The blended online programs are for cross-industry executives in charge of making high-stakes decisions and leading the implementation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into key business areas.
The programs have been designed in partnership with Wharton’s ESG Initiative—a collective of faculty and students who conduct research while also developing new curricular materials and practical experiences centered on ESG investing, consulting, and strategy.
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Wharton ESG Programs | What will you learn?
The certificate programs include a four-week foundational course, titled Wharton ESG Essentials. This program aims to develop ESG-savvy business professionals who have a core understanding of analyzing ESG data, risks and opportunities, ESG regulation, and building strategy.
After completing the program, professionals can continue for a further four weeks in one of three Wharton ESG Executive Certificate programs. These are split according to your profession, there's one for Financial Professionals, one for Senior Leaders, and one for Strategists.
In these advanced programs, professionals will ground their understanding of ESG factors within their specific function, allowing them to be at the forefront of ESG decision-making.
Each program is taught online and involves two-hour live sessions once a week as well as self-paced classes. Students will engage with their cohort in class discussions, case work, breakout sessions, and role-play.
“We are providing an increasingly important set of tools for executives—the skills and strategies to value ESG factors as well as address them—in real time. These are factors that have been left out of the models, left out of the toolkits to businesses' detriment, and as we’re doing the research that informs the next generation, we want to equip our current leaders for the frontier as well,” says Witold Henisz, vice dean and faculty director of the Wharton ESG Initiative and academic director of Executive Education ESG Programming.
The Wharton ESG Essentials Program costs $4,000 and subsequent Executive programs cost $6,500.
The introduction of these flexible executive programs also comes alongside two new Wharton MBA majors focused on integrating ESG into the business curriculum.
Starting in the 2023-24 cohort, Wharton MBAs can choose specialization courses from ESGB: Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business or SOGO: Social and Governance Factors for Business. Each major includes a range of elective courses to hone students’ understanding and expertise in areas such as ethical leadership, sustainable value creation, and impact investing.
The Wharton ESG Executive Certificate programs begin in April 2023 and applications are now open.
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