In a stride towards empowering and educating business leaders on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, KPMG has announced the launch of the KPMG ESG Academy in collaboration with Microsoft and leading universities and institutions worldwide. This groundbreaking initiative offers a scalable, turnkey academy designed to impart knowledge directly in the flow of work, leveraging the KPMG Learning Enablement and Analytics Platform supported by Microsoft 365, Azure, Teams, and Microsoft Viva Learning.
The KPMG ESG Academy represents a significant step forward in delivering foundational and advanced learning on a diverse array of ESG topics and disciplines. Crafted by globally recognised ESG specialists from esteemed universities and institutions, the course material is developed in partnership with KPMG’s sustainability subject matter professionals.
Structured around the latest business thought leadership in ESG domains, the academy’s content is customisable and adaptable to varying organisational needs. It caters to executive-level leadership, mid-management, and non-management learners, offering basic, comprehensive, and advanced ESG training. This comprehensive approach covers an extensive range of ESG areas, including circularity, reporting, risk, and sector-specific focuses.
John McCalla-Leacy, Head of Global ESG at KPMG International, underscored the significance of this initiative in an era marked by uncertainty, emphasising the need for informed decision-making amidst economic, geopolitical, and climate crises. He highlighted the academy’s aim to bridge the information gap, empowering decision-makers to drive positive change by consolidating critical insights and knowledge.
The KPMG ESG Academy is a part of the enhanced collaboration between KPMG and Microsoft, solidifying their commitment to innovation and sustainability. This joint effort builds on their shared dedication to delivering digital solutions for ESG issues.
Shelly Blackburn, VP Cross Solutions at Microsoft, emphasised the importance of skill development in achieving sustainability targets set by companies globally. The partnership with KPMG aims to close the skill gap by equipping corporate leaders and teams with the essential knowledge and tools needed to create more sustainable businesses.
The launch of the KPMG ESG Academy aligns with a series of innovative digital solutions introduced by KPMG and Microsoft earlier this year. Notably, the KPMG Circularity Tracker enhances ESG understanding for clients by offering automated data collection and model-based calculations using universally accepted measurement frameworks.
