What is the Certified ESG Specialist?

The Certified ESG Specialist is a globally recognised professional certification by the Global Leadership Institute (GLI), designed to equip professionals with advanced competencies in Soft Skills & Personal Dev..

How long does this certification take?

The programme is 12 Week and can be completed at your own pace through our self-paced online option, or alongside live virtual sessions.

Is this certification globally recognised?

Yes. GLI certifications are internationally recognised and carry CPD credits, making them valuable for career advancement worldwide.

What level is this certification?

This is a Advanced Level certification, suitable for professionals with relevant experience or background in the field.

You can enrol by emailing info@leadership.co.ke, contacting us via WhatsApp at +254 722 223 084, or filling the enrolment form below.

Certified ESG Specialist (CESSG) | Online Certification

Executive Summary

Certified ESG Specialist

Designed for today’s high-impact professionals, the Certified ESG Specialist (CESSG) delivers a rigorous Advanced-level curriculum that equips participants with the knowledge, tools and frameworks needed to excel in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness.

This 12 Week programme is structured around SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards, ensuring every graduate applies internationally validated methods to real-world challenges.

GLI’s CESSG holders are recognised by leading organisations across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and the Americas as qualified, results-driven professionals. Whether you are advancing your current career or transitioning into new responsibilities, this certification provides the competitive edge you need in 2026 and beyond.

Programme Overview

Certification at a Glance

Certification

Certified ESG Specialist

Acronym

CESSG

Who Should Enrol?

Ethical supply chains — applied to your own work
Stakeholder and investor engagement — applied to your own work
Waste, effluent and emissions control — applied to your own work
Environmental legal compliance — applied to your own work
ESG principles and frameworks — applied to your own work
Social responsibility and human rights — applied to your own work

Programme Inclusions

Everything Included in Your Enrolment

All study materials and study guide
Access to GLI online learning portal
Online examination and assessment
Digital certificate and digital badge
Physical certificate (shipped to you)
CPD credits for professional bodies
GLI alumni network membership
Facilitator and tutor support
Resource downloads and reference library
Automatic enrolment confirmation

Certification Benefits

Why This Certification Matters for Your Career

Career Advancement

Accelerate your career towards CHRO and senior people-management roles

Professional Recognition

Credential aligned with SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards

Leadership Capability

Develop the strategic and operational skills to lead complex human resource management functions

Organisational Impact

Design and implement human resource management systems that drive performance and measurable results

Compliance Readiness

Master the standards, compliance and ethical governance central to human resource management

Global Employability

Qualify for human resource management roles across multinationals, NGOs and international organisations worldwide

Competency Framework

Core Competencies You Will Develop

✦Talent Acquisition, Resourcing and Onboarding

✦Learning, Development and Talent Management

✦Performance, Reward and Employee Relations

✦HR Strategy, Analytics and Workforce Planning

✦Employment Law, Compliance and HR Governance

✦Professional Ethics and Governance

Course Curriculum

Programme Modules

Click any module to explore the detailed curriculum topics included in this certification.

Foundations and Strategic Context of Certified ESG Specialist

Certified ESG Specialist: industry context, trends and professional standards
Occupational safety and health principles
The business and moral case for HSE
HSE roles, responsibilities and competence
Legal framework and regulatory duties
Safety management systems overview (ISO 45001)
The hierarchy of controls
Safety culture and leadership
Ethics and duty of care
HSE as a strategic enabler
Career pathways and professional development

Ethical supply chains

Ethical supply chains
Impact measurement and disclosure
Embedding responsible business
Return-to-work and rehabilitation
Absence and health management
Measuring wellbeing outcomes
Aspects, impacts and controls
Waste, effluent and emissions
Pollution prevention
Resource efficiency and circularity
Climate and sustainability responsibility
Environmental monitoring
Stakeholder and investor engagement
Physical hazards: noise, vibration, radiation
Exposure assessment and monitoring

