DATES
Sessions 1 & 2: April 20, 2024 — 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Networking lunch included)
Session 3: April 21, 2024 — 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
ESG Fundamentals for Communication and Marketing Professionals
Micro-certificate
Deepen your understanding of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) communication and distinguish yourself in the world of sustainability with certification from the esteemed John Molson Executive Centre.
Designed by the Concordia Sustainability Ecosystem in collaboration with Addenda Capital and the Trottier Family Foundation, this program provides a comprehensive exploration of the fundamentals of ESG communication, delving into the latest developments and best practices. Crafted by experts in sustainability, the ESG Fundamentals for Communication and Marketing Professionals Micro-Certificate imparts practical knowledge and skills, empowering individuals to effectively communicate sustainability initiatives within their respective domains.
This program is best suited for marketing and communications professionals with a foundational grasp of ESG who are motivated to advance their career by acquiring cutting-edge knowledge in an evolving field.
Organizations are facing increasing pressure from investors, regulators, customers, and employees to respond to ESG imperatives. Navigating this pressure requires addressing numerous burning questions, such as: What are the implications of ESG, how should we address them, and who will be responsible for handling them?
Current efforts to execute ESG communications and marketing initiatives have led to rising scrutiny. To appear more environmentally conscious, organizations have overstated their eco-friendly efforts, resulting in accusations of greenwashing. When organizations misrepresent their environmental impacts, either purposefully or inadvertently, this opens them up not only to reputational risk, but to growing legal, regulatory, and market share risks. In response to greenwashing allegations, some organizations have chosen to not communicate their ESG goals and efforts, a phenomenon known as greenhushing. But, in an age of heightened public awareness and increasingly stringent reporting requirements, greenhushing is an unsustainable strategy.
When executed effectively, communication and marketing initiatives play a vital role in reinforcing ESG objectives and outcomes, as they do for the overall business strategy. Therefore, ESG and business strategies should evolve in harmony, complementing and supporting one another along the way. While most organizations have yet to reach this mark, many have begun to carve their path. Communication and marketing professionals can help lead this charge, supporting their organizations to effectively and transparently navigate this significant journey. These professionals bring a wealth of knowledge about stakeholder expectations, values, and motivations. But thriving in this crucial duty requires a fundamental shift in traditional communication and marketing approaches.
This program equips communication and marketing leaders with the necessary tools to actively engage in their organizations’ ESG journey and communicate it to their most important audiences.
Key takeaways
This program will enable you to:
Participate in ESG strategy and decision-making within your organization by acquiring the foundational knowledge required to bring a strategic marcomm’s lens to ESG efforts.
Safeguard reputations by gaining the latest tools to proactively flag, identify, and counsel against greenwashing risks in your organization’s marcomm campaigns and materials.
Build trust and credibility with your audiences by learning how to meet and exceed stakeholder expectations for clarity and transparency, develop a framework to navigate tough questions, and advance courageous ESG communications strategies.
Who benefits?
- Managers, Directors and VPs in corporate communications and marketing with a minimum of 5 years’ experience and beginner knowledge of ESG
- Communications and Marketing consultants working in agencies
- Anyone exposed to EGS practices within their organization who wants to better understand the risks and solutions to greenwashing
- Employees within an organization actively trying to navigate ESG imperatives
- Employees within an organization working to examine and expand its ESG strategy
Program structure
- A two-day in-person workshop comprising three sessions
- Each session includes a culminating, interactive exercise that allows participants to apply puts session learnings into a practical work context
- There will be dedicated periods for networking and discussion in each session
To contribute to class discussions, debates, and group activities, participants are expected to complete assigned reading prior to class.
Session 1
What’s ESG got to do with it?
Learn how corporate responsibility is evolving, fundamental ESG concepts such as “materiality,” and the big ideological shifts shaping the ESG environment.
Session 2
Cleaning up our act on Greenwashing
Take a deep dive into greenwashing and its consequences, greenhushing and its risks, and learn how to navigate the thorny “anti-ESG” conversation.
Session 3
What courageous ESG communications looks like
Learn the fundamentals and trends of the ESG reporting and disclosure movement, explore the three fundamental mindset shifts that ESG communicators need to make, and examine examples of truly courageous ESG communications.
