| Approx Course Duration *: | Equivalent to Approx. 1 Hour/s |
| Access to Course Content: | 18 Months from the date of enrolment |
| Qualification/s: | Focus on ESG Principle 7 Governance |
| CPD Hours: | 1 Continuing Professional Development Hours |
Strong governance is the foundation that holds environmental and social ESG commitments together. Without clear leadership, accountability, and systems of control, even well-designed ESG strategies struggle to deliver real outcomes. ISO IWA 48:2024 Clause 7 provides practical guidance to ensure ESG is embedded into decision-making, oversight, and organisational culture.
This microcredential focuses on Clause 7 – Governance, guiding learners through governance frameworks, leadership responsibilities, organisational culture, ESG communications, and governance KPIs. You’ll explore how governance operates at strategic, specific, and operational levels, and how it connects ethics, risk management, transparency, and performance.
Rather than treating governance as a compliance checklist, ISO IWA 48 positions it as an enabler of trust, resilience, and long-term value creation — helping organisations move beyond box-ticking to credible, values-led ESG practice.
Who this course is for
This course is designed for professionals who influence, oversee, or support ESG governance and accountability within organisations.
It’s well suited to:
- ESG, sustainability, and governance professionals
- Board members, senior leaders, and risk managers
- Compliance, ethics, and assurance practitioners
- Consultants supporting ESG maturity and governance design
- Auditors building ESG governance and assurance capability
No prior ESG or ISO certification experience is required.
What you’ll learn
By completing this microcredential, you’ll learn how to:
- Interpret the intent and structure of ISO IWA 48:2024 Clause 7
- Understand governance at strategic, specific, and operational levels
- Design and apply an integrated ESG governance framework
- Identify governance risks and opportunities linked to ESG outcomes
- Apply examples of governance actions across ethics, compliance, data protection, and oversight
- Use governance KPIs, including first- and second-priority indicators
- Understand leadership responsibilities and constructive challenge structures
- Embed ESG into organisational culture, values, and behaviours
- Communicate ESG commitments and performance credibly and transparently
What you’ll be able to do
After completing the course, you’ll be able to:
- Support organisations in strengthening ESG governance and accountability
- Help design or refine ESG governance frameworks and controls
- Apply governance KPIs to monitor ethics, compliance, and resilience
- Contribute to leadership discussions on ESG strategy and oversight
- Improve ESG communications with stakeholders, regulators, and investors
- Prepare for more advanced ESG implementation, internal audit, or assurance pathways
This microcredential can be stacked with other ISO IWA 48 ESG modules — including Environmental (Clause 5) and Social (Clause 6) — or used as a foundation for future ESG Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor training within ATOL’s learning pathways.
A stackable, certified microcredential focused for governance structures and ESG oversight.
Why this microcredential matters: Clause 7 defines governance as the foundation of ESG, structured across strategic, specific, and operational levels.
It emphasizes governance frameworks, KPIs, leadership accountability, risk oversight, and transparency.
This microcredential contains the following lessons, with a knowledge check and a short-format exam upon completion.
| Lesson Topic | Focus Area | Key Takeaways |
|---|---|---|
| Clause 7.1 | Governance Overview | Understand governance responsibilities across board, leadership, and operational levels. |
| Clause 7.2 | Governance Framework | Establish governance systems including oversight, risk management, internal controls, and independent review. |
| Clause 7.3–7.4 | Governance Actions and KPIs | Implement governance KPIs covering compliance, anti-corruption, data protection, business continuity, and ethical performance. |
| Clause 7.5–7.7 | Leadership, Culture and Transparency | Embed ethical culture, constructive challenge, accountability, and transparent communication into ESG governance. |
Course details:
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Microcredential
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Approx 1 hours full-time study*
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Stackable Digital Microcredential
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Standard: IWA 48:2024 ESG
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No prerequisites required
* All ATOL courses are delivered in such a way you can work through them at your own pace, the actual time to complete the training may change depending on the individual learners' experience and/or learning style
NO PREREQUISITES