Board Oversight of Climate Change

This course is ideal for directors, aspiring directors, and c-suite executives of corporate boards of for-profit, Crown and not-for-profit organizations who are looking to improve their boardrooms climate change competency by enhancing oversight of climate-related strategy, risk and reporting as their organizations transition to a lower carbon future.

After completing all components of the course, participants will:

• Enhance their oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities to improve their organizations’ long-term competitiveness.
• Understand how overseeing climate change links with directors’ fiduciary duty and why it necessitates a unique approach.
• Demonstrate how climate change governance integrates with oversight of strategy, risk, performance, and reporting.
• Identify what efforts should be taken to ensure that the board is adequately educated on climate change and assess whether they could benefit from external resources.
• Determine whether the board requires additional skills or expertise to effectively oversee climate change.
• Explore different structures and frameworks appropriate for board oversight of climate change.
• Qualify for 14 CEUs toward the annual requirement to retain their ICD.D designation

Participants will gain the key insights and understanding necessary to build their climate competence and enhance their contributions to climate change oversight. 

This program uses a blended online learning model that weaves together best practices in adult education with creative networking opportunities. It is comprised of three modules, the structure of each includes:

1. Independent online learning (four to six hours per module)
   This is a critical component of the course (and includes an e-learning module, videos, readings, polls, discussion forums and more). It introduces key concepts and will prepare participants for effective participation in the live session and ensure they are ready to apply learnings from the course to their board work. The required independent learning should be completed prior to each live session. It is meant to be completed at a pace that works best for each participant.
   
   Participants will receive access to independent learning materials for Module 1 approximately two weeks prior to the instructor-led session. Access to independent learning materials for Modules 2 and 3 will become available following the conclusion of the instructor-led session for the preceding Module.


2. Live, instructor-led session (approximately four hours each)
   
   The three instructor-led online sessions, delivered 2 weeks apart, will focus on the application of concepts covered through independent learning. Attendance at the live sessions is required for successful course completion. The live session includes class discussions, breakout group discussions and exercises, Q & A with instructors and other experts, live interactive panel discussions and more.


3. Supplemental resources and tools
   Participants will receive supplemental resources to augment the required components of their independent learning packages.


4. Learning sustainment and engagement opportunities
   Following course completion, participants will be invited to join an Alumni Portal, becoming part of a community where they gain access to tools and resources to help apply course learnings in real-life settings. They will also have opportunities to engage in discussion forums with course peers to exchange questions, ideas and experiences and apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills.  

Module 1: INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE INTO OVERALL RISK MANAGEMENT

Participation in this module will equip directors with the knowledge and frameworks to:

• Integrate climate-related risk within the broader mandate of enterprise risk oversight.
• Determine the appropriate management roles in charge of identifying, assessing, and overseeing material climate-related risks and opportunities.
• Gain board satisfaction by learning how to manage effective processes for identifying, assessing, and mitigating material climate risks.
• Understand the correlations between climate-related risks and other ESG-related concerns (e.g., Indigenous, human capital management, relationships with local communities, social license).

Module 2: INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE INTO OVERSIGHT OF STRATEGY
 
Participation in this module will equip directors with the knowledge and frameworks to:

• Assess the impact of climate change in the context of strategic and financial planning, including capital allocation, operational budgeting, mergers and acquisitions and divestitures.
• Integrate climate change factors into strategic oversight across short, medium- and long-term time frames.
• Evaluate the resilience of their organization’s strategy under different climate-related scenarios, including a 2°C or lower scenario.
• Understand best practices for integrating climate change factors into management incentives and compensation structures.

 
Module 3: OVERSIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTING
 
Participation in this module will equip chairs with the knowledge and frameworks to:

• Understand how to integrate climate change into the board’s oversight of external reporting.
• Assess the use cases for different climate change reporting frameworks and standards used for external reporting to company stakeholders.
• Identify steps to evaluate appropriateness of metrics used by the organization to assess climate-related risks and opportunities.
• Identify the board’s role in setting climate change goals and performance targets.
• Understand how to integrate climate change into the board’s internal monitoring of company performance against key performance indicators and progress toward targets.