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Sustainable Corporate Management
ESG Performance Management
Transforming the economy towards greater sustainability is essential. The finance function has a decisive role to play here - achieving environmental and social goals, too, is a task for tomorrow's leaders.
Registration
- German
- hybrid
- 6 ECTS
- 5 , 450 €
- Next start: 22.02.2027
- 7 Präsenztage
- Campus Rheingau
Build a Solid Foundation of Practical Sustainability Management Expertise
Across 14 modules, you gain a structured overview and in-depth insight into the forward-looking, economically and socially significant field of sustainable corporate management, in particular, sustainability-oriented performance measurement and controlling.
Concept in Detail
Steering sustainability strategically and making it measurable.
Despite occasional reports to the contrary, the transformation of the economy towards greater sustainability is in full swing — and it requires professionals and executives who can steer ESG factors (Environment, Social, Governance) strategically, make them measurable, and implement them effectively. The "ESG Performance Management" certificate programme equips you with the skills to systematically integrate sustainability into corporate management, controlling and reporting, and to support organisations in meeting the growing demands for responsible, forward-looking and transparent corporate governance.
Thirty years at the cutting edge.
For years, EBS Universität has stood out like no other university on the subject of ESG and performance. With its focus on professionals and executives, the ESG Performance Management compact programme takes this expertise to the next level. All of the programme's lecturers are recognised experts in sustainability management and sustainability controlling, and their commitment underlines what makes this programme so distinctive.
What matters to us
At EBS, we shape leaders. That is why we place great emphasis on the direct transfer of knowledge. We achieve this through guided "real-life cases" — concrete, practice-based scenarios closely aligned with the programme — and through forward-looking interaction that keeps the wider world in view. And there's no better place to start than in your own organisation
Your Opportunities Going Forward
Graduates of the ESG Performance Management compact programme are equipped, with the title ESG Performance Manager (EBS), to build and advance a successful career in the new, growing field of sustainable finance and green controlling.
Recognised by the Financial Times
The Financial Times has ranked the leading providers of executive education for 2026. EBS Universität's Executive School achieved an outstanding position nationally among open programmes. Among the criteria in which the Executive School particularly excelled were graduate satisfaction, programme design and faculty. The Financial Times Ranking confirms the excellence of the Executive School's programmes and underlines our commitment to enabling successful careers through further education.
What You Ideally Bring With You
The certificate programme is aimed at the following target groups:
- Employees at companies of any industry pursuing a sustainability-oriented business strategy, whether or not they are capital markets-oriented (real-economy companies, financial services firms, private equity firms, etc.)
- Board members, managing directors, heads of department, and professionals and executives working in controlling, accounting, reporting, risk management, carbon management, CSR, strategy, business development, etc.
- Auditors and management consultants who support companies in implementing and optimising ESG performance management
- Employees working in credit analysis, ratings, sureties/guarantees, etc.
Basic Requirements
- Proof of a completed degree from a university, university of applied sciences or vocational academy
or
- Evidence of suitability through relevant professional experience or further training, preferably in finance and/or sustainability, together with proof of general or subject-restricted higher education entrance qualification
An Investment That Pays Off
The total cost of the "ESG Performance Management" certificate programme is 5,450 euros.
For members of BAI, B.A.U.M., CRIC, DAI, DIRK, FNG, ICV and VfU, and for graduates of EBS Executive School programmes, the tuition fee is 4,930 euros.
Tuition fees include course materials, lunch and refreshments.
Examination at the first scheduled sitting is included in the tuition fee, as is the first resit date set by the Examinations Office. A fee of 180 euros applies for each subsequent resit registration.
This service is exempt from VAT pursuant to Section 4 No. 21 a) bb) of the German VAT Act (UStG).
