Climate Action & Sustainability Reporting

The Programme

This 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 relevant national and international goals. Addressing both the theory and practice of climate action and sustainability, it introduces the key concepts, facts, and challenges that need to be understood by public servants as they lead Ireland’s transition to an environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral economy.



Is This Programme For You?

This programme will provide public servants with some of the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to effectively contribute to climate action and sustainability efforts. Graduates will also be in a position to help their organisations comply with potentially onerous reporting requirements in the most efficient and effective ways. Addressing topics 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 consists of four modules:



Module 1: Climate Action – Context and Challenges

This module introduces students to the climate and wider sustainability emergencies that Ireland and the world are facing. It addresses the challenges facing the public sector, the leadership that is needed, 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, including those of economics and public policy.



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 and non-financial sustainability reporting and will examine the various elements of sustainability reports.



Module 4: Sustainability Reporting: Application

The final module attends to the practical tasks involved in sustainability reporting. It will address sustainability reporting in different sectors, frameworks that can be used for integrated reporting, and methods of reporting.



Micro-credentials: Students can take individual modules as micro-credentials.

Applicants should generally have a primary degree or equivalent qualification. They should also have four-five years experience in a public sector role.

Application Deadline

September 2025 - Places are limited, so early application is advised.



How To Apply

Complete the online Postgraduate application form on the home page. On submitting that, you will receive correspondence from the IPA on next steps/documentation.

One academic year.



Delivery Method

Students attend a number of day-long seminars/webinars. Between these events, they study a range of online resources, including bespoke video lectures and specially chosen readings.

Commences: September 2025.

Progression

Students can take selected modules rather than all four. On completion of a module, they will receive a Certificate of Learning. When all modules are completed, these micro-credentials will combine to see the qualification awarded.