The Sustainability Accelerator Programme (SAP), launched today (3 February), offers ICAEW members free, flexible, bite-sized elearning resources and certificates to ensure accountants can better advise on all sustainability related matters.

Developed in conjunction with subject-matter experts and in consultation with members who are leading in the sustainability field, the programme is designed to be flexible and accessible, allowing members to learn at their own pace and fitting study into their professional schedules.

The course builds on the success of ICAEW’s Sustainability Certificate and comprises five main units which are further subdivided into modules featuring practical examples and interactive content based on members’ and advisers’ real-life case studies.

While the units and modules are structured to build on each other, members can start at the beginning if they are new to the topic of sustainability to build a robust foundation. Alternatively, if members have a specific challenge to resolve, they can dive straight into the topic relevant to the issue.

“When designing the programme we talked to members at different stages in their sustainability career, from interested to expert, to find out what their sustainability journey was; what they wished they’d known at the start as well as issues like how they have dealt with resistance to sustainability issues within their organisations,” says Jayne Saywell, sustainability expert and founder of Edinburgh-based boutique sustainability consultancy Black Skies Blue. 

Bite-sized learning

Saywell authored and project-managed much of the creation of the Sustainability Accelerator Programme and quickly realised that chartered accountants needed something more “bespoke” in their sustainability training because everyone is approaching this issue from different angles and at different stages. “Sustainability is not linear. People could be very junior but nonetheless leading on sustainability issues within their organisation,” she says.

Accountants’ professional training is steeped in scepticism, accuracy and fact-checking. These are also qualities needed to apply to sustainability, Saywell says, and “we need to layer these sustainability skills on top of our existing professional knowledge and skills”.

The SAP was also an opportunity for ICAEW to review its popular Sustainability Certificate and bring those competencies up to date because this topic is a fast-moving space. The updated Sustainability Certificate is now available as the first unit of the SAP, offering an introductory grounding to the sustainability issues practitioners need to succeed.

Richard Spencer, Director, Sustainability at ICAEW, says: “The ICAEW Sustainability Accelerator is not about turning our members into sustainability experts, but rather about future-proofing their careers. It focuses on managing risk and providing the necessary tools and resources to help businesses navigate the complexities of sustainability, ultimately leading to a more resilient and prosperous future.”

The aim of the programme isn’t to turn accountants into sustainability experts overnight but rather to instil the competencies surrounding sustainability into the foundations of accountancy training. In this way, at the most basic level, accountants can feel competent in talking about the issue with stakeholders and clients, and also understand what they don’t know and how and when to bring in other experts.

“The Sustainability Accelerator Programme provides members with the vocabulary and ability to know how it fits in with an organisation’s strategy and goals. I would encourage members to select the relevant topics of interest and invest time in it,” Saywell says.

At each level of the programme, members earn “badges” along with their CPD certificates. These badges aren’t just learning symbols, but rather valuable credentials for members’ professional career.

“Ultimately, sustainability is a business risk. What we’re asking of members is to do their job as risk experts but with sustainability at its core. We’re future-proofing their skills and we would like all members to be talking about sustainability,” Saywell says.

SAP supporting SME sustainability 

When Saywell isn’t developing sustainability programmes, her consultancy also runs a pay-it-forward scheme, charging larger clients slightly more so this investment can be used to help much smaller Scottish companies begin their sustainability journey, often through the B Corp framework. “Companies want to be sustainable, but they often feel overwhelmed by the information and unsure where to start,” Saywell says. 

By subscribing to Saywell’s pay-it-forward scheme, the development of the ICAEW Sustainability Accelerator Programme has supported Ocean Vertical, a small business offering ethical adventures in Scotland, to complete the process to become B Corp.

B Corps are for-profit businesses that have been certified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. There are more than 1,900 B Corps in the UK and 8,500 worldwide. Scottish B Corps make up over 5% of the UK B Corp community, with 45 of those based in Edinburgh.