Professional Certificate in Climate Action and Sustainability Reporting

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The Programme

This new one-year, part-time programme responds to the fact that public servants, at all levels and in all sectors, urgently require significant education and training in climate- and sustainability-related matters if Ireland is to meet necessary national and international goals. The growing legislative and regulatory requirements around climate action and sustainability targets require public bodies  to undertake and report on various actions. Immense challenges face the entire Irish public service, which is tasked with leading Ireland’s transition to an environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy.

This programme will provide public servants with some of the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to contribute to climate action and sustainability efforts and enable them help their organisations comply with reporting requirements. Attending to an area set to dominate many aspects of public life, the programme will furnish public servants with an in-depth and practical understanding of what the Irish state has set itself to do around climate and sustainability and of how sectors and organisations will report their activities in local, national, and international contexts.

The programme, which attends to both the theory and practice of climate action and sustainability reporting, will:

• Explain how the climate and sustainability emergencies will affect Ireland’s economic and social development.
• Place Ireland’s climate action plans and responsibilities in EU and international contexts.
• Critically evaluate those plans, the relevant targets, associated budgets, and key implementation issues.
• Examine the international standards, protocols, and instruments  developed to measure climate and sustainability efforts.
• Distinguish the various elements of sustainability reporting.
• Explore sustainability reporting in different sectors and professional settings.
• Engage with frameworks for integrated reporting and with ways of meeting compliance obligations effectively.
• Link sustainability reporting with leadership and public sector management.

Is This Programme for you?

Yes, if you appreciate how central climate- and sustainability-related matters are to all aspects of public management. A range of national and international laws and frameworks now obligate public bodies to undertake and report on various actions in pursuit of national and international climate goals. This programme, which can be taken from anywhere in Ireland, will provide public servants with some of the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to contribute to the climate action and sustainability efforts of their organisations and sectors. It will prove an important contribution to career development and opportunities at a time when efforts to combat climate change and encourage sustainable development are front and centre in Irish public management. 

Subjects

The programme consists of four modules.

Module 1: Climate Action – Context and Challenges

This module introduces particpants to the climate and wider sustainability emergencies that Ireland and the world are facing. It attends to the challenges facing the public sector, the need for a just transition, the leadership required, and the EU and international frameworks around climate action and policy.

Module 2: Climate Action Planning & Implementation

The second module turns to Ireland’s climate action plans, analysing their content from various perspectives and the role of the public sector in climate actions. Participants will deal with stakeholder engagement and with implementation issues currently arising and those likely to arise in the future.

Module 3: Sustainability Reporting: Standards, Protocols and Guidance

This module will focus on the sustainability reporting obligations that public service bodies have to meet. It will consider financial,  non-financial, and sustainability reporting within the context of international standards, protocols, and instruments. 

Module 4: Sustainability Reporting: Application

The final module attends to the practical tasks involved in sustainability reporting. It will examine sustainability reporting in different sectors, with a focus on integrated reporting. It will also examine how compliance obligations can be most effectively and efficiently met.

Assessment

Students will submit two assignments and take examinations in April.

Seminar Dates

Below are provisional dates for the 2025-2026 iteration of the programme.

• In-person seminars run from 09.30-16.30 and take place at the IPA campus in Dublin.
• Online webinars take place on Wednesday evenings. 

Session	Date	Delivery
Seminar 1	Friday,  September 12, 2025	In-person seminar
Webinar 1	Wednesday, October 8, 2025	Online evening webinar
Webinar 2	Wednesday,  October 22, 2025	Online evening webinar
Seminar 2	Friday, November 14, 2025	In-person seminar
Seminar 3	Friday, January 9, 2026	In-person seminar
Webinar 3	Wednesday, February 4, 2026	Online evening webinar
Webinar 4	Wednesday, February  19, 2026	Online evening webinar
Seminar 4	Friday,  March 13, 2026	In-person seminar

How To Apply

Please complete the online form below. On submitting that, you will receive correspondence from the IPA on next steps/documentation.

Postgraduate Application 

Delivery

The programme is delivered through a blended learning model and can be taken from anywhere in the country.

Participants will attend day-long seminars on scheduled dates. These will alternative between in-person events at the IPA campus and online sessions.   These seminars will combine themes in the growing literature around climate and sustainability with practical examination of the professional requirements and applications related to implementation, monitoring, compliance, and reporting.

Between seminars students will study bespoke course material, pre-recorded lectures, and essential readings.

Prospectus

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IPA postgraduate programmes are part time and generally delivered through a blended learning mode that combines in-person seminars, online webinars, and independent study.