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The visible effects of climate change made the topic of sustainability hard to avoid in 2022. The need for systemic change and radical rethinking of how organizations work has become a mainstream topic this year. More and more businesses have been stepping up to meet the requirements and their climate commitments.

Here are five reflections on sustainability of 2022:

Net Zero

There was a lot of talk about net-zero emissions and company’s targets. Both small companies and dominant corporations have been trying to achieve the milestone by 2050, adopting a truly net-zero climate strategy. According to the latest Reuters Insight, 62% of those surveyed stated that they had net-zero targets, however, over a third of them said their targets were not science aligned.

ESG Investing

ESG has been the most common area of discussion in the field of sustainability and it has turned into an enabler for businesses to continue their activities. ESG investing is projected to increase at a rapid pace and according to a Bloomberg analysis, ESG assets may hit $53 trillion by 2025.

Transparency

Transparency is now required by law when publishing environmental impacts. Accountability and credibility can define a company’s future. Starting no later than 2024, all countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement need to follow a single, universal transparency process. This is the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). As stated at the COP26 in November, “Overzealous reporting does not help against climate change”.

Reporting

Sustainability reporting frameworks have become more sophisticated and comprehensive. The ISSB or TCFD have become the most advantageous, because there are on track closely with the latest legislations.

Renewable Energy

Fossil-fuel derived businesses are under pressure to change their energy supply into a more sustainable form. Moreover, the cost of renewable technologies has fallen significantly. New policies are implemented rapidly and artificial intelligence (AI) is having transformative effects across energy and utilities.

 

The Sustainability Academy aims to help Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility professionals, entrepreneurs and graduates update their knowledge, keep up to date with current legislation, global trends and best cases.

Many thanks to all our friends, colleagues, practitioners, to those of you who read our newsletters, follow our social media and refer us throughout your networks. Therefore, we perform at our best because of your insights, endorsements and support! We will remain true to our goal to certify 50,000 professionals by the end of 2025.

To express our gratitude, the Sustainability Academy offers a 20% discount to all certified courses until January 2. Use the promo code NY20.

 

For more information: [email protected]

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, before Christmas!

Sustainability Academy is once again excited to step in a little sooner than Black Friday and offer its bundle courses in a premium cost.

Seize the opportunity of diving into understanding the most important topics of ESG, reporting standards, circular economy and carbon reduction.

Stay ahead of the trends while you offer yourself the chance to learn, own the information and become certified.

Whether you are working for a small/large business or are an independent professional, choose the right bundle and benefit from faster decision making, flexibility and close contact with stakeholders to better understand their needs.

Are you looking to find out more on International Standards relating to ESG Impact and SRI and get useful insights on new legislation and how to report to Investors?

How familiar are you with circular economy concepts and principles, guidelines, and tools?

Climate change Impact and financial implications are not theoretical anymore. How aware and prepared are you with developing a carbon footprint strategy and the net zero goal?

Whatever the learning hiatus or lack of specialization you find yourself with, start today your ESG journey and get bundled up with the affordable certified online courses by Sustainability Academy.

The bundle offers will be available for two weeks until Black Friday at midnight.

Add one of the suggested bundle courses to your cart and get the 30% discount directly!

Do bundles not work for you?

You can also get one of our best-selling courses with 20% discount! Choose one of the following and add the discount code BF20 when you add the course to the cart.

 

 

For more information: [email protected]

 

6 steps to create an effective carbon reduction strategy

According to the European Union’s action plan, countries must achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Although there’s a great challenge on doing so, as defined by the European Parliament, this does not only imply to completely eliminate GHG emissions. Instead, organizations should manage a balance between their carbon emissions and the amount of carbon that the atmosphere absorbs from the sinks.

How to start with a carbon reduction strategy.

Firstly, you start with a carbon footprint calculation to check on the CO2 emissions and their impact. You have successfully used the right tools to analyze the activities. You have also calculated which are the most polluting. However, are you confident enough to implement a successful carbon reduction strategy?

