Sustainability for Business: ESG Fundamentals

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/esg

Introduction

Develop a solid understanding of ESG, the major trends driving it, and how ESG initiatives can be translated to your organization.

Familiarize yourself with ways of effectively measuring ESG performance and prepare to navigate the new ESG reporting landscape.

Understand how a materiality analysis can highlight risks that should be mitigated and opportunities that can be exploited.

Syllabus

Introducing ESG and why it matters

In Module 1, you’ll discover what ESG really means and why it’s now high up on the agenda for businesses around the world. We’ll then look at nine planetary boundaries, which include climate change and freshwater use. Crossing these boundaries would cause irreversible environmental changes, with serious consequences for all of us. We’ll move on to explore some key global trends and you’ll decide which ones are most relevant to your ESG strategy. And to give you an outlook of where this course is going, once you have completed all modules, you’ll take part in IMD’s AI-powered simulation The ESG Metamorphosis Game, which we designed for you. You’re going to step into the shoes of an investigative eco-travel writer, who goes undercover in a luxury hotel on the island of Terra Vida. You’ll be tasked with identifying sustainability issues in the organization and proposing solutions. Your scoring will depend on how well you apply what you have learned. The simulation is a chance to put your learning into practice while building your decision-making and leadership skills.

In Module 2, we’ll explore the business aspects of E, S, and G. We focus on how each of the three dimensions can harm or enhance an organization's value. We’ll address the environmental dimensions and how you can quantify them to better understand their impact on your organization. Similarly, we’ll unveil the social dimension and go into detail about why the governance dimension matters. You’ll learn how to exploit the opportunities related to each of the dimensions while taking into consideration the risks associated with them.

In Module 3, we’ll explore ESG strategies. You’ll learn why ESG dimensions are crucial to creating or protecting a firm’s value and how you can integrate ESG into your strategy. In addition, we’ll dive deeper into CO2 emission reduction strategies and how you can manage emissions in your organization throughout the value chain.

In Module 4, we cover the importance of measuring ESG dimensions to report on how well your organization is doing on ESG. This module is especially important, because reporting on ESG has become mandatory in many parts of the world. Accountants now go beyond gathering financial information for annual reports; they must also include the organization’s ESG performance indicators.

Module 5 covers stakeholder management. You’ll learn about the different stakeholders of an organization: Those that are closely tied to the business, like employees and suppliers, and those that do not directly affect the business but still play an important role for the organization. We’ll explore why considering all types of stakeholders is an integral part of ESG management.

In the final module, you’ll learn about the people side of ESG. Business transformations triggered by fundamental changes in society, technology, and regulation are only successful if they are supported and driven by leaders who foster an appropriate organizational culture. You’ll also dive into how holistic ESG management practices can be integrated with the organization’s overall goals. After the module, you’ll be ready to step into the shoes of an investigative eco-travel writer who goes undercover at a luxury hotel on the island of Terra Vida. You’ll identify sustainability issues in the establishment and propose solutions. Your score will depend on how you navigate interpersonal dynamics and balance competing interests with organizational needs. The simulation is a chance to put your learning into practice while building your decision-making and leadership skills. Have fun!