Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives

Champion purposeful change in business

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Course Dates

STARTS ON

6 February 2025

Course Duration

DURATION

1 Year
Online and Live Virtual

Course Fee

PROGRAMME FEE

€25.710 €21.500 and get €1.285 off with a referral €100 application fee

Course Information Flexible payment available

Early application benefit

€4.210

This is only available to participants who apply by .

Elevate Your Leadership for Sustainability

As sustainability is becoming a global business disruptor, businesses are making dramatic changes to align their operations with sustainability targets, achieve positive social and environmental impacts and stay competitive, which in turn requires human resources with the right skills and knowledge. The INSEAD Executive Education Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives will equip you to meet the mounting demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) skills as a foundation of your organisation’s future growth strategies.

91%

of board members say that their goal is to spend more time on strategic reflection about sustainability.

Source: INSEAD Designing Sustainability Governance Report.

73%

of leaders expect climate change to have a high or very high impact on their organisations’ strategies over the next three years.

Deloitte

Designed with real-world practicality

The Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives will hone your managerial capabilities in four aspects critical for success in senior-level sustainability roles. The programme delivers learnings you can implement immediately to meet your organisation’s regulatory requirements while building a long-term competitive advantage.

Steward
Prepare to contribute to the governance of sustainable business strategy and raise concerns over progress at an early stage.

Agitator
Understand how to effectively challenge the status quo and bring a range of perspectives on sustainability to your organisation.

Facilitator
Learn to broker conversations, mediate conflicts and resolve trade offs related to sustainable business practices.

Executor
Emerge ready to take the lead in delivering change and mobilise your organisation to implement sustainable business models.

Hear from the programme co-director

“Organisations today require astute leaders who can ensure their operations are environmentally and socially responsible while improving the bottom line, building brand value and deepening stakeholder trust. INSEAD Executive Education imparts the skills needed to successfully integrate sustainable practices across all aspects of the enterprise and will empower you to forge a sustainable way forward for your company.”

— Atalay Atasu
Programme Co-Director for the Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives

What you will learn in this programme

The Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives will help you:

  • Take a proactive approach to solving known and future sustainability challenges by developing innovative strategies and frameworks
  • Apply an understanding of current sustainability policies to incorporate policy developments and manage future policy developments as they emerge
  • Articulate how your organisation’s activities relate to ESG aspects of business and further link to sustainability initiatives
  • Identify change opportunities to bridge sustainability gaps and shape your organisation’s behaviour through an action plan to conduct effective sustainability initiatives.

Key programme features

Image to accompany text - Experiential sessions

Experiential sessions

Test your understanding of concepts and reflect on decisions through digital simulations and live sessions.

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Action learning project

Develop your ability to think critically and steer sustainability strategy across your organisation.

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Guest speakers

Hear from industry practitioners to explore current trends and gain valuable insights.

Image to accompany text - Peer interaction

Peer interaction

Experience a high level of engagement with accomplished global peers and exchange diverse perspectives.

Image to accompany text - Alumni benefits

Alumni benefits

Gain INSEAD alumni status upon completion of the programme, and receive select alumni benefits.

INSEAD certificate

Upon completion of the programme, participants will be awarded a verified digital certificate by INSEAD Executive Education.

Success coach

Craft your learning journey in line with your career goals with a success coach assigned to your cohort.

Curriculum

The curriculum is rigorously developed on INSEAD’s groundbreaking research and expertise. It comprises a core component and three electives. The core modules are part of four overarching topic areas that will prepare you to become a transformational sustainability leader. The modules are taught online, so you can learn at your own pace with weekly along with select live sessions.

  • The Business Case for Sustainability

    • The impact of climate change, energy, pollution and societal externalities on business
    • Sustainability as a stakeholder disruption
    • Nature, consumers, regulators and investors as stakeholders
    • The path to sustainable business execution

    Sustainability as a Strategic Opportunity

    • Aligning sustainability and business profitability
    • Sustainability inspired willingness-to-pay creation
    • Creating markets for sustainable products
    • Converting customers from non-sustainable to sustainable products
    • Key success factors for sustainability based platforms (two-sided markets)

    Sustainability Measurement and Reporting

    • Incorporation of sustainability in performance measurement
    • Selection of KPIs to incentivize sustainable corporate action
    • Design of impact-weighted accounting reporting
    • Regulatory requirements for reporting on sustainability
    • Achieving credible reporting on sustainability

    DEI and Societal Progress

    • Evolution of the paradigm of business 
    • Integrating performance and progress
    • Moral reasoning in business 
    • Making and justifying tradeoffs 
    • LOCAL model
    • DEI vocabulary
    • Sustainable finance
    • Strategies for a Circular Economy – Online 
    • Impactful leadership for sustainability 

  • Meet your cohort peers and faculty in person at the INSEAD campus immersion, networking and graduation event. This event provides a valuable opportunity to form a lifelong global business community.

