PROGRAM
ESG Designation Program
12 Sessions
1.5 hours per session
CERTIFICATE
bi-weekly
US$5,495
Prepare for the next decade of decision-making
Get the insights that you need to provide oversight and foresight on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities. Our program will equip you with the tools and confidence that all board members, investors and executives require to make effective decisions.
Our best-in-class program closely examines a wide range of ESG topics. Over the 12 sessions these will include climate change, human rights, and supply chain; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); cybersecurity, disclosures, taxation, executive pay, anti corruption and stakeholder engagement.
Our more than two dozen global faculty leaders are experts in their fields. You will engage with them on real-life scenarios in live interactive discussions that bring a global viewpoint to your education.
By the end of our program, you will have the leading-edge knowledge that investors, nomination committees and recruiters are seeking, with a robust and invaluable network of new peers.
Our many session leaders include:
Competent Boards programs are designed and led by Helle Bank Jorgensen, a 30 year ESG veteran and author of Stewards of the Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. Helle is a member of the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence’s Sustainability & ESG Insights Council; the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network for Corporate Governance, Leadership, and Emerging Multinationals; and HRH Prince of Wales A4S (Accounting for Sustainability) Global Expert Panel.
Helle Bank Jorgensen
CEO & FOUNDER, COMPETENT BOARDS
Program streams
Cohorts are divided into two streams, board members and business professionals.
Though the content in both program streams is identical, occasionally speakers may change.
Board member
Board Members – this stream is for you if you are a non-executive director, an independent director, or an executive director of a company with 100+ employees.
Business professional
Business Professionals/Investors – this stream is for you if you’re a senior executive, investor, or board advisor.
Not sure which stream is best for you?
Schedules & Speakers
Please select your stream below with your desired start date to view the speakers for your chosen cohort.
What you'll get from this program
- Prepare yourself for future C-suite and board positions and what’s needed to be a future-fit leader.
- Enrich your understanding of the critical components of good ESG performance, and enhance important competencies essential to be an effective, insightful senior executive.
- Learn how to better respond to new enterprise risk, business complexity, technological disruptions, and social and environmental obligations.
- Get equipped to effectively participate in discussions around the fast-evolving international ESG landscape.
- Learn to ask the right questions and approach sustainability discussions more effectively.
- Leverage the experience of world leading experts at the forefront of international ESG best practices, and learn how ESG issues play out at a broader strategic level.
- Get up to speed on global trends and developments, and what’s likely to gain greater relevance going forward.
- Have greater visibility into what other leading companies are doing and why.
What you'll get from this program
- Enrich your understanding of the critical components of good ESG performance, and enhance important competencies essential to be an effective, insightful Board Director.
- Learn how to better respond to new enterprise risk, business complexity, technological disruptions, and social and environmental obligations.
- Get equipped to effectively participate in discussions around the fast-evolving international ESG landscape.
- Learn to ask the right questions and approach sustainability discussions more effectively.
- Leverage the experience of world leading experts at the forefront of international ESG best practices, and learn how these issues play out at a broader strategic level.
- Get valuable tools and resources to help you fully understand and execute on your fiduciary obligation related to climate change.
- Get up to speed on global trends and developments, and what’s likely to gain greater relevance going forward.
- Have greater visibility into what other leading companies are doing and why.
- Upcoming Cohort:
Sold Out! September – March
6:30AM PDT (UTC-7) | 9:30AM EDT (UTC-4) | 15:30H CEST (UTC+2) | 19:00H IST (UTC+5:30) | 20:30H ICT (UTC+7)
- Upcoming Cohort:
Sold Out! October – March
6:30AM PDT (UTC-7) | 9:30AM EDT (UTC-4) | 15:30H CEST (UTC+2) | 19:00H IST (UTC+5:30) | 20:30H ICT (UTC+7)
Strategic Session Topics
Organizational purpose: How to ensure it adds value
Megatrends: How emergent environmental, societal changes, threats to global peace (including Ukraine), pandemics, the “great resignation”, human values, use of data and AI, and social justice are changing expectations of businesses and the future of work
Changing stakeholder expectations: How to deal with them proactively
How a tsunami of guidelines, regulations and ESG reporting frameworks are impacting a business’ license to operate
New types of business models: How stakeholder capitalism, the circular economy, regenerative and “net positive” businesses, digital and emerging technologies, and the 5th industrial revolution are disrupting businesses as we know them
How asset managers, hedge funds, high-wealth individuals, proxy advisors, and ratings and rankings are impacting board of directors and the board agenda
Fiduciary duty: The fast-evolving views and understandings of fiduciary duty across regions
Oversight and the role of board committees in embedding ESG in business strategy
Thinking the unthinkable: How to anticipate and lead during major disruptions to ensure resiliency and business continuity considering threats to global peace (including Ukraine), pandemics, societal changes, climate change, the biodiversity crisis, digital advancements and beyond
How the board of directors can best fulfill its critical role in strategy and setting the cultural tone from the top
How to balance short and long-term goals, objectives, compliance, and accountability
Trust and integrity: The board’s role in shareholder and stakeholder communication
Incentives: How incentives can drive wanted or unwanted behaviour
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how are they being addressed by regulatory trends and government incentives?
