Teacher: ESG Business Institute

Welcome to the ESG Tools and Application Module

From sustainability Reporting Standards such as GRI, SASB, and CDP, to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, MSCI and B Corp Certification, you may ask “why are there so many ESG tools out there?”, or “why should I use X when I already have Y?”. While all these tools can help your organisation implement ESG, understanding them and selecting the right combinations will help tremendously in your journey to be a good company. This course will provide you with a basic structure to understand and differentiate the different ESG  tools in the market. You will also learn their purposes, intended audience, strengths and limitations, and how they can work in harmony with each other to implement ESG for your organisation. Finally, we will have a discussion on some of the common red flags in ESG implementation such as Green, Blue and Pinkwashing, and more. 

At the end of this module, learners will be able to:

• Learn and differentiate the ESG Tools, which include Sustainability Standards and Frameworks, Indices or Ratings, and Certifications or Labels; and
• Discover how to implement ESG in your business which includes the following:

Learning Methodology 

• You required to complete the e-learning part of the course. Learners are encouraged to read all the reading materials and videos provided in the course to deepen and enhance their understanding of ESG standards, tools and practices.  
• Learners are encouraged to spend 3 to 4 hours a week to complete the course within the 2 week time frame upon enrolment.
• Learners are required to participate and post answers in the discussion boards, and attempt all quizzes.
• Learners are required to get started with the e-learning before attending the Live webinar. 
• Learners are required to attend the Live webinar conducted by the Trainer and guest speakers where learners are encouraged to engage in the Q&A sessions. 
  
• All of the above activities must be completed to pass this module.

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

For decades, stakeholder management considered the opportunity to maximize shareholder returns to be the main goal and guiding principle for businesses. In recent years, however, the growing demand to improve global sustainability along with the recent disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic has created a shift for businesses to do better in impacting sustainability efforts. To serve the interests of all stakeholders alongside profits is now more important than ever.

Stakeholder management can be done as a logical, repeatable process. In this course, you will investigate the external variable and impacts on your sustainability strategy. By evaluating your organization's key stakeholders, you will determine your current standings. You will then determine how to adjust your stakeholder relations to better achieve your profitability and sustainability. Armed with a stakeholder strategy, you will develop a plan for managing communication with your various stakeholders.

As you walk through the steps of analyzing and evaluating, you'll better understand the needs and contributions of stakeholders as well as how incorporating stakeholders into your daily business practices can result in correctly targeted business actions.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Identify the key stakeholders that impact your profitability and sustainability
• Analyze your relationships with stakeholders and evaluate their individual attitudes, power, and interest in your project
• Develop communication strategies to use when engaging stakeholders.

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Once sustainability issues have been identified and potential solutions have been defined, it's time to work on implementation. Implementing business solutions can involve many different moving parts both within and outside the organization. A business sustainability canvas can help you most effectively frame and strategize for the implementation of your sustainability plans.

In this course, you will hone in on the motivation and goals for your sustainability efforts and identify the metrics you will need in order to track these goals. You will also identify the tactics you and your organization will use to achieve these sustainability goals as well as the capabilities and relationships required to achieve them. Finally, you will analyze the trends needed to enable progress toward your business sustainability goals, including regulatory, stakeholder, and customer trends.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Define the motivation and related goals for your sustainability efforts
• Determine the metrics you will use to track goals and the tactics you will use to achieve your goals
• Identify the capabilities and relationships required to achieve your goals
• Analyze the regulatory, stakeholder, and customer trends needed to enable progress toward your goals

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Complex problems often require complex solutions. In this course, you will explore six cutting-edge problem-solving methods and ways that you can apply them to sustainability issues in business. Systems analysis, design thinking, behavioral economics, positive psychology, crowd-sourcing, and big data can all help create solutions to some of the most critical sustainability problems organizations face today. You will explore each of these problem-solving approaches and practice applying them to a key sustainability problem. You will then strategize on how to combine approaches in order to create more nuanced strategies. With these powerful tactics, today's sustainability problems can become tomorrow's unique market opportunities for your organization.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Strategize how to use six cutting-edge methods to solve business sustainability problems
• Determine how to combine multiple methods in order to benefit from the interplay among them to solve a business sustainability problem

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Whether you are a consumer trying to make better purchases or a manager trying to improve your company, it is imperative to investigate beyond the surface of sustainability.

