Blended Professional Certificate: Chief Sustainability Officer

The Chief Sustainability Officers are responsible for an organization’s sustainability objectives and initiatives relating to sustainability goals are aligned with overall business strategy and the effective implementation of sustainable practices. This role increasingly requires the ability to use data, measure impact, and lead cross-functional efforts to embed sustainability into decision-making across the organization.

“To succeed in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, one should use the most powerful tool for amplifying the benefits of each investment: technology innovation.”

John E. Fernández - Professor of Building Technology Program in the Department of Architecture in MIT and Director of MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

Blended Professional Certificate: Chief Sustainability Officer, with curriculum developed and taught by MIT faculty, is delivered in collaboration with Global Alumni. Contact Global Alumni for more information about this program:

• professionalprograms@mit.edu or
• call: +1 (315) 602 3089

Global Alumni is an ed-tech company that collaborates with institutions to manage enrollments (including all payment services and invoicing), technology, and participant support. 

The Chief Sustainability Officer Program from MIT provides you with the knowledge, skills, professional direction, and access you need to become a CSO. The program prepares you to operate in data-driven and technology-enabled environments, while building the leadership capabilities required to translate sustainability ambition into measurable impact. You will learn specific subjects to reach your professional goals, including leadership and innovation, circular economy, life-cycle assessment, and evidence-based sustainability strategy.

Here are some key learning objects you will obtain:

• Understand what sustainability is, its root causes, and how to measure environmental, social, and governance impacts through different techniques.
• Formulate cogent, rigorous positions and arguments to support evidence-based sustainability decisions within your organization.
• Elaborate pragmatic strategies that can be employed across different sectors to translate sustainability ambition into business value and competitive advantage.
• Learn how to implement life-cycle sustainability assessments (LCSAs) to quantify impacts, evaluate trade-offs, and identify high-impact improvement opportunities across products, operations, and value chains.
• Understand the meaning and evolution of a circular economy and the roles of material science, economic and institutional structures, and technology in enabling scalable sustainability solutions.
• Acquire the required leadership skills to mobilize teams, close sustainability skills gaps, and embed sustainability into organizational decision-making and culture. 

Links and Resources

News/Articles:

Why Sustainability is Key to the Future of Professional Education
With tightening environmental regulations in a number of global markets—and with people beginning to experience the impacts of climate change in their everyday lives—sustainability has become a top-of-mind concern for companies across sectors. But many business leaders lack the foundational sustainability-related knowledge needed to drive change within their organizations.

A crucial aspect of the program enables you to apply your learnings to a real-world challenge as you gain insights into the opportunities awaiting a Chief Sustainability Officer. The contents can be of great benefit for professionals from a number of sectors and different levels, such as:

1. Directors and VPs responsible for setting and running the sustainability strategy in
   their companies.
2. Current and aspiring C-suite executives responsible for strategy definition and execution.
3. Senior consultants and entrepreneurs looking for a deep understanding of sustainability
   and its strategic value.
4. Policy makers and development markers that need a deep understanding about
   sustainability and how to manage it.

Participants are required to have:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience
• At least 3 years of experience managing projects related to strategy management
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• International experience is appreciated 

Businesses need to be ready for the changing legislative evolution toward a more sustainable planet. Thus, this program will equip you with the skills to lead adaptability in the enviornmental sphere. This program includes various certificates from the following courses:

• Innovative Leadership: Cultivating Impactful Culture
• Sustainability: Strategies and Opportunities for Industry
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Sustainable Infrastructure Systems: Planning and Operations
• Circular Economy