Practitioner Experts Well Worth Listening To
Academic Director: Prof. Dr. Rolf Tilmes, EBS Executive School
Programme Director: Dr. Thomas Schulz, Head of Sustainability Programmes, EBS Executive School
Our Lecturers
- Lydia Eckhard, Managing Director, Deloitte Sustainability & Climate GmbH, München
- Dr. Klaus Hufschlag, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Reporting & Controlling, Deutsche Post AG, Bonn // Member of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group (SR TEG)
- Thomas Johanndeiter, Principal, Corporate & Finance / Business Intelligence & Data, Horváth & Partner GmbH, Düsseldorf
- Andrea Kämmler-Burrak, Associate Partner, Horváth & Partner GmbH, Munich
- Dr. Valerie Köcke, Managing Director, “Biodiversity in Good Company” Initiative, Head of Unternehmen Biologische Vielfalt (UBi), Berlin
- Jan-Marten Krebs, Founder & Board Member, Sustainable AG, Munich
- Jochen Kurtz, Vice President, Group Sustainability Performance Management & Reporting, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen
- Dr. Markus Lange, Lawyer, Frankfurt a.M.
- Dominik Nied, Vice President, Group Sustainability, Heidelberg Materials AG, Heidelberg
- Prof. Dr. Mike Schulze,Vice President for Research and Practice Transfer, Professor of Controlling, Accounting and Financial Management, CBS International Business School, Mainz // Leiter Fachkreis Green Controlling for Responsible Business, ICV, Wörthsee
- Prof. Dr Thomas Wunder, Professor of Business Administration with a focus on Corporate Management, Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm // Managing Director, SustainUp GmbH, Leutkirch im Allgäu
14 Modules, In-Depth Content - a Lasting Learning Effect.
The "ESG Performance Management" certificate programme comprises six topic areas across 14 modules delivered over seven days, and concludes with a comprehensive written examination lasting 180 minutes.
Topic Area 1: Transformation of the Economy
Module 1: Climate and Biodiversity: The Limits of Economic Activity
- Planetary boundaries: climate change and biodiversity loss
- Feedback loops and tipping elements in the Earth system
- Ecosystem services for people, and the consequences of human activity (human footprint, telecoupling)
- Sustainable development: people, planet, prosperity
- Global development goals (SDGs, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Paris Agreement)
- Social consequences of the climate crisis (habitability of regions, migration, health, poverty, etc.)
Module 2: The International Regulatory Framework for Sustainable Business
- Global challenges and framework conditions: climate, nature/biodiversity, development/SDGs
- Sustainability-related legislation: fundamentals and development
- 2018 EU Action Plan: financing sustainable growth (SFDR, Taxonomy Regulation, etc.)
- 2019 EU Green Deal: net-zero/green transition, EU Simplification/Competitiveness Agenda 2024/2025 and the Omnibus legislation
- Due diligence obligations (CSDDD, EUDR, etc.) and reporting obligations (CSRD/ESRS/VSME, Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation, IFRS SDS)
- Regulation of banks and insurers, capital investment and greenwashing
- Implementation in corporate practice: governance, compliance, reporting, transition planning
Topic Area 2: Fundamentals of ESG Performance Management
Module 3: Sustainable Corporate Management and ESG Performance Management
- Characteristics and objectives of sustainable corporate management
- Sustainability-oriented business strategy and operational implementation
- Sustainability performance management (terminology, structure, data points, etc.)
- ESG performance management framework
- Integrating financial and non-financial corporate performance management
Module 4: Sustainability in Risk Management
- The shift from "classic" risk management to a holistic approach
- Environmental risks — climate and biodiversity
- Social risks
- Managing governance risks
- The far-reaching impact of ESG risks on companies
Topic Area 3: Strategic ESG Performance Management
Module 5: Sustainable Strategic Management: Strategic Context and Content
- Securing the future by linking strategy and sustainability
- Mindsets and approaches to sustainable strategy work
- "North Star" and purpose: strategically relevant, or a communications trap?
- Types of sustainable strategy
- Business cases for sustainability and their limitations
- Hybrid strategies: optimisation and innovation
- Sustainable business models and business portfolios
Module 6: Sustainable Strategic Management: Strategy Process and Transformation
- Sustainable strategy work 2.0
- Stakeholder and materiality analysis
- Managing transformation: on the way to integral sustainability
- Why even the best strategies sometimes fail: pitfalls and traps for success
Topic Area 3: Strategic ESG Performance Management
Module 5: Sustainable Strategic Management: Strategic Context and Content
- Securing the future by linking strategy and sustainability
- Mindsets and approaches to sustainable strategy work
- "North Star" and purpose: strategically relevant, or a communications trap?