Stakeholder and investor engagement

Stakeholder and investor engagement
Environmental management systems (ISO 14001)
Analytical techniques and bias
Occupational diseases and prevention
Ventilation and exposure control
The hierarchy of control
Risk assessment that changes what happens
Permit to work and high-risk task control
Contractor safety and shared workplaces
Occupational health, exposure and health surveillance
Incident investigation and root cause
Emergency preparedness and evacuation
Safety culture, leadership and behaviour
Environmental management and pollution control
HSE legal duties and enforcement

Waste, effluent and emissions control

Preparing financial statements
Integrated and sustainability reporting
Resource efficiency and circular practice
Crop water requirements and evapotranspiration
Irrigation scheduling methods
Soil moisture monitoring
Deficit and precision irrigation
Water-use efficiency and productivity
Fertigation and chemigation
Sensors, automation and controllers
Water accounting and metering
Drought and water-scarcity strategies
Climate-smart water management
System operation and performance
Maintenance and troubleshooting

Environmental legal compliance

Environmental legal compliance
Sustainability and climate responsibility
Environmental monitoring and reporting
Soil-water-plant relationships
Surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation
Irrigation system design and hydraulics
Water quality for irrigation
Drainage and salinity management
Irrigation infrastructure planning
Water-user associations and governance
Cost recovery and tariffs
Environmental flows and sustainability
Groundwater management
Health and safety in water works
Community engagement and equity

ESG principles and frameworks

ESG principles and frameworks
Sustainability strategy and materiality
Environmental governance and climate risk
Measuring HSE performance
Wellbeing, fatigue and psychosocial risk
Water resources and catchment management
Policy and water rights
Chemical and biological hazards
Ergonomics and musculoskeletal risk
Personal protective equipment
Fitness for work
Workplace wellbeing strategy
Stress and psychosocial risk
Mental health awareness and support
Fatigue and shift work

Social responsibility and human rights

Reporting quality and governance
Governance of ESG and reporting
Sustainability standards (GRI, ISSB)
Healthy work design
Wellness programmes and promotion
Ergonomics and comfortable workplaces
Management accounts and dashboards
Forecasting and planning

Evidence and Reporting

Data quality and master data management
Cybersecurity and data protection
Sustainability reporting and disclosure
Board and management reporting
Professional report writing
Privacy, surveillance and data protection
Protecting data and information assets
Insider threat and data loss prevention
Risk registers and reporting
Continuous risk monitoring
Data protection in surveillance
Reporting automation
Discovery interviews and evidence gathering
Data visualisation for finance
Decision support and insight

Stakeholders and Engagement

Public consultation and engagement
Market entry modes and partner selection
Attrition, engagement and productivity analytics
The HR business partner role and mandate
Stakeholder mapping and influencing
The business partner and centre-of-excellence model
Stakeholder engagement and risk management
Change, restructuring and consultation
Consulting skills and contracting with the business
Collective relations and union engagement
Employee engagement and what actually drives it
Motivation theories and engagement
Categories of spend and stakeholders
Stakeholder mapping and liaison
Community and tenant engagement

Planning and Delivery

Programme governance
Real estate development and project appraisal
Programme cycle management in NGOs
Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches
Event planning timelines, run sheets and production schedules
Event risk, safety and contingency planning
The vehicle sales process from enquiry to delivery
Demand, master scheduling and material requirements planning
Capacity planning and line balancing
Projects and expansion: connecting the unserved
Range planning and category management
Attachment and developmental theory
Implementation planning and risk management
Monitoring, evaluation and sustainability plan
HACCP principles and prerequisite programmes

Communication and Influence

Presenting risk and recommendations
Property viewings, offers and negotiation to close
Underwriting principles and risk selection
The media and telecommunications landscape
Professional roles, boundaries and settings
Communicating financial results
Designing and facilitating groups
Professional case study and presentation
Communicating with families and carers
Professional writing and reports
Psychoeducation and public communication
Presentation and public speaking
Professional report and presentation
Facilitation skills and presence
Virtual and hybrid facilitation