In this course, you will examine life cycle thinking and use it to make real improvements in products and services from the perspective of environmental and social sustainability. You will also explore valuable tools to help you refine your life cycle thinking and use it to identify where the biggest impacts lie in your journey to greater sustainability.

Your analysis will lead you to identify what sustainability issues your organization is currently taking into account for a specific product or service, and what key issues might be going unnoticed. You will then perform a qualitative analysis of the social and environmental impact of a product or service throughout its life cycle, from the raw materials stage all the way to its disposal. You will also differentiate between the sustainability issues you have detected for your product or service to identify those that your organization will be most effectively able to act on and highlight opportunities to innovate and improve its sustainability.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Identify the sustainability issues involved in a product or service.
• Assess the social and environmental impact of a product or service throughout its lifecycle.
• Differentiate between material and non-material issues with respect to the sustainability of a product or service and identify opportunities to innovate to improve its sustainability.

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Sustainability has become a hot topic in business and, like it or not, sustainability is here to stay. Over the past 30 years, the issue has migrated from the fringe of companies to the C-suite. So what is “sustainability”? How and when is it relevant to an organization?

In this course, you will acquire a new framework for evaluating sustainability efforts. Using this framework, you will examine how sustainability applies to business and the private sector's unique role to play. You will then identify the implications sustainability has for different roles within your organization and answer critical questions to ensure that sustainability is a strategic growth driver for your company. Along the way, you will explore examples of the complexities organizations struggle with as they pursue sustainability goals. The time for sustainable business development is now, and this course will allow you to set a solid foundation for your sustainability goals.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Assess your organization's current approach to sustainability
• Use the portfolio approach to identify the gaps in your organization's current approach to sustainability
• Map out the roles, goals, and approaches to sustainability within the organization and rethink current paradigms

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Many organizations have established a code of conduct — a kind of self-regulation that clarifies how workers will be treated — and these codes often extend to the rest of the supply chain. But how can you ensure that your purchasing team and your suppliers are in compliance? In this course, you will examine methods for verifying that regulations are followed accurately and consistently. You will explore the advantages and disadvantages of auditing and how to look for and address violations. Whether you reward suppliers for being in compliance or punish them if they are out of compliance — or both — you will recognize the difficulties of assessing the supply chain and determine how to make appropriate decisions that support your organization's code of conduct.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Assess your organization's voluntary private regulation activities
• Examine the auditing process
• Determine whether purchasing and compliance are aligned in your company

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Inclusion is a relational construct. It’s ultimately about how your team functions and performs based on the quality of social connections, openness to learning, agility, and depth of decision making. How can you foster greater inclusion within your workgroup? Throughout these modules, you will be asked to reflect upon your own experiences and apply the lessons in the modules in your own role.
You will examine the concept of climate, specifically inclusive climates, as well as learn about the specific behaviors and skills you need to demonstrate in order to be successful in shaping an inclusive climate.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Define an inclusive climate
• Examine the critical role of leadership in setting an inclusive climate
• Explore the dynamics of inclusive climates
• Assess the inclusiveness of your unit's climate
• Articulate and model standards for inclusion
• Examine strategies for enforcing ethical standards

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Large buildings are some of the leading consumers of resources such as raw materials, electricity, and water. They also generate an incredible amount of waste. Customers and potential lessees now expect asset management to be transparent in their deployment of sustainable practices. On the flip side of this expectation, it has never been easier to make, measure, and communicate improvement in the area of sustainable operation. In this course, you will discover the importance of depth, clarity, and transparency when developing a sustainability strategy. You will then determine how to align your everyday efficiency goals with your overall sustainability strategy through environmental policies and practices, as well as the products you choose.