- Types of sustainable strategy
- Business cases for sustainability and their limitations
- Hybrid strategies: optimisation and innovation
- Sustainable business models and business portfolios
Module 6: Sustainable Strategic Management: Strategy Process and Transformation
- Sustainable strategy work 2.0
- Stakeholder and materiality analysis
- Managing transformation: on the way to integral sustainability
- Why even the best strategies sometimes fail: pitfalls and traps for success
Topic Area 4: Operational ESG Performance Management
Modules 7 & 8: ESG Controlling
- ESG controlling instruments and systems - use of tools such as life cycle assessment, material and energy flow accounting, SROI, etc.
- Environmental accounting & reporting - transparent reporting as the basis for sustainable decision-making
- Sustainability in core controlling processes - embedding the ESG dimension in cost accounting, budgeting, etc.
- Sustainability across functional areas - managing production, procurement, logistics and marketing from an ESG perspective
- Sustainability and external costs - managing impacts, risks and opportunities
- Sustainability Balanced Scorecard - a strategic tool for managing ESG targets and ensuring compliant reporting
- The EU Taxonomy as a management tool - significance and application of the EU Taxonomy for operational management
Module 9: Climate Transition Planning
- The relevance of climate transition plans
- Regulatory fundamentals and frameworks
- Climate risk analysis as a starting point
- Approaches to setting short-, medium- and long-term, Paris-aligned (1.5°C) GHG reduction targets
- Building a CTP - key elements and components of climate transition plans
- Governance and integration of climate transition plans into corporate management
Module 10: Climate and Biodiversity in Investment Appraisal
- Introduction: the role of investment appraisal in the context of sustainable corporate management
- The significance of investment appraisal as a management tool within sustainable corporate strategy
- Challenges of conventional methods with regard to ESG factors
- Relevance to capital allocation, risk management and company valuation
- Integrating sustainability aspects into classic investment appraisal methods
- Adjusting cash flows: incorporating ESG-related costs and benefits
- Adjusting discount rates
- Extending life cycle analysis: considering end-of-life, rebound and transition effects
- Limits of monetary valuation and managing uncertainty (sensitivity and scenario analysis)
- ESG-specific valuation approaches and methods
- Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) / utility analysis for non-monetisable ESG criteria
- Impact valuation approaches (e.g. Natural Capital Protocol, TCFD/TNFD)
- Climate in investment appraisal
- Internal carbon prices (ICP)
- Carbon intensity
- Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC)
- Biodiversity in investment appraisal
- Biodiversity risks for companies: physical risks, transition risks, reputational and financing risks
- Biodiversity impact of investments
Topic Area 5: Non-Financial Reporting
Module 11: Global and EU Institutionalisation of External Non-Financial Reporting
- CSRD/ESRS post-Omnibus: what are the requirements for companies?
- IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB standards): how do European and global standards interact?
- Financial and double materiality, and the DMA process
- Deep dive "biodiversity": challenges and pragmatic approaches
Module 12: Data, Processes and Digitalisation of Non-Financial Reporting
- Implementing non-financial reporting (particularly CSRD) within an organisation's data models, standard processes and IT systems
- Requirements for non-financial (ESG) reporting data
- Design objective of an integrated ESG data model
- Challenges of ESG data (compared with financial management data)
- Focus on the ESG reporting process model, roles and responsibilities for collecting, aggregating and providing data
- Benefits and limitations of digitalisation and AI applications
- Functional requirements and IT architecture layers for ESG reporting
- Possible IT solution architectures
- Overview of the ESG reporting software market and approach to software selection
- Applications of digitalisation and AI
Topic Area 6: Climate Risk Management
Module 13: Carbon Accounting & Reporting
- Recording, assessing and attributing direct and indirect GHG emissions (GHG Protocol, science-based targets, carbon and material flow cost accounting, climate-related ISO standards)
- Carbon reporting (under the GHG Protocol, TCFD and CSRD) and reporting principles
- CO2 emissions in the supply chain
- Assessing biodiversity and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)
Module 14: Carbon Controlling
- External ESG reporting and internal sustainability management (greenhouse gases, circularity, biodiversity, etc.)