Quality and Improvement

HR competencies and professional standards (SHRM, CIPD)
Process improvement and HR operating efficiency
AI and automation in HR processes
Employee relations, discipline and fair process
Continuous improvement cycles
Driving measurable safety improvement
Continuous environmental improvement
Managing boundaries and dual relationships
Management review and improvement
Integration with quality and environment
Certification and continual improvement
Outcome and process measures
Project management standards (PMI, PRINCE2)
Quality and delivery metrics
Continuous improvement and retrospectives

People and Capability

Motivation and self-directed learning
Capability and skills frameworks
Training needs analysis and learning strategy
Succession planning and talent pipelines
Talent sourcing channels and pipelines
High-potential identification and talent reviews
Knowledge management and capability building
Absence, attendance and capability management
Absence, capability and ill-health management
Workforce planning and the capability gap
Learning transfer and capability building
Managing resistance and capability building
Team leadership in security operations
Monitoring, evaluation and learning for accountability
Peer support and consultation

Technology and Systems

Scaling technologies and business models
Duty of care and risk management
Digital and market transformation
Digital advisory, e-extension and mobile services
Traceability, recall and quality assurance systems
Quality management systems and audits
Digital and self-service transformation
Closed-loop feedback systems
Self-service and digital support
CRM systems and customer data
Customer service technology stack
Bancassurance and digital insurance models
Legal responsibilities and professional bodies
Water supply systems: sources, treatment and distribution
Regulation, ethics and misinformation in media and telecoms

Environment and Sustainability

Social performance and outreach
Sustainable and green banking
Control environment and risk assessment
Emerging assurance areas (ESG)
Corporate social responsibility communications
Sustainability, ESG and integrated value
Client feedback and satisfaction
The regulatory and legal environment
Trends: ESG, transparency and stakeholder capitalism
Responsible and sustainable governance
Corporate social responsibility and ESG
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
Embedding sustainability in sourcing
Mine water, tailings and environmental management
Social media management: platforms, communities and algorithms

Ethics and Accountability

Professional standards and ethics (CIPS)
Ethics and professional conduct in security
Professional ethics and conduct in security
Real estate regulation, licensing and professional conduct
Ethics and treating customers fairly in insurance
Ethical principles and codes of practice
Sustaining ethical, effective practice
Ethical frameworks and codes of practice
Complaints, accountability and fitness to practise
Driving effective, ethical outcomes
Ethical, risk and feasibility considerations
Professional ethics and duty of care
Evidence-based improvement
Ethical decision-making under pressure
Setting goals, roles and accountability

Policy and Institutions

Designing an HR intervention or policy
Policy, planning and objectives
Public versus private procurement
Policy administration and customer service in insurance
Public health programmes: prevention and outreach
Media and public communication
Managing risk and difficult cases
Facilitation, training and public presentation skills
Advocacy and policy engagement
Lessons learned and development
Public, private and non-profit governance
Research methods for policy
Policy development and drafting
Policy cycle and evidence-based policy
Designing a governance, compliance or policy solution

Service and Beneficiaries

Leading service projects and change
Team leadership in customer service
Customer onboarding and lifecycle
Banking products, services and delivery channels
Customer and community engagement
Data ethics and customer privacy
Service quality and turnaround metrics
Customer and employee satisfaction
Know Your Customer and enhanced due diligence
Data protection and customer privacy
Data, analytics and customer insight
Leading service teams
Performance management in service
Building a service culture
Voice of the customer to the business

Safety and Wellbeing

Regulatory compliance and biosafety
Safety management systems (ISO 45001)
Product safety and standards
Data protection and employee privacy
Cybersecurity and data protection in HR
Influencing and safety leadership
Wellbeing and holistic health strategy
Confidentiality and health data
Designing a safety programme or control
Job safety analysis (JSA) and task risk
Contractor and visitor safety
Wellbeing and resilience coaching
Health, safety and compliance in delivery
Brand safety and responsible marketing
Customer and brand health metrics

