New uni course gets executives match fit for net zero

“Executives will leave with an understanding of not only how to calculate emissions but how to think about and implement decarbonisation strategies in their individual industries,” Ms Taylor said.

The course would apply global decarbonisation efforts to a local context.

“The focus is on Australian regulations and mandatory reporting and understanding how to track carbon in your business, report it and then minimise it going forward,” Ms Taylor said.

From 2027, mandatory reporting will be expanded to include corporates with revenue over $50 million.

The new course will include four modules, including a hands-on project where students devise a strategy to decarbonise their own organisation.

It is mostly self-paced online, requiring about 30 to 60 minutes a day. There are also three live sessions of about two hours a week, and optional networking events.

Sally Townsend, head of sustainability at Blackmores, said she would be enrolling staff in the course.

“We’ve got ambitious climate targets and we’ve got incoming mandatory climate reporting coming,” Ms Townsend said.

“It’s fundamentally hard to solve a problem if the problem is not well understood.

“We want everyone at Blackmores to know the role they play in our transformation to a more sustainable business and to feel empowered on how to deliver that mission – to not just be accountable, but to drive change.”

Four years ago, Blackmores set itself a net-zero target by 2030 that means the organisation is actively changing its business systems and ways of working.

Ms Townsend said moving to net zero was highly intertwined with other companies Blackmores worked with, as all carbon along the supply chain had to be negated.

“We need to make sure that everyone along our value chain is measuring their carbon footprint and has active plans to decarbonise,” she said.

“Essentially, it means we are all in the same race for climate action, rather than competing with each other.”

Sandra Peter, co-director of Sydney Executive Plus, said the first intake would begin in May with about 50 students.

“The sprint provides insight into the global regulatory frameworks around carbon accounting to which businesses need to respond,” Dr Peter said.

“But it goes deeper because reporting is only a part of the picture.

“Business leaders must be mindful of the risks associated with a warming climate, the risks associated with transition, and the opportunities and cost savings available to businesses that decarbonise.

“So there’s the big picture understanding of the net-zero transition, and the extremely practical process of thinking through what that involves for a business in Australia, whatever its size.”