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Sustainability & ESG Literacy
Starts 5th November 2026A 15-week introduction to sustainability and ESG, covering the foundations of sustainability, ESG issues, materiality, reporting, risk management, circular economy, carbon accounting, sustainable finance and ESG data.
In this course, learning will be reinforced using fhionQ's learning tools.
Please note: The Sustainability & ESG Literacy course covers IFRS S2, the global standard for climate-related disclosures. Because IFRS S2 centres on how climate-related risks and opportunities affect organisations, a solid understanding of climate change makes it far easier to apply. If you are planning to take the Sustainability & ESG Literacy course, we recommend taking Climate Change Literacy as well, or enrolling in the pathway, which covers both.
Course Content
Week 1: Foundations of Sustainability
- History of sustainability
- Sustainable development
- CSR vs sustainability vs ESG
- The business case for sustainability
Week 2: ESG Fundamentals
- An introduction to the ESG pillars
- Environmental issues
- Social issues
- Governance issues
Week 3: Stakeholders
- Internal and external stakeholders
- Stakeholder interests and expectations
- Stakeholder engagement
Week 3: Materiality
- Financial materiality
- Impact materiality
- Double materiality
- Materiality assessment
Week 4: The Global ESG Reporting Landscape
- The evolution of sustainability reporting
- Global reporting standards
Week 4: ESG Regulations in Kenya
- The Kenya Green Finance Taxonomy
- ICPAK sustainability reporting guidance
- IRA ESG Toolkit
- Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) ESG Guidance Manual
Week 5: The GRI Standards
- GRI Universal Standards
- GRI Sector Standards
- GRI Topic Standards
- GRI material topics
Week 6: IFRS S1: General Requirements I
Christmas break (2 weeks)
Week 7: IFRS S1: General Requirements II
- Governance
- Strategy
- Risk management
- Metrics and targets
Week 8: IFRS S2: Climate-Related Disclosures I
- Climate-related risks
- Climate-related opportunities
Week 9: IFRS S2: Climate-Related Disclosures II
- Governance
- Strategy
- Risk management
- Metrics and targets
- Scenario analysis
Week 10: ESG Risk Management
- Identifying ESG risks
- Assessing ESG risks
- ESG risk mitigation
- ESG and enterprise risk management
- ESG risks across the value chain
Week 11: Circular Economy
- Linear vs circular economy
- Circular economy principles
- Resource efficiency
- Waste hierarchy
- Circular business models
- Life-cycle thinking
Week 12: Carbon Accounting I
- GHG Protocol
- Global warming potentials
- Organisational and operational boundaries
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
Week 13: Carbon Accounting II
- Scope 3 emissions
- Setting decarbonisation targets
Week 14: Sustainable Finance & Insurance
- Sustainable finance
- Sustainable insurance
Week 15: ESG Data & Technology
- ESG data sources & management
- ESG software & technology
Course details
- Starts
- 5th November 2026
- Ends
- 11th March 2027
- Duration
- 15 weeks
- Schedule
- Online, Thursdays | 7:30–9:30 PM EAT (GMT+3)
- Fee for Kenyans
- KES 60,000 (introductory offer for cohort 1)
- Fee for non-Kenyans
- USD 600 (introductory offer for cohort 1)
- Class size
- Maximum 30 participants
Please note:
- This course is designed for people who are completely new to the field. You do not need to be a climate scientist, ESG specialist or sustainability professional to participate.
- While fhionQ operates in Africa, this course is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Some of the regulations covered are Kenyan, but the concepts span the global landscape.
- To keep classes small and interactive, this course is limited to 30 participants per cohort. Places are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Some concepts are reinforced through fhionQ's learning tools and games, including scenarios that allow participants to explore climate risks and climate opportunities.
- There will be a two-week Christmas break during the course: 18th December 2026 – 5th January 2027. Classes resume on 7th January 2027.
- The fee indicated applies to the first cohort only.
- Participants can pay their course fee in two installments. The first installment is due by 30th October 2026 at midnight, and the second installment by 29th November 2026 at midnight.
- A certificate will be presented at the end of the course.
- If you would like to enquire more about this course, please email shel@fhionq.com with the subject line “Sustainability & ESG Literacy Course - Enquiry”. We will get back to you as soon as possible.