Procurement and Supply

Supply analysis, gaps and scenario planning
Procurement and supply chain: scope and value
The procurement cycle and operating models
Procurement’s contribution to organisational strategy
Supply markets and the enabling environment
Digital procurement and the future of the profession
Contract types and risk allocation
Contract administration and variation
Contract performance and exit
Contract governance and compliance
E-procurement and procure-to-pay systems
Vendor selection and management
Supply market analysis
Contract law and formation
Contract exit and renewal

Change and Innovation

Behaviour change and adoption of innovations
Customer experience transformation
Measuring CX transformation impact
Digital transformation in banking
Innovation and fintech collaboration
Foreign exchange and treasury operations
Technology governance and change control
Foreign exchange and hedging
Supplier development and innovation
Change management and adoption
The finance function and digital transformation
Innovation and new product launch
Measuring growth and transformation impact
Psychoeducation and workshops
Regulatory change management

Strategic Context

Working with organisations on wellbeing
Managing growth, risk and resilience
Designing an intervention or programme
Regulatory compliance and market requirements
Evidence-based practice
Linking CX to business performance
Customer service and CX strategy
Aligning service to brand and business
Building the business case for CX
Sustaining strategic customer focus
Customer experience strategy
Aligning HR strategy with organisational strategy
Strategic workforce planning and demand forecasting
Reward strategy and total reward frameworks
The HR operating model and business partnering

Inclusion and Equity

Financial inclusion and agency banking
Financial inclusion strategy
Nomination, succession and diversity
The business case for diversity and inclusion
Diversity and pay-equity analytics
Inclusion and the fairness of people decisions
Team diversity and inclusion
Assets, liabilities and equity reporting
Brand strategy, identity and equity
Handling vulnerable customers
Risk assessment and safety planning

Crisis and Resilience

Emergency preparedness and response planning
Operational risk and resilience
Business continuity and crisis management
Crisis communications
Risk identification and analysis
Qualitative and quantitative risk analysis
Risk response and contingency
Stakeholder engagement strategy
Communication planning and management
Escalation and decision-making
Team leadership and motivation

Research and Method

Personas and needs analysis
Touchpoint and channel design
Design thinking for service
Customer effort and sentiment analysis
Churn analysis and prevention
Designing a banking solution or process
Risk, compliance and feasibility analysis
Credit analysis and the 5 Cs of credit
Financial statement and cash-flow analysis
Stress testing and scenario analysis
Interest-rate risk and gap analysis
Designing and testing a compliance programme
Metrics design and the gaming problem
Job analysis, job design and role profiling
Onboarding and induction programme design

Knowledge and Records

Data, records and confidentiality tech
Lessons learned and knowledge management
Professional documentation and presentation
Professional report writing and presentation
Process and control documentation
Tender planning and documentation
Incident reporting and record-keeping
Health records, data and confidentiality
Record-keeping and data protection
Residual risk and ALARP
Risk registers and monitoring

International and Donor Context

Procurement and asset management under donor rules
Governance in state, donor-funded and family-owned entities
Global and comparative HR contexts
Proposal development and donor reporting
Communicating vision and telling stories
Executive communication and presence
Cross-cultural communication
Self-awareness and the leader's identity
Productivity, collaboration and workflow tools
Productivity and efficiency improvement
Goal setting and contracting

Leadership and Governance

Requirements gathering and management
Project management plan development
Earned value management
Managing schedule and budget performance
Procurement and contract management
Issue and problem management
Managing expectations and influence
Negotiation and conflict management
Project management software and tools
Document and configuration management
Programme management principles
Sales performance and pipeline management
Liquidity and funding management
Investment portfolio management
Asset-liability committee (ALCO) governance