Taking it a step further, you will investigate the popular “green” certification standards and the options available for new development projects and existing buildings. You will make on-site observations of a LEED-certified building and explore the criteria making the LEED and Green Globes programs the international benchmarks for green building design and operation.

Beyond building design, there are valuable opportunities to empower and encourage your employees and/or residents to adopt sustainable practices by establishing a “green team” within your building or company. This team usually includes individuals passionate about sustainability and preserving the environment, so they will often be happy to help ensure your sustainability goals are met, in turn having a positive effect on waste reduction and, thus, your bottom line.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Evaluate your company or building's sustainability strategy for its depth, clarity, and transparency
• Prioritize sustainability opportunities that align with your building management strategy
• Be conversant in the LEED and Green Globes building certification systems
• Evaluate the applicability of LEED and/or Green Globes certification systems for your development project or existing building
• Establish an effective Green Team in your building or company to organize and accomplish sustainability goals, including environmental checklists and green building programming
• Evaluate community partners that align with your company or building's sustainability goals to promote community engagement

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Organizations everywhere are racing to plan for the effects of climate change on the global supply chain. These impacts present complex challenges which will only heighten over time — from effects on human health and the food supply to the weather and the water cycle to the economy and transportation.

This course provides an overview of climate change science and its impacts on the global food system. In the first part of this course, you will explore the causes of climate change so you can begin to assess how you can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You will also evaluate potential impacts posed by climate change on your industry using relevant, research-based evidence from leading experts. Throughout the program, you will use climate change terminology and be able to accurately introduce it into your organization's daily dialog, culture, planning, and operational decisions.

As your course progresses, you will have the opportunity to analyze risks and opportunities related to the production, transportation, processing, packaging, storage, and sales of your organization's products. Ultimately, you'll come away better prepared to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change on your business and contribute to potential solutions

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Assess potential impacts posed by climate change on your organization
• Incorporate important climate change terminology in daily dialog, culture, planning, and operational decisions
• Analyze risks and opportunities related to supply chain and transportation
• Define risks and opportunities in the processing, packaging, and storage of products

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

In this course, you will learn how to make disability inclusion an explicit part of your overarching business strategy. Starting with a a broad overview of the role HR professionals play in addressing this issue, you will maximize workplace disability inclusion and minimize disability discrimination across the employment process. You will discuss the importance of inclusion for people with disabilities, employers, and the business case for aligning disability inclusion with a company's strategic human-capital, diversity, and customer-service imperatives. You will also dive into the implications of effective HR policies and practices in the recruitment and hiring process, career development and retention initiatives, and compensation and benefits programs. Finally you will utilize metrics and analytics to measure the employee benefit of inclusion in your organization.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Emphasize the importance of a diverse workforce that includes individuals with disabilities
• Examine HR policies and practices that facilitate effective recruitment and hiring of individuals with disabilities
• Design and implement effective professional development, career advancement, performance management, and retention strategies for employees with disabilities
• Develop strategies to counteract the biases faced by employees with disabilities and create a climate of inclusion
• Use metrics to verify disability inclusion and equitable access to employment benefits
• Execute progressive workplace policies and practices to minimize disability discrimination and maximize disability inclusion throughout the employment process

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

There is no such thing as a workplace that lacks diversity. Despite decades of legal and social reform aimed at reducing discrimination in the workplace, inequality continues to be a significant problem in all societies and most workplaces.

In this course, you will identify the perceptual and psychological processes that impact the way that individuals interact with people who are demographically dissimilar from them. You will examine the psychological processes that impact decision making within organizations and identify how professionals can design better work practices and help to more effectively leverage the potential among employees.