Usually, a lot of businesses believe that by choosing to offset their carbon can be the first and great option, but this is not effective when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. Reduction efforts need to become more penetrating with an efficient emissions reduction strategy.

  1. Designing the timeframe

What is the timeframe of this strategy? Scheduling the roadmap will facilitate the process of development and implementation so that the targets can be timely met while staying on the financial plan.

  1. Detecting reduction opportunities

Exploring opportunities in all scopes of emissions can result in actual reduction, while also providing an exceptional ROI. Going through the 3 scopes (direct and indirect), it will be easier to identify potential reduction opportunities.

  1. Setting costs and impacts

A list of potential strategies to evaluate the CROI (climate return of investment) prospective for each opportunity, determination of costs, emissions reductions potential and the timeline for applying need to be considered.

  1. Assess actions

Examine opportunities based on specific criteria, such as complexity, benefits, stakeholder requirements and impact operations. It is useful to score each of these criteria before moving on to prioritize actions.

  1. Developing the plan

It is suggested that a group of professionals has received the proper information and education on how to evaluate and keep track of the progress. It is also important to be in line with the timeframe.

  1. Setting Targets

The more precise the targets (meaning they are measurable, relevant and achievable), the closer to reaching the carbon emission reduction goals.

If you are interested to acquire the necessary practical skills on how to apply a carbon reduction strategy, Sustainability Academy offers a certified course with information on international standards relating to Carbon Reduction Strategies and Reporting, including WRI GHG Protocol, CDP, ISO 50001, GRI.

 

For more information and an exclusive discount contact [email protected]

ESG is the dominating trend in the marketplace the last few years. However, a knowledge gap on executives and boards still exists, leaving the industries unable to adapt to current demands.

The mounting pressure on companies to incorporate ESG practices is never ending, with existing and new regulatory requirements pushing business leaders to rethink their approach. Moreover, the demand for ESG skills is outpacing supply, while the lack of appropriate education has a moderate impact on the organizations, holding them back when it comes to delivering their ESG agenda.

According to a recent survey, 44% of directors stated that the lack of knowledge or capabilities are the main barriers to achieving ESG goals, while a 70% reported that they were only moderately – or not at all – effective at increasing board oversight on ESG. Moreover, 30% of them reported that there is lack of board and management commitment.

Why does the ESG knowledge gap exist?

Limited sustainability knowledge

Lack of basic knowledge on sustainability is still the biggest barrier to addressing ESG issues. This lack of knowledge is also accompanied by the confusing terminology in the marketplace, which is currently more than enough.

Taking into account the financial sector, only 13% of 3,700 senior ESG staff members at the world’s top 100 largest banks and 100 largest asset management firms hold a degree related to ESG. The impressive outcomes have been provided by a Capital Monitor’s analysis.

 

Relationship between ESG criteria and business impacts

Business leaders cannot clearly understand the relationship between ESG criteria and business impacts. What C-suite executives need to learn is what criteria materially impact their business. Only then, an integrated strategy can be developed and communicated effectively to the board.

It is crucial to know that materiality differs depending on the sector and the company’s business model. Conducting an ESG materiality assessment is the very first step to identify which issues are material to you and your stakeholders.

 

Board and executive ESG competence

Even if the basic knowledge on ESG issues exists, a great number of board members and C-suite executives is still ill-equipped to oversee climate and ESG risks. According to a recent survey gauging the views of public company directors from across the United States, only 25% of the directors support that their board understands the company’s climate risk or strategy. This means that companies may need to reassess the current skillset of the boards.

The value of ESG education cannot be neglected. Boards and C-suite executives with the right skillset are necessary for effective business operation.

Enhance your oversight and decision-making capabilities on delivering an ESG agenda by enrolling to Sustainability Academy’s certified courses.