Why and how are companies and investors embracing the SDGs and using them as a catalogue of innovation and investment opportunities?
Using the SDGs as a common language to communicate with stakeholders
How to use the SDGs framework as a strategic tool to understand the world’s biggest pain points and determine risks and new opportunities
The link between the SDGs, ESG, purpose, and a business’ license to operate and grow
How have global events and megatrends prioritized and accelerated SDGs implementation at business and government levels?
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Climate change: Why and how it impacts the environment, oceans, biodiversity, health, and the global economic and socio-economic outlook and therefore businesses, supply chains, customers, employees, and the societies they operate in
How to manage short and long-term transitional, regulatory, insurance and political risks and seize opportunities within renewable energy, carbon markets, and a just transition
Net Zero and Science Based Goals: Scope 1, 2 and 3 commitments, actions, and reporting
- Growing expectations:
- Asset managers, proxy advisors, investors, and related investor driven initiatives (Climate Action 100+, UN Principles for Responsible Investment, etc.)
- Banks, insurance companies, and customers
- Regulatory bodies and non-regulatory bodies in the climate reporting and disclosure space (US SEC, EU, Asia, International Sustainability Standards Board, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, CDP, etc.)
- Stock exchanges (Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative)
- Voluntary initiatives and ratings and rankings
- Other stakeholders
How companies, investors, insurance companies, and regulators are responding to growing demands for climate action
Scenario analysis, disclosure expectations, adaptation, mitigation, and transition strategies
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Growing expectations of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) disclosure– what are investors asking for and why does it matter?
What is considered ESG? Greenwashing, greenwishing, and greenwalking
How ESG disclosure issues are leading to securities class actions and civil litigation
Understanding ESG ratings, rankings, indices, integration frameworks and materiality risk and opportunity assessments
How companies are and should be responding to growing demands for ESG disclosure
How to integrate emerging risks into ERM frameworks
Anticipating future trends and new requirements in ESG
Why are financial materiality assessments integral to ESG being embedded in company strategy and board oversight?
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Identifying, assessing, and managing salient risks: The impact of environmental and social disasters on your supply chain
Child labour, forced labour, modern slavery, etc.: Do you have human rights risks in your supply chain?
The impact of your products: Water scarcity, air pollution, deforestation, etc.
Beyond compliance: Existing and emerging regulations and how to disclose support for major international norms and soft law initiatives
Creating mutually beneficial relationships for the long-term: Avoid supply shortages, reputational setbacks, and align the power of procurement with incentives
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Expectations from investors, proxy advisors, and society to foster a pipeline of diverse talent, and to proactively address employee misconduct and workplace culture issues
The business case for diversity, including its ability to manage complex issues and identify innovation potential
How to achieve diversity of thought – the many forms of diversity (including cultural, racial, religious, age, sexual orientation and gender, disability, socioeconomic background, life experiences, etc.) and the value they bring
The power of data, the barriers to progress, and the practices that work when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
Mental health and wellness: Empathy, work from home, burnout, and the future of work
Laws and regulations, board composition, board structure, and the role of the board nomination committee
Performance evaluation, incentives, and accountability
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Changing risks and expectations associated with anti-corruption, integrity, ethical business practices, and transparency
Developing and testing the hallmarks of an effective anti-corruption compliance program
Steps companies can take to reduce fraud and corruption including facilitation payments
Public and self-disclosure: How much should company reputation matter in decision-making?
Managing and overseeing investigations
Anticipating new forms of corruption: Cybercrime, dark money, misuse of private and public goods, etc.