As a trained psychologist with research and consulting expertise related to diversity and inclusion, Cornell University Professor Lisa Nishii is uniquely positioned to help course participants understand the complex dynamics underlying diversity challenges and opportunities within organizations.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Identify the dimensions of diversity that matter most in organizations and why
• Recognize unconscious bias and how it affects the way that people perceive, evaluate, and react to others
• Identify interventions that will help override errors in judgment and decision making

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

With technology playing a significant role in business, it is crucial to understand the ethical implications of the tools we use every day. This course will prepare you to anticipate and identify ethical and legal issues and apply appropriate ethical reasoning. You will begin by examining the objectives of a business or organization to assess how ethics relate to that purpose. By using case studies and real-world examples, you will establish an ethical decision-making framework that can be adapted to your organizational context and applied in your day-to-day work. Considering issues such as privacy, trust, and surveillance in the context of modern technology, you will leave this course with the ability to identify ethical issues and decisions that were made in complex, multifaceted cases.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Assess "shareholder value" arguments and the extent to which this objective applies to business today
• Recognize ethical issues in business and apply an ethical decision-making framework to them
• Address ethical issues arising from emerging technology

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

The management of diversity and inclusion has evolved from a focus on compliance to a strategic-level effort with a demonstrated positive impact on an organization's performance. In the current business climate, companies that strive for both diversity and inclusion are achieving intended business results. They provide the proof that diversity and inclusion are much more than a legal or moral requirement; they're also a competitive advantage.
This course provides an overview of the evolution of the management of diversity and inclusion and presents targeted and high-involvement diversity practices. It examines diversity in the contexts of teams and leaders, and it frames diversity in terms of current business and cultural challenges.
During this course, you will complete a project in which you identify sources of inclusion, align inclusion to improve employee engagement and business results, and determine methods to assess the effectiveness of inclusion initiatives. At the end of the course, you will use the results from the project to prepare a final presentation describing how to apply your work to your organization.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Distinguish between diversity and inclusion
• Assess stereotypes and prejudices that may influence behavior in work groups
• Describe methods to reduce prejudice and improve psychological safety in work groups
• Assess the three sources of inclusion in a workplace (organizational, work group, and immediate supervisor)

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

In this course, you will identify sustainability risks associated with particular corporate activities and propose actions to mitigate these risks. To do this, you will review a corporate 10k to evaluate and identify a company's identified risks. You will then examine ways that corporations disclose, report, and manage reputational risk. Finally, based on your previous findings, you will develop several strategic corporate sustainability initiatives focused on a company and its key stakeholders. By the end of this course, you will be better prepared to identify regulatory and reputational sustainability risks and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Evaluating a Corporate Sustainability Strategy

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Critically examine sustainability risks associated with particular corporate activities
• Identify ways corporations disclose and report their sustainability efforts and manage reputational risk
• Propose solutions to mitigate these risks

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

In the event that you or others in your organization suspect a crime has been committed, there are a number of steps that can be taken to protect the company as well as procedures that can be adopted to avoid similar issues in the future. You will begin this course by recognizing the function, course, and consequences of an internal investigation. You will review the steps that take place in an internal investigation and prepare what you should do in case you're asked to be investigated. You will then explore what happens when the Department of Justice becomes involved in your investigation through a grand jury. You will choose the best course of action when you first encounter the Department of Justice and gain a clear sense of what a grand jury investigation entails. Finally, you will apply the lessons from this course to evaluate criminal liability in an insider trading case. You will explore the sources of insider trading law and analyze an insider trading case to decide whether criminal actions have taken place.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Criminal Liability in an Organizational Setting

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Prepare for internal investigations conducted by corporate counsel or a grand jury, and assist in bringing such investigations to a successful conclusion that is beneficial to your organization
• Recognize the function of an internal investigation, how it is conducted, and the consequences to both the employees and the organization
• Recognize the function of a Department of Justice investigation conducted through the use of a grand jury
• Apply the ideas presented in the course to an insider trading case

