CP/ESGR™: CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL FOR ESG REPORTING
Although the importance for companies to report their ESG is obvious, the process of ESG reporting can be challenging. Clear, concise, and consistent ESG metrics are an essential requirement for any stakeholder effort to measure a company’s impact on the natural and social ecosystems. The work of sustainability accounting frameworks to render precision and inter-operability is vital to this task. Yet the 50+ major global ESG frameworks/standards, and their 2,000+ local counterparts pose great challenges to companies both operating locally and/or globally.
CP/ESGR™, or Certified Professional for ESG Reporting, is designed to help professionals and the companies they work for -- or for those who seek to develop professional credentials to work for -- organize, plan and report from among the wide diversity of non-financial information that is consistent, easily available, and easily interpreted to investors, along with for a broad range of other stakeholders.
CP/ESGR™ provides participants with the knowledge, experience, tools and community of practice they will need to become an important part of this global business transition towards a sustainable future.
Through a combination of online lectures, case studies, thesis writing, senior industry guest speakers, and ESG report writing exercises, participants will learn about different types of ESG reporting frameworks/standards, and how to conduct materiality assessment, aggregate ESG data, generate reports and communicate ESG report to stakeholder communities. Also, participants will learn how to drive corporate sustainability transition and how the investor community uses ESG reports.
Certified professionals will complete these programs with concrete ideas about how to write standards compliant ESG reports, as well as incorporating sustainable strategies within their organization.
CP/ESGR™ is created and managed by World Sustainable Finance Association (WSFA). SFI is the program's training partner.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN FROM CP/ESGR™?
- The mission, goals, and purposes of leading corporate ESG reporting frameworks, including CDP, GRI, SASB, TCFD, and UNGC.
- To apply a rigorous process for assessing and selecting ESG reporting frameworks, standards, and materiality maps.
- Deep diving into leading companies’ ESG reports in related industry sectors, regions and/or stock exchanges, and decide the proper reporting mechanisms for your company/organization.
- From investors’ view on how they use corporate ESG reports to make investment decisions, and how they should influence your own ESG reporting process.
- How world leading companies use ESG reporting to identify risks and opportunities, further driving corporate sustainability transitions for long term success.
WHO SHOULD BECOME A CP/ESGR™?
This program is for corporate professionals responsible for the plan, design, development, and execution of determining, measuring, reporting and/or disclosing their organization’s environmental, social, or governance performances.
If you are a corporate professional, the Certified Professional for ESG Reporting (CP/ESGR™) certification can help you to advance in your organization or attain key job roles related to corporate ESG reporting or sustainability, by equipping you with the knowledge on how to gather ESG data and generate standards compliant ESG reports and communicate corporate ESG strategies effectively with stakeholders. In addition, the program provides opportunities for professionals to understand ESG reporting’s ability to help drive corporate sustainability transitions.
The CP/ESGR™ program will also help corporate board of directors and C-suites to understand how to drive corporate sustainability by identifying ESG risks and value-creation opportunities, guiding organizational changes, and enhancing corporate sustainability intelligence. The program also aims to equip any corporate participants with knowledge on every aspect of generating ESG reports, materiality assessments, the potential use of ESG reporting software, and investor use of ESG reporting and information.
Typical roles which participate in CP/ESGR™
Department heads in
- corporate sustainability,
- finance,
- accounting,
- investor relations,
- supply chain management,
- product design,
- legal,
- human resources,
- IT,
- manufacturing,
- quality control,
- etc.
The CP/ESGR™ program is also helpful for professionals new to corporate ESG reporting and sustainability transition, or those seeking to expand their general knowledge of the field.
C-suites
Individualized custom leadership programs for the development of sustainability strategy are also available for Board Directors as well as for CEOs, CFOs, CSOs (Chief Sustainability Officer), CCOs (Chief Compliance Officer) and other C-suite functions.
Other Professionals
Other job roles related to sustainability such as
- ESG analyst,
- environmental consultant,
- energy manager and engineer,
- ecologist,
- sustainability engineer,
- labor specialist,
- etc.
Students
Students interested in gaining practical sustainability knowledges before entering the ever-competitive corporate job market.
