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SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP SKILLS
For over 25 years, we have been supporting and empowering the next generation to have the skills and knowledge needed for the future - we have supported hundreds of organisations and young people on this journey. It is more now more crucial than ever as we address the challenging targets for net zero and sustainable development.
Our Sustainability Leadership Skills Programme has been designed to support and nurture early careers in sustainability. Whether you’re a student looking to work in sustainability, or just started your career, we have sessions covering skills that will help you become a change agent wherever you are.
Sustainability Skills Workshops
Our programme consists of nine sessions covering key workplace and sustainability skills and knowledge.
Our three key areas of study are:
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Personal effectiveness and work skills
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Engagement, influence, and impact
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Concepts and theories
Collaboration, self-reflection, and discussion are emphasised within these sessions as we encourage participation for effective learning. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in key sustainability competencies such as systems thinking and the application of circular economy principles; how to make the most of their early career experiences and how to inspire change from others.
Details
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Remote workshop sessions are offered throughout the year as a rolling programme
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We will cover one module from each theme per month, with three modules being taught monthly, rotating over the course of a year.
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An optional 10th session on CVs, interviews and job hunting is available.
Learning Objectives
Understand how to utilise professional relationships for career development and how identifying your core values can help guide your career focus and practices. Be able to identify how you will adopt reflective practices in your work life.
Overview
This session will cover how to progress in your career through professional relationships and networking for mentorship and support. We will also cover the essential skills for sustainability professionals and how to identify and put into practice your core values. We will close the session by considering how we can adopt reflective practice.
Learning Objectives
Create strategies to manage your time to boost productivity and work efficiently.
Learn how to manage your energy levels and safeguard your well-being. Be able to discuss Climate Anxiety and how affects how people approach sustainability.
Overview
In this session, you will define workplace literacy and discuss different techniques to aid time management and prioritization of workload. We will also discuss how to safeguard your well-being at work by maintaining a work-life balance and managing your energy levels. In this session, we will touch on a rising area of concern which is climate anxiety and its effects on individuals and wider society.
Learning Objectives
To learn a simple project management methodology with tools to help you turn project ideas into successfully delivered projects
To learn about common pitfalls in project management and how to avoid them
Overview
We will cover the role of a project manager, the most common causes of project failure, the phases of a project and how to manage a project step by step.
Learning Objectives
Be able to define effective communication skills and compare different types of communication. Develop your confidence when presenting and public speaking.
Overview
In this session, we will discuss key skills involving clear and self-assured communication. We focus on the root causes of poor communication to help build your trust in your communication and public speaking skills. You will have an opportunity to practice those skills in a safe and supportive environment during the session
Learning Objectives
To understand sustainability challenges and know how to create your own effective communications plan.
Overview
We will cover how communication has been a challenge within sustainability discourse and how language has changed to better reflect the urgency of issues. On this basis, we can better consider what effective communication is and how to make a “green claim” without greenwashing. You will be asked to work through your own effective communications plan during the session with opportunities to ask for advice from the course lead and other participants.
Learning Objectives
In this module, you will gain insight into people change and using behaviour change techniques.
Overview
This module will cover the UK’s sustainability journey and sustainability in a corporate context. What are the key sustainability trends in the UK and how does business respond to this? We will seek to equip you with an awareness of behaviour change to support sustainability goals and work through case studies of behaviour change in action.
Learning Objectives
To be able to apply creativity to challenges and use it in problem-solving.
Overview
We need creativity to tackle complex sustainability challenges. Creativity is also one of the top soft skills that employers look for. Join us in this session to work through how to tap into our creativity and apply this to the unique challenges we face.
Learning Objectives
Be able to apply principles of systems thinking to your own organisational challenges and understand the application of circular economy principles.
Overview
In this module we will work through techniques to apply systems thinking to sustainability challenges by mapping out the problem, embodying the features of a healthy system and exploring different places in a system. We will also cover Circular Economy principles and how we can challenge the default adoption of the linear economy through fighting obsolescence whilst adopting the principles of transparency and traceability.
Learning Objectives
To understand the different ways organisations, greenwash, how to spot it and how to avoid it.
Overview
What is greenwashing and how does it threaten the Sustainable Development Agenda? How can sustainability professionals avoid greenwashing and misrepresenting sustainability achievements in our communications?