Education & Training

The WBCSD's Education and Training program aims to develop skills and understanding in order to integrate sustainable development across business operations, sectors, countries and issues.

Sound, integrated sustainable practice can sharpen even the most successful company’s competitive edge. Strong corporate training programs have been shown to impact well on recruitment, retention, productivity and innovation. A sustainable education program in particular helps employees achieve personal and professional goals, and ensures that throughout the management chain a company is ‘walking the talk’.

The education and training initiative of the WBCSD offers several products and services designed to be accessible to a wide range of business functions and sectors. It combines face-to-face learning with e-based solutions, and these products can be tailored to companies’ interests.

Chronos®

Chronos® is an e-learning tutorial designed to increase business interest in, and action on, sustainable development. Developed in partnership with the Cambridge University Programme for Industry , the tutorial aims to equip employees in a wide range of companies and sectors with the knowledge they need to deliver on corporate priorities. Chronos®:

• shows how social and environmental performance creates business value
• challenges employees to find win-win solutions in difficult circumstances
• tests an employee’s ability to make the case for sustainable development
• bridges the gap between personal values and corporate action.

This unique course uses real life scenarios that allow employees to explore available options, understand the associated consequences and formulate their own response strategies.

Chronos® provides first-hand knowledge and practical solutions to handle tricky situations. By introducing the topic in a simple and straightforward way, it can convey the message to employees in wide range of sectors, functions and levels of seniority. The 3-hour tutorial can be completed through continuous or modular study. Chronos® is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Chronos® is:

• Learning focused.
  Chronos® values personal initiative above expert ‘answers’; experience above memorization.
• Challenging.
  Chronos® highlights positive opportunities for corporations to contribute more positively to global problems.
• Inclusive.
  Chronos® builds upon the diversity of sustainable development materials, reports, perspectives and voices.
• Flexible.
  Chronos® can enhance a company’s sustainable development strategy and is available on the Internet, allowing anytime, anywhere learning.
• Confidential.
  Information contributed to Chronos® will be held in the strictest confidence.

View a presentation about Chronos® highlights or visit the Chronos® website for further information.

Learning Modules

To further embed sustainable development issues in member companies’ core business practices, the Education & Training team has started to develop a set of learning modules to assist companies with face-to-face learning.

The Eco-efficiency Learning Module is already available, and several other modules will be created on issues such as the business case andcorporate social responsibility.

Two e-based modules are available free on this website. The Sustainable Business Challenge gives an introduction to key issues and trends, policy topics, emerging themes and business concepts for the 21st century. The Global Scenario Challenge introduces scenarios to aid understanding of sustainability.

In 2002, the WBCSD concluded the Norlet project. Jointly resourced by Scandinavian governments, it has provided Russian managers with classroom lectures and individual training in Western companies. A report, Norlet – Making a difference through education and training ( 183 kb), outlined the key lessons learned in the project.

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