 

Stress-test your organization’s ability to cooperate, learn and adapt

 

In an era of deep and multiple interlinked crises, we must be ready to deal with the fall-out: waste, corner-cutting supply chains, deeper scrutiny into ethical practices (ESCAP). Although, Asia-Pacific isn’t on track to achieving its sustainability targets by 2030, the Sustainability Academy has courses which help sustainability practitioners maneuver through these corporate challenges.

One of CSE’s global initiatives, the Sustainability Academy offers affordable, specialized, online education in the field of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility.

Abandoning a career, team building, being visionary, dealing with the unknown, loneliness and decision making are considered among the biggest challenges faced by new entrepreneurs.  If your vision includes a social mission, you’ll need to address a complicated field of sustainability challenges which include hiring and retention, marketing and supply chain.  CSE’s online Diploma on Social Entrepreneurship addresses each of these challenges and provides tools and a community for strengthening your social enterprise.

The Sustainability Academy is designed to help professionals, entrepreneurs and graduates keep up to date with current legislation, global trends and best practices.  CSE is thankful to have reached hundreds of practitioners this year – we still have more to reach!!!

With a critical mass of sustainability practitioners, CSE envisions deep change, enabling corporations, municipal and community organizations to apply principles such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Instilling a common language and understanding helps integrate sustainability in all aspects of corporate and institutional functions.  Specialized group online programs for corporate teams include: 

Online Diploma on Corporate Sustainability 

Online Certificate on Circular Economy 

Online Certificate on SASB & TCFD Reporting

Online Certificate  on ESG Impact &  Sustainable Investing 

Online Diploma on Social  Entrepreneurship

Online Certificate on Sustainability  Reporting 

Online Certificate on Carbon Reduction  Strategy – Updated

Introduction to Social Impact Assessment and SROI

Over the holidays and winter months when many experience a lull at work, take the time to invest in yourself and your career.  Courses run 15-20 hours and can be finished over a 45-day period.  Rather than a new widget, take advantage of CSE’s massive group discounts on Sustainability Academy courses.

Join massive group deals and upgrade your knowledge in Sustainability ESG. For more information and discount coupons, reach us at [email protected]

The Center for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) innovates in sustainability training and consulting for more than 16 years offering the most affordable specialized certified online courses through the globally awarded Sustainability Academy. Fortune 500 companies trust Sustainability Academy courses to educate their staff and reach communities with targeted sustainability interests such as supply chain, NGOs and startups.

More than 8,000 executives from leading organizations including Google, NASA, Coca-Cola, Timberland, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, L’Oréal, ExxonMobil, Hartford, T–Mobile, Procter & Gamble, and Macy’s have been certified in the field of Sustainability ESG by the Center for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE).

 

When we imagine the future, it tends to be through the lens of our current set of circumstances. However, this is not necessarily accurate. Take lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles. While it is true that right now the batteries being used in these cars have poorly sourced elements and tend to be short lived, the narrative for this may prove different in the future. The solutions we have now, aren’t necessarily the solutions we’ll end up with in the future. As production of electric cars will likely skyrocket in the next decade, innovation will ensue to generate innovative solutions for the battery supply chain. Humans are consistently improving on new ideas.

So, the question remains: how will this ensue? The current issue with producing lithium-ion batteries is earths abundance and extraction. These batteries not only require lithium, but also cobalt and nickel. All these elements need to be mined, which has devastating effects on local communities and the environment.

While research continues to be conducted, science is not moving fast enough to create a battery that doesn’t require these elements. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we are still on the path of complete extraction. A new way to get these elements has appeared. It’s called urban mining, which is essentially a fancy word for recycling. Until recently, lithium wasn’t being recycled. Multiple companies have popped up globally that are recovering and reusing lithium and other battery materials, and Li-Cycle, a Canada based company, is one of them.

Approximately 10,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries per year were being recycled as of 2021, or the equivalent of 20-30,000 electric vehicle batteries to put it in perspective. This could potentially increase to hundreds of thousands of tons in the next four years. The industry is moving fast. Considering new legislation and regulations, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, millions of electric vehicles will be produced in the next decade. All these cars will need their batteries replaced and recycled. Keeping this in mind, relying on mining long-term for these elements is not sustainable. We need to be able to keep lithium, cobalt, and nickel in the supply chain circularly to diminish the amount needed from mining.