Public trust, relations, and reputation
Navigating the political involvement of companies and businesses
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Digitalization: The impact of the digital revolution including blockchain and cryptocurrencies, big data, AI-generated opportunities, 3D virtual worlds (Metaverse), and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)
Data ethics: Collection, stakeholder privacy concerns, and management of confidential information
Increased organizational and personal data protection vs. the use of data for good
How cyber risks impact how responsibly a company’s reputation is perceived
Cyber attacks, hybrid work’s cyber dangers, disaster containment, recovery, and business continuity
Antitrust laws and stakeholder expectations including the management of cyber propaganda and fake news
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
When tax optimization is no longer responsible
The cost of ownership in a volatile world: Dilemmas when investing for the long-term
What information is needed to make well-informed capital investment and capital expenditure (CapEx) decisions
How to incentivize leadership for ESG in the short and long run
The ripple effects of the pandemic on tax, investment, and pay strategies including income inequality
What’s next: Changes in global tax policies that drive ESG investments
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
Determining the material issues to manage and communicate to shareholders and stakeholders
How to deal with the rise of shareholder activism including engagement strategies before the proxy season and beyond
Common standards and frameworks: International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), VRF, Climate Reporting (TCFD, CDP, CDSB), GRI, UN Global Compact, SDGs, etc.
Regulations and requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, human capital accounting, and stock exchange requirements
What are the future trends in reporting?
Oversight, accountability, and the role of the board committees
A summary of the previous topics and what they mean for the future of good governance
What does and what will good governance look like?
How to prepare for the evolving role of the board, executives, shareholders, and other stakeholders
What it means to be a steward of the future including good judgment, courage, and the ability to ask meaningful questions
Session information
• 12 sessions at 90 minutes each, plus approximately 90-120 minutes of preparation time/materials per session (videos, case studies, targeted discussion questions and recommended reading lists).
• Each session will require a total investment of approximately 180 minutes.
• Program registration is capped at 36 participants to ensure a rich opportunity for dialogue.
A toolbox of 12 comprehensive modules containing dozens of in-depth fireside chats and interview videos with renowned global subject matter experts and board members on the most current and pressing issues executives face today.
Sets of questions to evaluate whether your current approaches appropriately consider changing risks and opportunities.
A curated list of recommended readings, reports, tools, and frameworks.
• Discussion of preparation material provided.
• Discussion of the session topic with global faculty members.
• Brief presentation of the session case study.
• Breakout session with approx. 6 people per group (groups change bi-weekly).
• Question and discussion period.
• All sessions are held under Chatham House Rule.
- Completion of the 12 modules over a 6-month period or less
- Successful completion of final exam
How much does it cost?
US sales tax may apply depending on where you reside. Tax will be automatically calculated at check out.
of Full Program
US$5,495
Six-month installment plan
US$962
Compare our ESG Programs
| What you get | Designation Program | Certificate Program |
|---|---|---|
|
Live, bi-weekly interactive discussion and Q&A with global experts and fellow cohort members |
✔ |
|
|
No. of modules/sessions |
12 |
12 |
|
Designation (GCB.D) |
✔ |
|
|
Certificate of Completion |
✔ |
✔ |
|
CredlyTM digital credential |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Current, real-life case study analysis and discussion with fellow cohorts and speakers |
✔ |
|
|
World-class faculty |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Program duration |
24 weeks (12 sessions bi-weekly) |
Up to six months |
|
Monthly Q&A session with Helle Bank Jorgensen and other program members |
|
✔ |
|
Videos and in-depth fireside chats with renowned global experts |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Questions to ask management and tools for providing effective oversight |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Course materials available 24/7 |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Access to global network of peers |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Final exam |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Access to Alumni LinkedIn Group post-graduation |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Price (US$) |
US$5,495 |
US$3,495 |
Testimonials
Alizabeth Calder
Independent Director; CIO
An excellent program in both depth and breadth. The best director-relevant ESG program available – well worth the time and investment.
Chad Holliday
Former Chair, Royal Dutch Shell and Bank of America
There are a lot of development programs out there. This one is very, very, unique. You gain from talking to people that come from different walks of life, different companies and different situations, which prepares you to be a better board member.
Ian Robertson
Vice President, Director & Portfolio Manager, Odlum Brown
The ESG Competent Boards course was excellent. What was so good – and made the course so different than other courses – was the level of dialogue that the moderators fostered. Their expert views and experiences, along with the high-level input from other course participants were a powerful combination. Rather than ‘spoon-feed’ participants a ‘this is how you do it’ diet, the interactive format allowed us to draw real life lessons that we can bring to our own boards.
