Environmental, Social, and Governance Strategy and Leadership

Seneca’s executive certificate in ESG is for you if you’re interested in moving into an ESG-related role, or if you would like to develop the skills to implement ESG practices or ESG frameworks within your company. This microcredential is ideal for aspiring leaders in mid-level management positions at a financial institution, a publicly traded company or a business preparing to go public. 

In this microcredential, you’ll be taught by expert faculty who are working in the field. You’ll gain specific skills required for success in ESG roles and there will be a variety of guest speakers to enhance your learning and provide networking opportunities. 

In this microcredential, you will learn: 

• To set ESG objectives 
• The benchmarks to look for, how to develop them and understand risk metrics 
• How to take ESG principles and assess them against benchmarks 
• To complete a financial analysis of your ESG program/strategy, including understanding life cycle and cost analysis 
• To weigh risks and rewards from a financial and environmental perspective 
• About rating agencies 

The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) executive certificate prepares professionals to navigate and contribute to a low-carbon economy by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to integrate sustainable practices into business operations. Here’s how it does that: 

•  In recent years, a growing number of businesses have indicated their commitment to an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) approach- a triple bottom line approach which creates value for stakeholders aligning people, planet, and profits. According to the result of a 2022 NAVEX Global survey, 46% of respondents say their company have increased their focus on ESG in 2022 and 83% of respondents agree that a business’ brand reputation is impacted by ESG factors. To better understand ESG in the business world, this course will provide an overview of ESG foundations, including drivers of ESG in Canada, developing an ESG strategy and reporting ESG performance. This course will use real-life case studies to examine and understand best practices for implementing an ESG strategy. 
• Environmental performance is the most common measurement of an organization’s sustainability by the public and investors and is key to long-term organizational success. This course will provide students with the understanding of how environmental performance is measured through global reporting standards used by ESG rating companies and investors, how to communicate the value of pursuing an ESG approach and provide strategic plans for any industry. 
• The pandemic has shed light on many systemic issues in Canada, including racial injustices, police brutality, economic inequality, climate crisis, gender disparity, mental wellbeing and accessible healthcare. Corporations and investors are grappling to understand how to address these overlapping issues without tokenism or performative measures. In a 2023 ESG Reporting Insights Study, PWC stated that 59% of businesses only talk about their positive performance, missing a significant opportunity to build stakeholder trust through balanced ESG Reporting and taking an authentic approach to social issues. Addressing social issues requires leaders to deploy a growth and courageous mindset. It means assessing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) beyond a ‘tick-the-box’ exercise, designing a future of work program that fosters a human-centric and flexible environment, building a culture of social impact and innovation and working towards an ongoing commitment to delivering value to underrepresented communities.  
• The importance of governance to stakeholders pre-dates the more recent evolution and focus on the E and the S in ESG.  Good governance is the hallmark of a well-run organization and is meant to ensure that stakeholder interests are protected through effective oversight and management of the key risks and opportunities for an organization. Good governance builds credibility and trust with stakeholders. In this course, students will become familiar with the attributes of an effective governance ecosystem,  the material matters that require good governance oversight in organizations from an ESG perspective and examine the players, systems, tools and issues (both current and emerging) that need to be considered when looking at  governance in an organization in the context of ESG.  

By the end of the microcredential i, participants are well-prepared to lead their organizations in adapting to and thriving in a low-carbon economy, while also contributing to broader global sustainability goals.