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Organizations always seek to avoid and reduce the risk of criminal liability for both individuals within the organization and for the organization as an entity. You will begin this course by identifying the sources of individual and corporate criminal liability in an organizational setting. This will include reviewing the federal criminal process and distinguishing between corporate and personal liability. You will then explore the importance of criminal intentionality, or mental state. You will examine mental state terminology and how it serves to define criminal behavior. Finally, you will discover the importance of having a solid ethics and compliance program by reviewing the elements of a successful compliance program and recognizing the effect it can have on reducing your organization's exposure to criminal liability and lowering fines.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Explore the various sources of criminal law relevant to individual and corporate criminal liability in an organizational setting
• Acknowledge the important role of mental state in determining criminal liability
• Identify the key elements of an effective ethics and compliance program to reduce your organization's exposure to criminal liability or fines

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

Whether you have the opportunity to serve on a corporate board, you're tasked with preparing a presentation to a board and its shareholders, or you own equity and want to understand your rights, it's important for you to recognize how to work within the constraints of corporate laws. In this course, you will look at the framework for decision making within a corporation — specifically fiduciary duties, which are the duties that corporate directors and officers owe to the shareholders.

You'll also become more familiar with current challenges to the traditional notion that the directors and officers are the agents of the shareholders and only the shareholders, a way of thinking that has resulted in the belief that directors and officers have no duty other than to maximize shareholder profits. In recent years, however, there has been backlash to this concept, leading to widespread recognition that individuals in charge of corporate decision making have some obligation to take into account ethics, the community, and the environmental impact of their actions. You'll examine the implications of this shift and determine how the rules affect you.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Anticipate what types of information an organization's stakeholders require before making a particular business decision
• Analyze the risk/reward trade-off of any decision from the viewpoints of various stakeholders
• Evaluate how corporate social responsibility affects corporate decision making and directors' fiduciary duties
• Assess which scenarios allow deference to officer business judgment and which indicate shareholder or board voting

ESG

COURSE OVERVIEW

If you own a business, have ever thought about starting a business, or have the opportunity to buy into a business in the future, you'll want to understand the personal implications the business structure may have for you.
In this course, you will look at how different types of business entities are structured in the U.S.? and examine the pros and cons of business structures for different individuals in different circumstances. You will also do a deep dive into corporations, which are the most common business entities, especially for large and complex businesses. You'll define the limits of the corporate structure by exploring the economic and social purposes of corporations along with what happens if individuals who own or control a corporation abuse their position of power.

Whatever your circumstances are, through this study you will be given the tools to understand who the relevant actors are in any business structure, what their rights and responsibilities are, and how you fit in.

KEY COURSE TAKEAWAYS

• Analyze why different entities have different stakeholders, along with the pros and cons of choosing one entity over another
• Assess which stakeholders are involved in major business decisions and have legal responsibility over decisions made by the company
• Define the limits of the corporate structure

Webinar Attendance: ESG Business Institute

Welcome to the Fundamentals of ESG!

Environment, social, and governance or ESG issues are to be considered by business entities in their decisions because companies with a higher focus on sustainability are viewed as reliable and fundamentally sound.

At the end of this module, learners will be able to describe:
What is ESG? – Environment, Social, and Governance
The Five Reasons Why ESG is Indispensable
Does ESG Really Work?
What if You Don’t Future-Proof With ESG? 

Learning Methodology   

• In this course, you are required to undergo all FOUR parts in the e-learning section. Learners are encouraged to read all the reading materials and videos provided in the module to deepen and enhance their understanding of ESG. 
• Learners are encouraged to spend 3 to 4 hours a week to complete the course within the 2-week time frame upon enrolment.
• Learners are required to participate and post answers on the discussion boards and attempt all quizzes.
• Learners are required to get started with the e-learning before attempting the learning activities and attending the Live webinar. 
• Learners are required to attend a live webinar conducted by the Trainer and guest speakers where learners are encouraged to engage in the Q&A sessions.
• All of the above activities must be completed to pass this module.