Risk, Compliance and Assurance

Regulatory impact assessment
Risk appetite and tolerance in practice
Regulatory mapping and horizon scanning
HR policies, handbooks and compliance
Employment compliance and the HR risk agenda
Legal and regulatory responsibility
Treatment planning and review
Dynamic and site-specific risk assessment
Managing complexity and comorbidity
Legal and other requirements
Compliance monitoring and enforcement
Compliance frameworks and programmes
Compliance monitoring and testing
Working with law enforcement and regulators
Regulatory compliance and licensing

Resources and Value

The employee lifecycle and HR value chain
HR's role in culture, values and employer brand
Cost of accidents and prevention value
Values, purpose and authentic leadership
Transparency, fairness and value for money
Make-versus-buy and total cost of ownership
Cost and price analysis
Income capitalisation and investment value
NGO financial management and budget-versus-actual discipline
Fundraising diversification and local resource mobilisation
Workplace and organisational contexts
Financial reporting frameworks (IFRS/GAAP)
Interpreting financial statements
Budget vs actual and variance
Cost and profitability analysis

Learning Outcomes

What You Will Achieve

Ethical supply chains — applied to your own work
Stakeholder and investor engagement — applied to your own work
Waste, effluent and emissions control — applied to your own work
Environmental legal compliance — applied to your own work
ESG principles and frameworks — applied to your own work
Social responsibility and human rights — applied to your own work

Enrolment Process

How to Get Certified

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Step 1: Choose Your Certification

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Step 3: Study in the GLI Learning Portal

Work through 30 structured modules and 150 lessons at your own pace, with downloadable resources and expert-designed content — all inside the LMS.

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Sit your final examination online, earn your certificate instantly, and receive a globally verifiable Certificate ID — plus GLI Alumni Network access.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions

What is the CESSG certification?

Yes. GLI certifications are recognised across 100+ countries and are aligned with SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards. Graduates receive a digital certificate, a physical certificate and CPD credits recognised by employers worldwide.

Who should enrol in the CESSG?

This certification is ideal for HR Managers and Directors, HR Business Partners, Learning and Development Managers and Employee Relations and OD Specialists, and other professionals seeking to formalise their expertise in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness with a globally recognised credential.

How long does the CESSG certification take to complete?

The programme is structured over 12 Week and offers flexible learning modes. Self-paced learners can progress at their own schedule, while live virtual participants follow a structured cohort schedule with facilitator-led sessions.

Is the CESSG internationally recognised?

What is the cost of the CESSG certification?

The Certified ESG Specialist is offered in two formats: Self-Paced at USD 449 and Live Virtual at USD 649. Corporate group rates are available for organisations enrolling 5 or more participants. Contact GLI for a bespoke corporate training quotation.

What does the CESSG certification include?

Enrolment includes all study materials and study guides, access to GLI's online learning portal, online examination, digital certificate and badge, physical certificate (posted), CPD credits, GLI alumni network membership, and ongoing facilitator support.

What is the assessment format for the CESSG?

The Certified ESG Specialist is assessed through an online examination consisting of multiple-choice questions, case study analysis, and practical application assignments. The assessment is designed to evaluate real-world competency, not just theoretical recall.

What CPD credits do I earn from the CESSG?

The Certified ESG Specialist carries Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits, which can be applied towards professional body requirements including recognised international professional associations.

Can I study the CESSG while working full-time?

Absolutely. The self-paced option is designed for busy working professionals and allows you to study when and where it suits you. Live virtual sessions are typically scheduled in the evenings or on weekends to accommodate professional commitments.

What career outcomes can I expect from the CESSG?

Graduates progress towards CHRO and senior people-management roles. The CESSG strengthens your expertise in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness and positions you for advancement across multinationals, NGOs and international organisations.

Certified ESG Specialist

Certified ESG Specialist

Certification at a Glance

Who Should Enrol?

Everything Included in Your Enrolment

Why This Certification Matters for Your Career

Core Competencies You Will Develop

Programme Modules

What You Will Achieve

How to Get Certified

Common Questions

What Our Alumni Say

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