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KCIC Consulting launches global course for sustainability professionals

KCIC Consulting Limited (KCL) has officially launched the prestigious Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Training Course and Professional Certification program for sustainability professionals. The online training and certification will be conducted through a portal that has been created on their website www.kcicconsulting.com. The portal also offers opportunities for continuing professional development alongside the latest sustainability-related curriculum, including training courses and tutorials on how organizations can communicate their impacts on the economy, environment, and society through the GRI Standards.

The GRI standards are a set of interrelated reporting standards, enabling organizations and businesses to report publicly on their economic, environmental and social impacts and contribution towards sustainable development.

Recently, there has been increasing pressure from different stakeholder groups – such as governments, consumers and investors – for companies to be more transparent about their environmental, economic and social impacts by publishing reports that reflect their impact and environmental commitment. These reports are also well known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report and sustainability report in different regions of the world. Given the ascending demand from stakeholders and urgency for a unified and standardized methodology for reporting on company’s sustainability performance, the emergence of GRI standards serves as a useful tool, in which the criteria and framework for sustainability reporting recommended helps companies identify, gather and report the relevant information in a transparent and comparable manner that makes for more effective internal control and external comparison.

The training includes five essential elements to be acquired by individuals to qualify for the Certification Exam.

The five elements or courses of learnings are based on the fundamentals of reporting. The first one is an introduction into sustainability reporting and the GRI Standards. The next two courses are the important concepts of the GRI Standards: Stakeholder engagement and materiality. The third course gives practical steps on how to go through a sustainability reporting process while the last course is developed to improve the understanding and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The first course available through the GRI Academy is Introduction to sustainability reporting and the GRI Standards. This training is designed for those who are new to sustainability reporting or seeking to broaden their understanding of the subject including:

  • How to define sustainability through a holistic and multi-dimensional approach
  • Defining sustainability challenges and explaining how reporting contributes to sustainable development
  • The key elements of a sustainability report and the value and benefits of disclosure
  • Understanding the concepts, features and structure of the GRI Standards

Individuals will get access to a subject matter expert and customized learning based on their local context so that they understand the application of these concepts based on the realities of their market. Additionally, the advantage of taking these learnings through KCIC Consulting is the access to a training expert who can answer the questions of the individuals and ensure learning is customized according to the learners.

Another area of added value is receiving peer-to-peer learning through group activities and participation during the training as well as networking opportunities to the learners.

KCL courses go in much more detail than the GRI online learnings. Just as a reference, the total learning hours for the first three elements under the GRI online learnings i.e. Introduction to GRI and GRI Standards and Stakeholder engagement and Materiality is eight hours, as opposed to 16 hours that KCL will provide under the GRI Standards Certified course.

For more information please contact  training@kcicconsulting.com.