Background

China faces serious environmental and social challenges such as air pollution, water scarcity, climate change, biodiversity loss, and widening income disparities. China has also proposed a series of ambitious and responsible Sustainable Development Goals, such as carbon neutrality by 2060, ecological civilization, green finance and the Belt and Road Initiative. More and more Chinese enterprises are realizing the importance and benefits of sustainable development for their long-term success and global market competitiveness.

However, Chinese companies lack of the knowledge, skills and experience to integrate sustainability into their core business strategies and operations. China lacks a cadre of qualified sustainability professionals who are responsible for developing and executing ESG strategies, communicating and collaborating with various stakeholders, driving the sustainability agenda and transformation within their organizations and industries, and driving innovation and leadership in ESG for businesses.

In recent years, Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) in international companies have developed rapidly, and Chinese companies are still in the early stage of CSO development, mainly limited by human resources. However, with China's commitment to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, as well as the increasing requirements for ESG information disclosure and evaluation at home and abroad, the demand for CSO by Chinese enterprises will grow rapidly. Therefore, cultivating a group of sustainable development leaders with ESG knowledge, skills and literacy is an urgent need for Chinese enterprises to cope with global challenges and achieve high-quality development.

Objective

• To cultivate sustainability leaders with a global perspective and strategic thinking to drive sustainability concepts and practices across different cultures and business environments.
• Enhance understanding of sustainability fundamentals and frameworks, as well as awareness of the value and impact of ESG investing.
• Master core skills and tools for sustainable development, including measurement and reporting, innovation and entrepreneurship, climate change and low-carbon transition, artificial intelligence/big data and ESG, and sustainable operations and supply chain management. 
• Learn how to apply sustainability leadership and change management to effectively communicate, coordinate and motivate stakeholders to achieve the organization's sustainability goals.
• Through the course, gain an in-depth understanding of sustainable development-related professional areas such as sustainable marketing, compliance and risk management, circular economy and eco-design.
• Visit outstanding companies through company visits to learn from their best practices and experiences in sustainable development.
• Project-based learning, apply the knowledge and skills learned to solve a real ESG problem or challenge, demonstrate their analytical ability, creativity and execution.

Programme Design

The program will take place in five cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, and each city module will consist of 2 days of teaching modules and a half-day company visit in five cities for a total of 12.5 days.

Programme Core Modules:

Company Visit: 

Programme Content