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Description

CSR and Sustainability Policy: Defining, Structuring and Steering the Approach

Move from isolated initiatives to a sustainability strategy owned by leadership and credible to the outside world

  • 5 days — 35 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • All levels
  • Up to 6 participants

The initiatives exist: waste segregation, local community giving, a few social indicators. Yet nothing connects these actions to a strategic intent, and the first serious request from a client or a funder exposes the absence of a formalised policy.

Five days to build a defensible responsibility policy and translate it into an operational approach. The programme starts from the issues specific to the business, prioritises them with stakeholders, then formalises commitments, governance and a delivery trajectory. The detailed baseline review is covered in a separate programme dedicated to diagnostics.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the responsibility issues specific to the organisation's activity
  • Prioritise those issues with internal and external stakeholders
  • Formalise a CSR policy that commits the organisation and aligns with strategy
  • Define the governance and steering bodies for the approach
  • Build a trajectory of commitments with verifiable milestones
  • Prepare the communication of the policy to teams and clients

What makes this programme different

The policy drafted by each participant is challenged by the whole group
The programme clearly separates strategic intent from operational action plans
A steering committee simulation arbitrates the selected priorities at the close of the programme

Programme

1The Scope of Corporate Responsibility

Setting the vocabulary and the boundaries

  • Position the environmental, social and economic dimensions of the approach
  • Distinguish regulatory compliance from voluntary commitment
  • Identify the expectations of clients, funders and candidates
  • Recognise the risks of commitments that are not honoured

2Identifying the Issues Specific to the Business

What genuinely matters here

  • Analyse the value chain and its points of impact
  • Map stakeholders and their expectations
  • Assess the relative importance of the issues identified
  • Set aside topics over which the business has no real influence

3Formalising the Policy and the Commitments

Writing down what the organisation stands behind

  • Draft precise and verifiable commitments
  • Align the policy with the corporate strategy
  • Set a trajectory with intermediate milestones
  • Secure validation of the policy by executive leadership

4Organising the Governance of the Approach

Making the approach last over time

  • Define the roles of the steering committee and of the internal focal points
  • Embed the approach within existing decision-making processes
  • Select indicators to track progress against the trajectory
  • Anticipate trade-offs where commitments conflict with short-term performance

5Rolling Out and Reporting

From policy to genuine buy-in

  • Cascade the policy into objectives for each department
  • Engage middle management in the approach
  • Build the external reporting narrative
  • Guard against accusations of overstated claims

Who is it for

Executives, CSR managers, corporate secretaries and managers responsible for driving their organisation's sustainability agenda.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.