ESG and Sustainability Governance

Start with who needs environmental, social and governance reporting and control and why. Around companies, lenders and public bodies drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per report in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from companies, lenders and public bodies: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Materiality (the issues that matter most to the firm and its stakeholders); Scope 1 and 2 (direct emissions and emissions from bought energy); Assurance (an independent check of a report).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: greenwashing and weak evidence. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (set the baseline; choose measures; collect evidence; report; improve) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: set the baseline, choose measures, collect evidence, report, improve. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 5 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure reported measures backed by evidence; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is reported measures backed by evidence.

• Define reported measures backed by evidence: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one report before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per report = total cost divided by reports sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

You cannot cut what you have not counted. A baseline gives the starting number against which later progress is compared.

• Scope 1 is direct emissions, such as fuel burned in company vehicles. Scope 2 is emissions from bought electricity.
• Method: activity amount x emission factor = emissions. Use a published factor and write down its source and year. CO2e means carbon dioxide equivalent, one unit that covers all greenhouse gases; kWh means kilowatt-hour, the unit of electricity use.
• Choose a baseline year with complete records and keep the method the same each year so results can be compared.
• Record the data source for every figure: invoice, meter reading or fuel card. Estimates are marked as estimates.

Activity. Compute a baseline for a sample site from a table of utility and fuel data and list the source of each number.

Standard to meet. State the factor, source and year; give units on every line; mark estimates clearly.

Reports lose trust when they exaggerate. Choosing the right issues and backing every claim with evidence keeps a report honest.

• Materiality means focusing on issues that matter most to the firm and the people it affects. Ask staff, customers, lenders and neighbours, then rank the issues.
• Greenwashing is making a claim the evidence does not support, such as calling a product green without data. Test each claim: what, how much, compared with what, and where is the proof?
• Assurance is an independent check of the report. Limited assurance gives a lower level of comfort than reasonable assurance.
• Report bad news too. Leaving out targets that were missed is itself misleading.

Activity. Check five sample claims from a draft report against the data table and rewrite each one so it matches the evidence.

Standard to meet. Support every claim with a figure, a comparison and a source; remove or reword unsupported claims.

A target only works if someone owns it, a date is set and progress is checked on a schedule.

• Set targets as a number, a unit, a baseline and a date, for example a 20% cut by year 5.
• Name an owner for each target and a board or committee that reviews progress at least twice a year.
• Compare actual with the straight-line path to the target, and explain any gap.
• Update the plan when evidence shows a measure is not working; record what changed and why.

Activity. Draw a target path for a sample site, plot two years of actual figures and write a short note on the gap.

Standard to meet. State the target with baseline and date, calculate the gap in the same unit, and name the owner by role, not by person.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What ESG means

Notes: Name environmental, social and governance as the three parts of ESG and give one example of each. Notes: use a local office as the example; say that a report must be backed by evidence.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Greenwashing and evidence

Notes: Describe what greenwashing is and explain why every claim needs a figure, a comparison and a source. Notes: learners test one claim with what, how much, compared with what and where is the proof; explain materiality and assurance in plain words.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Calculate a simple emissions baseline

Notes: Apply activity times emission factor to one site and write the factor, source and year. Notes: check the practice case of 120,000 kWh at 0.40 kg giving 48.0 tonnes, plus 9,000 litres at 2.3 kg giving 20.7 tonnes, total 68.7 tonnes CO2e.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Check claims against data

Notes: Check five sample claims in a draft report and reword each to match the evidence. Notes: a claim of half is wrong when 80.0 tonnes became 66.0, a cut of 14.0 tonnes or 17.5%; estimates are marked as estimates.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Track targets and decide actions

Notes: Analyse progress against a straight-line path and decide extra measures. Notes: a 20% cut from 68.7 tonnes over 4 years is a target of 54.96 tonnes; after year 2 the path is 61.83 and actual 64.0 is 2.17 behind; price check is AED 14,000 per report against AED 6,000 cost, a margin of 57.1%.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a team on evidence files

Notes: Set an evidence rule, an owner for each target and a half-yearly review for a small reporting team. Notes: name owners by role; the committee reviews at least twice a year; sample five reported figures a month for a source document.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the whole ESG system

Notes: Design the baseline, materiality, evidence, assurance and target controls for several firms, audit greenwashing risks and write a 12-month plan. Notes: plan for 10 reports a month; present one risk, one saving and a target for the share of reported measures backed by evidence.