CP/ESGR™ CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
Corporate employee with a bachelor’s degree or above from an accredited college or university, or current student of a bachelor’s program or equivalent from an accredited college or university.
Language Proficiency:
The CP/ESGR™ program is currently offered in English in general. Courses, exams, and thesis require English proficiency for reading comprehension and formulating reasoning to complex ESG analytics.
CP/ESGR™ is working with partners in developing local language versions. CP/ESGR™ Local may also introduce localized contents such as case studies, exams, group discussions, speakers, and teaching assistants.
Currently CP/ESGR™ is also offered in Chinese language (中文) with partnering institutions. Please email ESGR@sfina.org for more details.
CP/ESGR™ Program Setup
Step 1: Taking Classes
CP/ESGR™ candidates are required to take both pre-recorded and live classes taught by leading faculties from the Sustainable Finance Institute (SFI).
Due to the pandemic and shifting learning paradigm, SFI is bringing all courses online. Candidates now have the options to take online courses or traditional in-person instructions at carefully selected locations*.
As an interactive program, students are held to a high expectation of being active contributors to discussions, as there are expected to be high-profile guest speakers presenting during the training. Students should be prepared to answer questions about assigned case studies and readings.
Active class participation makes up 20% of the certification evaluation score.
* Please contact ESGR@sfini.org for qualified locations in your region.
Step 2: Readings and Extra-curriculum Studies
Candidates often need to spend 50+ hours for extracurricular studies, depending on their prior background in relevant to ESG and reporting. SFI will distribute reading lists and case studies prior to classes. Due to the fast-changing nature of the corporate ESG Reporting landscape, SFI frequently updates cutting-edge reading materials and case studies.
There are no specific requirements for extra curriculum readings. However, such readings and case studies will greatly enhance student knowledge related to their future ESG reporting activities.
Step 3: Case Opinions and “Write-Your-Own-Report” Project
The overall objective of this class is to prepare our candidates to apply ESG Reporting skills learned to their work. Students will be required to read ESG reports from a variety of companies related to their industry sectors, regions and/or stock exchanges. They will be asked to write one-page opinions on each case reports.
Students are also required to write their own ESG Report – preferably their own company – using the skills gained throughout the training. Faculty advisors and teaching assistants will be assigned to each candidate to facilitate their ESG reporting excise.
Step 4: Get Certified
Certification will be provided, based on a minimum achieved grade of 80 out of 100, based on the percentages below, across these three areas:
- Class participation (20%)
- 3 case study opinions (30%)
- Writing your own report (50%)
CSFA™ Standard candidates who score 80 or above will be certified as “Certified Sustainable Finance Analyst™: CSFA Standard” professional.
Keep Learning
Since there are a number of varying ESG frameworks and standards, the CP/ESGR™ program will primarily focus on demonstrating use of the GRI, TCFD and SASB frameworks in our trainings, with an eye on developing standards including ISSB.
Nevertheless, at the same time, the program acknowledges candidates’ need for other frameworks/standards based on different industry backgrounds, regions and/or regulations. Thus, in addition to a well-rounded education on primary global ESG standards, the program provides one additional free detailed learning package on another ESG framework/standard of the candidate’s choice.
For candidates who wish to have a deep dive into additional ESG frameworks/standards, additional learning packages, including IIRC, PRI, UN SDG, CDP, CDSB, etc., will be in the form of recorded lessons available for candidate’s purchase on request.
CP/ESGR™ CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
Corporate employee with a bachelor’s degree or above from an accredited college or university, or current student of a bachelor’s program or equivalent from an accredited college or university.
Language Proficiency:
The CP/ESGR™ program is currently offered in English in general. Courses, exams, and thesis require English proficiency for reading comprehension and formulating reasoning to complex ESG analytics.
CP/ESGR™ is working with partners in developing local language versions. CP/ESGR™ Local may also introduce localized contents such as case studies, exams, group discussions, speakers, and teaching assistants.
Currently CP/ESGR™ is also offered in Chinese language (中文) with partnering institutions. Please email ESGR@sfina.org for more details.