LANGUAGE
English
LOCATION
District 3 Innovation Hub: 1250 Guy St., 6th floor, Montreal, Quebec, H3H 2L3
FEE
Early bird fee: $995 CAD (+taxes) until March 30 2024
Regular fee: $1,200 CAD (+taxes) as of March 31, 2024
Benefit from preferred rates by enrolling in at least four of our micro-certificates in sustainability. Employers can also unlock preferred rates by registering three or more members of their organization. Contact our program manager to explore our packages.
Faculty
Jessie Sitnick
Senior leader in ESG communications
Jessie is a passionate, purpose-driven strategic communications executive with deep expertise in sustainable finance, ESG, and climate communications. She is the inaugural VP External for The Natural Step, Canada’s solution space for a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature’s limits.
Previously, Jessie was a Senior Vice President of Corporate and Public Affairs at Argyle/Believeco: Partners. She led a talented team serving clients across multiple sectors and industries (finance, tech, real estate and the built environment). She established the firm’s Sustainable Value portfolio, supporting businesses, NGOs, governments, and academic experts in their work to bring climate and sustainable economy solutions to bear.
Jessie's other roles include: founding Communications Director and brand architect for Canada's Ecofiscal Commission, Senior Communications Counsel for the Smart Prosperity Leaders Initiative, and Head of Strategic Communications for WWF-Canada.
Jessie lives in Toronto with her two teenage sons, partner, and gigantic dog (Cooper). Her happy place is the muddy trail along Grenadier Pond in High Park.
Bursary
One student from each of the five micro-certificate programs will be granted a bursary that covers half of the regular cost of tuition.
Submit your completed application form to jmec@concordia.ca to be considered for available bursaries.
Check out our FAQs to learn more.
FAQs
These programs will be conducted in person to provide students with an opportunity to participate in interactive group exercises that promote practical application, obtain direct feedback from instructors, and build connections through networking, all of which enhance their overall learning experience. Before the first session of each micro-certificate, students will participate in a 30-minute introductory networking session to connect with instructors and fellow classmates.
Students must actively participate in all three sessions to earn their certificate. To emphasize our skill-focused approach, we intentionally omitted a formal evaluation process to prioritize hands-on learning and real-world application.
Before each of the three micro-certificate sessions, students should allocate one to two hours for pre-reading. This will ensure they are fully prepared for hands-on class activities designed to maximize their learning experience.
Each micro-certificate was intentionally scheduled on a different date during the spring term to allow students to register for as many programs as they wish.
Yes, the John Molson Executive Centre will provide you with a certificate for each program you complete.
One student from each of the five micro-certificate programs will be granted a bursary that covers half of the regular cost of tuition. The bursary may not be withdrawn to pay for other expenses or transferred to other programs and courses at Concordia University. You must apply to be considered for available bursaries. Submission of an application does not guarantee a bursary offer. Should the recipient not complete all three sessions of their micro-certificate, the bursary will be forfeited.
The bursary is available for the 2024 spring term and will be granted to each of the five recipients at the latest three weeks before the start of their program.
Students must submit their completed application to jmec@concordia.ca to be considered for the bursary.
Bursary recipients are selected following an evaluation by the selection committee. One student from each of the five micro-certificate programs will be granted a bursary that covers half of the regular cost of tuition. Each application is considered and compared to its peers in the applicant pool. Applicants will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- Personal statement: Successful applicant will demonstrate how their experiences have shaped their hobbies, passions, or future aspirations.
- Career objectives statement: Successful applicants will describe their personal, academic, or career goals, demonstrating ambition, drive, and passion in their pursuit.
- Financial need: Successful applicants will explain the need for financial support to pursue their career objectives.
Following the adjudication period, each applicant will be notified of the results.
- Transition Finance and Climate Finance Frameworks: March 20, 2024
- ESG Fundamentals for Communication and Marketing Professionals: April 1, 2024
- Economics of Biodiversity and Natural Capital Markets: April 5, 2024
- Carbon Markets and the Economics of Carbon Removal: February 21, 2024
- Water Stewardship and Market Mechanisms: May 1, 2024