Li-Cycle’s recycling process (which allows for 95% material recovery efficiency) works like this: huge drums are filled with batteries from cars, trucks, buses, personal items, and devices, and even scraps from battery manufacturers. These batteries go on a conveyor belt into a shredder that separates the different elements of the battery. This “spoke and hub” process produces a black mass (important metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel) which is then transferred to a separate facility or hub. There, hydrometallurgy is used, resulting in the recovery of high-purity battery chemicals. This process generates no solid waste, does not impact the atmosphere, and has an overall lower environmental load than traditional recycling processes.

 

As more electric vehicles hit the road, there will be an increasing amount of material to recycle in the coming decades. While it is cheaper to recycle these materials than mine, they will have to coexist for a while to keep up with increasing demand.

If you are interested in learning more about Circular Economy and Carbon Reduction Strategies, Sustainability Academy provides specially designed self-paced online certified courses for professionals who want to gain all the latest tools, legislative development and a unique knowledge in a practical manner.

 

 

Supply chain sustainability is becoming increasingly important for companies, investing more and more money into initiatives to reduce waste and carbon emissions. It is also presumed that there will be an increased emphasis on the circular economy by the end of 2022.

A circular supply chain is important for many reasons, but mainly because it saves businesses long term costs, prevents waste from going to landfill, helps manage ESG risk and leads end-to-end network value to business growth opportunities. As stated by the World Economic Forum, the circular supply chain could unlock $4.5 trillion of economic growth by 2030. For this reason, the United Nations (UN) has already outlined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for global supply chains.

As more companies are trying to readjust their supply chain, Microsoft Corporation and Schneider Electric are two examples excelling in their sustainability practices, being the winners of The Gartner Power of the Profession™ Supply Chain Awards, an annual community-driven recognition program that inspires supply chain transformation around the globe. Microsoft’s mission is to become carbon-negative, zero-waste and water-positive by 2030, driven by circularity. One the other hand, Schneider Electric has deployed a “self-healing” supply chain platform, saving more than 100 million euros.

Here is how your company can capture more value from a circular supply chain:

Lower costs mean greatest profit – Reusing and refurbishing recycled materials results in lower input costs, creating new profit streams.

Circular economy supports supply chain resilience – Using materials already in the supply chain saves your company from inflation and supply shortages.

Regulation and certification standards can be easily met – Companies are facing increasing pressure to make supply networks more sustainable and more transparent.

Drives customer engagement – Circular supply chains are always more appealing to environmentally-conscious consumers. 85% of people indicate that they have shifted their purchase behavior towards sustainability in the past five years.

The circular supply chain is a new way of conducting business, empowering the collaboration of organizations and companies. With the expectations of stakeholders transforming the supply chain sustainability the last 10 years, a lot of companies are struggling to meet the increasing demands, making it even harder to gain a competitive advantage.

Take a deeper dive into the way the circular supply chain can benefit your business and enroll to the Online Certificate on Circular Economy. A 20% discount is available until August 31. Use the discount code “summer20”, while registering online.

Sustainability has become a necessity in the business world and embedding ESG strategies into a company’s profile may be more challenging than it seems. It has already been recognized that implementing sustainable practices into an organization can result in multiple benefits, such as reduced costs, better resource management, better reputation or being a part of supply-chains and markets with high standards.

Even if a company has already implemented ESG or it now begins its sustainability journey, the landscape is constantly changing, being also chaotic to many of them. The ever-changing legislation and the new ESG ratings and standards have brought training at the forefront. Moreover, with the wide range of existed sustainability topics, the company should choose wisely and organize a corporate training relevant to its goals, business strategy and operations.

How can organizations enhance the skills of employees to increase capability? Individual training is the most flexible way of learning, however, there are a lot of benefits of investing in group trainings. Five of them can be read below.

