About the Program

The CSRD Expert Program equips participants with comprehensive knowledge and tools to navigate the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and related EU regulations, fostering sustainable business practices and compliance readiness.

Organizations need to develop sustainability reporting frameworks that will enable them to comply with very concrete regulatory requirements, integrating environmental, social, and governance aspects into their business strategies. However, companies can use these regulatory changes to initiate corporate transformation and gain a competitive edge based on business model innovation in the area of sustainability. 

Who Should Attend?

• Sustainability professionals
• Corporate executives
• Environmental consultants
• Compliance officers

Why Should I attend?

Participants will be equipped with state-of-the-art sustainability knowledge, which corresponds to the social and ecological challenges of our time, learning more about the foundations and benefits of sustainability, how to develop a sustainability strategy, how to measure, as well as how to implement sustainability across corporate business functions. Additionally, participants will learn about recent international and EU reporting and compliance requirements with a special focus on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Supply Chain Act (CSDDD), as well as the EU Taxonomy.

• Grasping crucial state-of-the-art knowledge for sustainability professionals
• Understanding of regulatory frameworks and reporting standards with a focus on the CSRD
• Set foundations for meaningful and impactful sustainable transformation and implementation pathways of their organizations

Topics covered

• CSRD and related EU regulations
• Sustainability strategy development
• Measurement and implementation of sustainability practices
• Corporate communication and activism

Program structure

• Three modules and implementation guidance over 6 months
• Blend of face-to-face and online learning
• Practical assignments and feedback sessions
• Expert-led video sessions between modules

The program will be delivered in three 2-day modules over a period of six months and combine face-to-face learning with online components. Participants will get access to an online learning classroom with access to the recorded online lectures, obligatory reading materials, and practical assignments ensuring the implementation of the legal requirements outlined above. These will serve as a basis ahead of each module, enabling a deeper dialogue and discussion in class which also incorporates feedback on the practical assignments as well as discussion of the implementation pathway. Between each module, there will also be half-day online sessions to facilitate discussion between participants and insights from experts.. Before each online session, questions can be submitted. 

Onsite modules dates

Module 1: 16-17 May 2024 - Leadership for Sustainable Development
In this module, participants will learn about the importance of leadership support as a vital component in initiating and navigating organizational transformation and spurring a mindset shift within the company. Thus, we will outline how leaders can assess and challenge their current mindset and understand how this informs sustainability. Additionally, we will highlight how current EU legislation is an additional external driving force for business model change and which aspects current leaders have to know about and potentially rethink. We will start the CSRD journey by introducing the foundations and procedures of a materiality analysis. 

● Progress reflection
● Materiality analysis, risk analysis and stakeholder management
● Sustainable business models, strategy, and transformation
● Inner Development Goals, mindset, and competencies
● Corporate futures

Module 2: 20-21 June 2024 - Understanding and measuring the ESRS standards of the CSRD

In this module, participants will learn about the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Supply Chain Act (CSDDD), their respective components, reporting duties, timelines, and the companies affected. It will also provide participants with the necessary knowledge to stay up to date about recent EU regulations and understand their impact on their business model. They will receive an overview of the building blocks of the CSRD and learn about the qualitative process description requirements as well as the quantitative indicators and data points. The introduction to the topical standards and the respective impact-reasoning behind each component will be discussed to provide participants with a roadmap about the topics necessary to address and implement to comply with the CSRD. At the end of this module, participants will receive a checklist and questions to initiate data collection in their respective companies. 

● ESRS 1 and 2 - General requirements and disclosure
● Overview of E1 and E2 (Climate change and Pollution)
● Overview of E3, E4, and E5 (Water, Biodiversity, and Circular Economy)
● Overview of S1 and S2 (Own workforce and Workers in the value chain)
● Overview of S3, S4, and G1 (Affected communities, Consumers, Business Conduct)

Module 3: 7-8 October 2024 – Reporting sustainability and implementation pathways 

In this module, implementation pathways will be outlined, which provide practitioners with hands-on, step-by-step guidance on how to foster a sustainability culture. Focused on the current reporting framework of the CSRD, we will discuss prominent reporting frameworks and structural elements that are interrelated and that could provide an important foundation for companies when drafting the CSRD report. Additionally, the report should serve as a tool to initiate discussions around sustainability – both inside and outside the company. We will also outline how to build a vivid dialogue that motivates employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders. 

● Progress reflection
● Reporting structures and frameworks
● Corporate communication and corporate activism
● Implementation pathways

In addition to the onsite modules, the following half-day counseling sessions will provide participants with the opportunity to ask questions they faced during their corporate CSRD implementation journey and get feedback from experts in the field. 

June 7, 13:00 - 16:00 CET

July 12, 13:00 - 16:00 CET

September 13, 13:00 - 16:00 CET

Program finish: October 8, 2024

Program fee: € 3,900 + VAT 
Early-bird fee: € 3,750 + VAT until April 16, 2024