Note: The list of topics is non-exhaustive and subject to change

Note: Participants may take around 12 months to complete the programme depending on individual schedule and programme selections.

Project work

The Action Learning Project is a key part of the programme. Guided by a coach, you will apply knowledge from the classroom to prepare an action plan that mostly focuses on identifying and solving real-life issues in your industry that the 17 United Nations SDGs focusses on. Regular simulations, check-in sessions and feedback from your programme facilitator and peers will assist you in refining your road map.

Meet the faculty

The global team of cross-disciplinary INSEAD faculty includes experts in sustainable operations management, strategic management and business management.

Profile picture of professor Atalay Atasu

Atalay Atasu

Programme Co-Director; Professor of Technology and Operations Management; The Bianca and James Pitt Chair in Environmental Sustainability; INSEAD Sustainable Business Initiative

Profile picture of professor Lucie Tepla

Lucie Tepla

Programme Co-Director and Senior Affiliate Professor of Finance

Profile picture of professor Peter Joos

Peter Joos

Associate Professor of Accounting and Control The Barons Janssen Endowed Professorship Chair, Accounting and Control Area

Profile picture of professor Karel Cool

Karel Cool

Professor of Strategic Management British Petroleum Fellow The BP Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness

Profile picture of professor Subramanian Rangan

Subramanian Rangan

Professor of Strategy and Management The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chair in Societal Progress

Profile picture of professor Zoe Kinias

Zoe Kinias

Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour

Declan Fitzsimons

Senior Affiliated Professor of Organisational Behaviour

Profile picture of professor Atalay Atasu

Atalay Atasu

Programme Co-Director; Professor of Technology and Operations Management; The Bianca and James Pitt Chair in Environmental Sustainability; INSEAD Sustainable Business Initiative

Profile picture of professor Lucie Tepla

Lucie Tepla

Programme Co-Director and Senior Affiliate Professor of Finance

Profile picture of professor Peter Joos

Peter Joos

Associate Professor of Accounting and Control The Barons Janssen Endowed Professorship Chair, Accounting and Control Area

Profile picture of professor Karel Cool

Karel Cool

Professor of Strategic Management British Petroleum Fellow The BP Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness

Profile picture of professor Subramanian Rangan

Subramanian Rangan

Professor of Strategy and Management The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chair in Societal Progress

Profile picture of professor Zoe Kinias

Zoe Kinias

Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour

Declan Fitzsimons

Senior Affiliated Professor of Organisational Behaviour

Who is it for?

The Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives is ideal for:

  • Business owners, C-suite leaders, policy-makers and other decision-makers who are seeking to make sustainability a focus in their organisation
  • Senior executives or project management experts aiming to acquire sustainability know-how and transition to leading sustainability strategy
  • Business unit or country heads wanting to respond to sustainability-related opportunities and risks.


Participants should preferably have:

  • More than 10 years of work experience
  • Be in a leadership or decision-making role with authority to influence policy.

Alumni benefits

Join INSEAD’s powerful global network of more than 66,000 alumni in over 180 countries, and receive select benefits, including:

  • Access to more than 1,000 events and programmes annually organised by INSEAD and the INSEAD Alumni Association
  • Access to the INSEAD Alumni Lifelong Learning programme
  • Career development for alumni, including career coaching, peer-to-peer advising and mentoring programmes
  • Preferential rates on INSEAD Open Enrolment Programmes and Open Online Programmes
  • Networking tools and a lifelong INSEAD email.

*Upon completion of the programme, graduates of the Sustainability Leadership Programme for Senior Executives will gain complimentary alumni status for a period of three years. A minimal annual membership fee will be required to maintain the status thereafter.

Application Details

programme fee

€25.710 €21.500

The fee amount is available till ,, and does not include the application fee of €100

Discover the INSEAD
Business Sustainability Programme

Sustainability as a Business Opportunity

The INSEAD Business Sustainability Programme empowers you with the understanding, knowledge and tools to build and implement an effective sustainability strategy for you and your business. This intensive 5-day on-campus programme exposes you to the critical challenges in creating sustainable business models, and challenges you to pinpoint the strategic opportunities ahead.

LEARN MORE >>

Connect with a programme advisor for a 1:1 session

Email: INSEAD_SLPSE@emeritus.org

Phone: +44 1416 732351 (UK) / +1 234 516 2703 (US) / +971 80 00321209 (UAE) / +52 55930 20507 (LATAM)

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Early registrations are encouraged. Seats fill up quickly!

Flexible payment options available. Learn more.