Course essentials
The course is delivered over 3 days in person at King’s executive education campus in central London.
As a multi-faculty, interdisciplinary university based in the heart of London, King’s draws on our cutting-edge research and specialist expertise in business, law, policy, finance, geography, science and engineering.
As sustainable business is a rapidly evolving area, King’s is pleased to support participants after the formal programme closes with access to webinars, leading edge research and resources capturing developments and updates, through membership of our executive education alumni community.
Indicative programme outline
Each day of the course will dive into a core area of ESG practice, starting with a deep understanding of the topic before exploring and learning, through case studies and guest speakers, about companies who have mastered best practice and made (and effectively avoided) costly mistakes. At the end of each day, you will learn to apply the concepts and tools to your own role and organisation, building an action plan for implementation.
| Day 1: Sustainable business: boundaries, opportunities and headwinds |
- Come face-to-face with the impact of the climate crisis. We’ll review the latest IPCC and scientific evidence to understand the impact of humans on earth (planetary boundaries) and the challenges we face. Participants will consider the business opportunities that these challenges present and the possibilities for sustainable growth.
- We’ll also recognise the challenges of rapid change and the headwinds presented by business-as-usual. Finally, participants will identify and share some of the limitations we experience in data and information, current business practices and management systems.
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| Day 2: ESG in practice |
- We will discuss what ESG means for your business today from an operational and strategic perspective. Why has ESG become so topical and how is it different from CSR? Why does new regulation mean every department must be involved in order to succeed?
- We will explore how to navigate the landscape of voluntary frameworks, ratings, scores and certifications. And we will interrogate the role each department has to play including estates, human resources, marketing, operations, finance and more.
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| Day 3 – Sustainability data: Collecting and reporting ESG performance |
- One of the challenges in boosting ESG performance is around ensuring that you are able to collect the right data to begin with. How do you capture data that you don’t (yet) have?
- We begin with approaches to data collection, in terms of systems development. This includes software platforms, identifying who in the organisation is responsible for what data, etc. We then move into best practices and pitfalls in data analysis and reporting.
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*Please note the exact timetable may be subject to change.
Format
- Teaching - Three in-person teaching days including case studies and the opportunity to discuss your own work challenges.
- Location - King’s central London campuses.
Terms and Conditions for executive short courses
Who is this course for?
This course is for managers and executives in all organisations who want to make a difference and champion ESG within their business. The course will be interesting to individuals working across a range of functional areas including finance, strategy, HR, estates and facilities, marketing and communications, and operations. It is suitable for private sector companies and for public and voluntary sector managers. As well as for consultants and client managers who work with businesses in this space.
Entry requirements
This course is for managers and executives. The course is fully delivered in English and you must be confident communicating and contributing in English at an advanced level in order to fully participate in the programme.
Programme Impact
The course provides a robust and insightful grounding in the core topics (e.g. climate, corporate responsibility, sustainability, stewardship), regulations and trends, before moving into an in-depth exploration of how to apply best practice, and crucially avoid the pitfalls, around ESG reporting and leading sustainability initiatives.
Moving beyond mere compliance, this course will transfer skills and knowledge to managers and leaders in all areas of the business, ensuring they understand how the mainstreaming of ESG can, and must, be integrated into their own role and department in order to remain competitive and maximise opportunities for business. Learning lessons from best practice and failed initiatives, this course will focus on educating all areas of the business to mainstream ESG and drive substantive sustainable and long-lasting change.
Participants will leave the course with a thorough understanding of the ESG and sustainability landscape, in particular the opportunities and risks for business and your own organisation. You will leave with a detailed understanding of how the topics relate to your own area and an action plan to develop and implement business transformation in your role.
Learn from the experts
Prof. Marc Lepere leads Executive Education on ESG & Sustainability at King’s Business School. He holds a PhD and MSc from King’s College London, and is an Economics graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Marc has published in leading journals, including Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Financial Times, and has appeared on the Discovering Truth podcast (series 1), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Professionally, Marc has served as Chief Marketing Officer for Havas Worldwide; Executive Vice President for McCann Erickson WorldGroup; and Deputy Chairman of Dentsu in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2021, Marc’s academic research and experience as an entrepreneur and senior board member inspired him to found Omnevue, where he is Chief Science Officer. Omnevue is a new online platform that makes it easy and affordable for SMEs to get ESG data and reports assured by certified public accountants.
Company engagement with ESG is increasingly required by regulators and reported by the world’s largest companies. But ESG is more than reporting requirements. Customers, employees, and suppliers, expect that companies go "beyond compliance." How do businesses achieve this integrated approach? In this course, we offer crucial insight into how each role and department can contribute, by mainstreaming ESG into each aspect of the business.
Robyn Klingler-Vidra- Associate Dean, Global Engagement, and Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
Sustainable business is arguably one of the largest growth opportunities – for your career and your business – that there has ever been. Done well, ESG drives innovation, value and engagement across the whole business as well as mitigating risk. You’ll discover how to make ESG work for you; and why getting started on it now will give you and your organisation a real advantage over the next twelve months and throughout your career.
Marc Lepere - King’s Business School’s ESG executive education lead