cycle.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme progresses from boundaries and inventory design through calculations, data controls, reporting, assurance 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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