skip to content

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Leading organisations are embedding sustainability into their core business – mitigating risks, increasing resilience, and enhancing value in the short and long term. PCSB is uniquely designed to encourage students to go beyond the practical application of tools and models, to develop insights and world views that make business sense of sustainability, and empower leaders to bring about organisational change.

 

The content is explored through two workshops, supported by essential reading and practical assignments:

  • Workshop 1 builds awareness of key sustainability risks and opportunities and the relevance to business, exploring the strategic business case for responding.
  • Workshop 2 focuses on the role of business in catalysing change in the wider system (finance, policy, industrial systems) and what it looks like to bring about meaningful change within an organisational context.

Crosscutting themes such as innovation and leadership are embedded within and/or interspersed between the main sessions.

 

“The course is intelligent, insightful and innovative, covering multiple aspects and contexts of sustainability leadership. Once you start the journey, you won't want it to ever end.”

Kishore Ravuri, UN Global Compact Network, Malaysia, PCSB

 

Indicative themes for organisational stream workshops

 

Workshop 1

Understanding the global risks and opportunities, and what needs
to change

Workshop 2

Catalysing change in and beyond the organisation

Themes 

  • Environmental, social and economic pressures and drivers
  • Sustainability concepts and frameworks
  • Systems thinking
  • Sustainability risks and opportunities
  • A sustainable economy
  • The business response to sustainability
  • Leadership for sustainability
  • Strategic planning for action
  • Levers for system level change
  • Communication and influence
  • Leadership for change

 

Assignment tasks

Group Project theme scoping

Analysis Paper preparation

Group Project research and drafting

Strategic Action Plan preparation 

 

Students are supported throughout their studies by a supervisor who will guide their learning on both individual assignments and group projects. Find out more about some of our most recent supervisors.

 

 


 

Meet the Directors Webinars


Join a live webinar session hosted by the Directors of our part-time postgraduate courses as they give you an overview of our programmes and admissions process and answer your questions.



 

More information 


Certificate course overview


Who should apply?


Admission requirements


Funding opportunities


Learning approach and time commitment


Assignments


 

Value chain stream


What is a value chain?


Value chain stream: Curriculum


Value chain Supervisors


 

Organisational stream


Organisational stream: Curriculum


Organisational stream Supervisors


 

Student blogs


Employer benefits and information


Frequently asked questions


 

Email the team

If you can't find the answer to your query on the website please get in touch with the team here pcsb@cisl.cam.ac.uk