- Target definition: climate neutrality, reduction pathways, science-based targets (SBT), etc.
- GHG pricing: emissions trading systems, carbon taxes, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
- CO2 reductions along the value chain (Scope 1, 2, 3.1, etc.), cost-effectiveness analysis
- Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) as a customer requirement, PCF calculation in the chemical industry
- KPIs and KPI systems (absolute vs. relative metrics, carbon intensity, energy intensity, etc.)
Good to Know
Dates:
Start date: 22 February 2027
- Block 1 (Mon–Wed): 22–24 February 2027
- Block 2 (Mon–Thu): 8–11 March 2027
- Examination (Saturday morning): 10 April 2027
Helpful Documents
ECTS Credits and Recognition Towards the Master's Programme
The "ESG Performance Management" certificate programme carries 6 ECTS credits, which can be credited towards the "Master in Business (M. A.)" with a specialisation in "Sustainable Finance".
Format: Hybrid
This executive education programme is delivered in hybrid format. Participation is possible both on campus and via Zoom.
Our Partners
The Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. (BAI), founded in Bonn in 1997, represents the interests of the alternative investment sector in Germany across all asset classes and products. Its membership spans every area of the professional alternative investment industry, with 300 national and international companies currently members of the association. The BAI is committed to helping professional investors in Germany diversify their capital more easily and effectively into alternative asset classes, with particular attention to the long-term security of German pension provision. It regards legislative reform and the ongoing development of the law in the interests of its members and their investors as a core part of its mission.
Under the acronym B.A.U.M. , the Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management e.V. has, since 1984, successfully and forward-looking-ly brought together economic, environmental and social issues — that is, the principles of sustainability. Today, with around 700 members, B.A.U.M. is an important information and contact network for sustainable business across Europe. B.A.U.M. sees itself as a strong voice for sustainably run companies and as a driver of sustainable development.
The Corporate Responsibility Interface Center (CRIC) e.V. – an association promoting ethics and sustainability in investment, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to giving greater weight to environmental, social and cultural considerations in business and society. To promote ethical, sustainable investment, CRIC engages in dialogue with business, politics and civil society. With more than 130 members across the DACH region, CRIC also works in an interdisciplinary and critically reflective way. Its focus areas include raising awareness of values- and impact-based investing, sustainable investment strategies, particularly engagement, and academic research.
As a strong voice for the capital markets, the Deutsche Aktieninstitut has represented the interests of listed companies and other key capital market participants since 1953. The Deutsches Aktieninstitut also serves as the secretariat of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code. It advocates for a strong capital market that enables companies to finance themselves effectively and contribute to society's prosperity.
DIRK – Deutscher Investor Relations Verband is the largest European professional association connecting companies and capital markets. We give investor relations (IR) a voice, representing around 90% of listed capital in Germany. As an independent centre of expertise, we help optimise dialogue between issuers, capital providers and relevant intermediaries, setting professional quality standards along the way.
The FNG – Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen is the professional association in Germany, Austria and Switzerland representing around 200 members committed to sustainability in the financial sector. Its membership includes banks, insurers, investment companies, asset management firms, wealth managers, rating agencies, financial advisers, academic institutions, NGOs and private individuals.
ICV is the centre of expertise for modern controlling, with its services benefiting controllers, CFOs, CEOs and managers alike. ICV understands controlling as a goal-oriented management process that can only be effective through collaboration between controllers and managers. Economic sustainability is our guiding principle. ICV is there for everyone involved in controlling, bringing together what belongs together but doesn't always come together in everyday practice, and which is stronger when it does.
The Verein für Umweltmanagement und Nachhaltigkeit in Finanzinstituten is a network, founded in 1995, of sustainable finance professionals from around 50 financial institutions across the DACH region (banks, insurers, investment companies and related associations). VfU's central aim is to promote and disseminate "sustainable finance", enabling substantial progress towards sustainable development.
Relevant for you
I will be happy to help you
Prof. Dr. Rolf Tilmes
Programme Director