  1. Collaboration Boost

Training in teams can help employees practice communication and problem-solving skills. Discuss topics with each other and applying techniques and theories to their projects will expand their ability to work better together.

  1. Better Productivity

Collectively learning new ideas and methods gives employees a common language and everyone is working towards achieving the same goal. Teams that collaborate are always more productive.

  1. Improves company’s culture

Team trainings give the opportunity to collaborate in a way that expands perspectives beyond immediate problems or disagreements. They can be a safe space for building trust. Apart from that, providing your workforce development opportunities results in a positive workplace culture.

  1. Cost-effectiveness

Employees can attend to the training programs from their own offices or their homes, reducing a company’s expenses. Also, training in teams is always more cost-effective than training an individual due to discounts opportunities.

  1. Content matches core requirements

Having specific people attending specialized courses to implement sustainability initiatives could meet the organization’s expectations and demands in the best way possible. By doing so, the organization can effectively build its sustainability profile and strategies or enhance its already structured ESG department.

 

Gain practical and up to date knowledge in all core areas of sustainability through Sustainability Academy’s specialized courses. Equip your employees with practical skills to meet your company’s needs in this challenging field.

Reach us out at [email protected] to learn more on group discount opportunities on our courses.

Sustainability is transforming business like never before and ambitious net-zero commitments and efforts have increased. Companies are now investing in people who can make them happen, which means that the employment market is already transforming and becoming more favorable to graduates with sustainability skills and expertise.

According to the State of the Profession 2022 study, the sustainability profession is expanding more than any other time in history. The study also revealed the average total compensation for sustainability managers, directors and sustainability vice presidents. The average total compensation for sustainability managers is $146,900, $227,158 for directors and $404,972 for vice presidents, which is quite an impressive, because these salaries reflect the business transition toward a greener economic system.

On the other hand, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has already estimated that 24 million jobs worldwide could be created by the sustainable economy by 2030 alone, while LinkedIn has shown a shift to green skills. Specifically, about 10% of job postings require at least one green skill, even for roles not in the environmental sector. This is verified by LinkedIn’s first Global Green Skills Report, which has estimated that the share of green talent has shown a growth rate of 38.5% between 2015 and 2021.

With sustainability entering a new era, the competition for sustainability jobs is fierce. These are the four main types of skills that candidates should have if they want to pursue a career on sustainability, as identified by the Green General Skill index:

Engineering and technical skills

These skills are needed to develop new products and solutions. This type of knowhow is prominent for eco-building, renewable energy design and energy-saving projects.

Science-based skills

Such skills can be vital in the utilities sector and they are in especially high demand at early stages of the value chains.

Operational management skills

It is important to have an overall understanding of how your company operates in order to communicate its performance to the internal and external stakeholders. They are also required to support green activities through life-cycle management.

Monitoring skills

ESG has crossed over to non-financial service companies and mainly refers to the reporting, disclosures and investor relations. ESG professionals are required to have experience in measuring, reporting and aligning with an increasing number of standards and frameworks, such as the Science Based Targets initiative, GRI, SASB or the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Be a part of the new market transformation and gain a competitive advantage. The Sustainability Academy offers unique certified courses for professionals on all fields of Sustainability and ESG, such as Corporate Sustainability, Carbon Reduction, ESG Reporting, ESG Impact and Sustainable Investing, Circular Economy, SASB and TCFD Reporting. The courses provide a certified qualification to professionals so they can meet the high demands of their positions and the requirements of stakeholders.

Are you looking to become an operational Sustainability Professional and get the Basic Level Seal provided by CSE?
 
Sustainability Academy leads the way in Certified Specialized Sustainability (ESG) Education and now offers a limited 25% bundle discount until June 30. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get specialized updated knowledge on the hottest issues of ESG.
 
Mind the Steps!
 
1: Add to your cart the Diploma on Corporate Sustainability: Foundation Course along with one more Certified Course
 
2: Enter coupon code BL25
 
3: Complete the courses and receive your certifications and the Professional Seal

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