Sustainability (ESG) for Control and Support Functions

Abbreviations such as ESG (Environment, Social, Governance), CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), SRI (Social Responsibility Investment) or SDG (UN Sustainable Development Goals) now regularly appear in the media and on the agenda of boards of directors and trustees. Companies are under public observation under the heading of “sustainability“. All sectors and industries are equally affected by this. The size of the company is equally irrelevant; SMEs and medium-sized companies, as suppliers and as an important part of extended supply chains, need to show where they stand on ESG. Furthermore, this development is accompanied by litigation. We can already see governments being sued, as well as the energy and extractive industries and the financial sector.

For comprehensive and integrated management of ESG risks, it is important that everyone in the company understands each other and works together. On the one hand, this is true for the so-called control and “assurance” functions in the “second and third lines of defence“, which include functions such as risk management, compliance, legal, security, quality control and internal audits. On the other hand, important support functions such as finance, controlling, human resources, communication and marketing are also relevant for the correct positioning of these issues in the company. Not only are they increasingly involved laterally in the business but, in particular, they must support the management and the board of directors/executive committee to optimally manage ESG risks. External chartered accountants/auditors, lawyers and other advisors must offer their services accordingly to actively support companies in their efforts to attain their ESG goals. They all need to pursue an integrative approach to ensure comprehensive ESG reporting at all levels of governance.

Each five-day programme provides a practical approach to the subject. One of the goals is to create a detailed understanding of what ESG risks are and how control and other support functions can better cooperate to successfully address these challenges together for the benefit of the entire company. Another learning objective of the programme is to understand how to identify and mitigate ESG risks.

Your Benefits

• Your choice: you decide whether you want to participate on site or online (hybrid course; subject to modifications)
• Expertise: relevant speakers from practice and academia
• Impact: theoretical and practical knowledge for transfer into practice
• Networking: become acquainted with like-minded people and learn about their challenges
• Creditability: these week-long modules can be credited to the certificate course in Compliance Management (CM-HSG), to other CAS/DAS programmes of Law & Management and to the Executive Master Law & Management (EM LM-HSG).