New eLearning Course Launched: Sustainability Reporting Essentials

New eLearning Course Launched

The IFC Beyond the Balance Sheet (BBS) platform has launched a new self-paced, interactive eLearning course – Sustainability Reporting Essentials – on the World Bank Group’s Open Learning Campus. Offered globally and free of charge, the course equips professionals with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed to understand and apply the fundamentals of sustainability disclosure.

Designed for a wide range of learners—including annual report preparers (sustainability officers, CFOs, CROs, legal and investor relations teams), regulators, stock exchanges, trainers, and practitioners - the course blends real-world examples, interactive knowledge checks, and direct integration of IFC’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Toolkit and Annual Report Self-Assessment Tool. Participants gain both conceptual clarity and hands-on tools to produce clear, accurate, and credible sustainability reports.

The curriculum provides essential guidance across the core pillars of modern sustainability disclosure: governance, strategy, risk management, and performance metrics. Content is mapped to major global standards – including ISSB IFRS S1 and S2, ESRS, and GRI – helping learners navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and understand key points of convergence and differentiation across frameworks.

Course Structure (approximately 4 hours total)

  • Module 1: Why Take This Journey and Key Concepts (45 min)
  • Module 2: Reporting on Governance (50 min)
  • Module 3: Reporting on Strategy (45 min)
  • Module 4: Reporting on Risks, Impacts, and Opportunities (50 min)
  • Module 5: Reporting on Performance Metrics and Targets (50 min)

Learners may complete the full sequence or select individual modules aligned to their needs. Each module blends core theory with applied practice, ensuring immediate relevance for advisory, regulatory, and corporate reporting work.

The Sustainability Reporting Essentials course page on the Beyond the Balance Sheet Platform includes access instructions for external audiences, enabling partners, regulators, and market participants from across the world to enroll and benefit from the course as a public good.

By strengthening the capacity of report preparers and key market actors, the Sustainability Reporting Essentials supports IFC’s mission to advance sustainable markets and promote high-quality, globally consistent sustainability and climate disclosures.s

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