Chief Sustainability Officer Program
Program Overview
This transformative program is designed for experienced professionals aspiring to become Chief Sustainability Officers. It delivers the insights and leadership frameworks needed to foster resilience, embed environmental, social, and governance practices, and generate long-term value. Through a blend of live online sessions, hands-on assignments, and immersive on-campus residencies, MIT experts guide you in building organizations that lead in sustainability through strategic, data-informed, and action-oriented decision-making.
You will learn to:
You will learn to:
Champion ESG initiatives and embed sustainable practices across your organization.
Design strategies rooted in circular economy principles, leveraging technology and material science.
Apply life-cycle sustainability assessments (LCSAs) to identify and act on improvement opportunities across products, operations, and value chains.
Craft evidence-based strategies that inform and strengthen sustainability decision-making, investment priorities, and long-term risk management.
Enhance your leadership to build a responsible, adaptive, and sustainability-focused culture.
Learning Journey
Develop the leadership capabilities needed to mobilize people, close sustainability skills gaps, and embed sustainability into organizational culture. This course will boost your management style and aid you in staying ahead in a competitive world.
Learn how sustainability drives business value beyond compliance. Explore how ESG integrates with strategy, governance, and investment decisions to support efficiency, risk management, and long-term growth.
Learn to quantify environmental impacts, evaluate trade-offs, and prioritize actions using internationally recognized standards. Key steps covered include goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, impact assessment, and result interpretation
This course will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to develop modern sustainable infrastructure, from public policy and planning to operations management and data collection.
This course delves into circular economies, highlighting the roles of material science, economics, and institutions. Examine the innovation and evolution of this field through real-world examples, such as water management, metal use, and recycling practices.
Impact Project
The Impact Project is a transversal project that will be carried out throughout the Blended Professional Certificate. Participants will work in teams on a series of assignments that will culminate in a final presentation on the MIT Campus.
Participants will be given a choice of two tracks for this project:
Work on a project with an industry challenge provided by the learning facilitator.
Work on a project (industry challenge) chosen by the group and approved by the learning facilitator.
Learning Objectives
Develop individual reflections on the theoretical and practical concepts covered throughout the certificate courses
Apply knowledge acquired in courses to real-life industry cases
Integrate and connect ideas from each course, resulting in transversal knowledge acquisition
Build a community of practice in small groups, proposing concrete solutions to complex industry problems
Learn via a Blended Methodology
Participate in two immersion weeks on the MIT campus, during the program you'll connect with MIT instructors, CEOs, business leaders, and fellow cohort members.
Broaden your professional network by joining MIT Professional Education's alumni community and unlocking exclusive alumni benefits.
Engage with MIT instructors during live sessions and receive real-time feedback on your performance.
Develop your Impact Project by collaboratively designing a business solution that addresses a real-world challenge, applying the tools and strategies gained throughout the program.
Learning Experience
Join a Global Cohort During the Immersion Weeks
Who Is It For?
This Blended Professional Certificate Program: Chief Digital Officer is designed for
Directors and VP responsible to setting and running the Sustainability agenda and strategy in their companies
Current and aspiring C-suite executives responsible for strategy
Senior consultants and entrepreneurs focused on sustainability
Policy makers and development markers that need a deep understanding about Sustainability and how to manage it
Participants are required to have:
A minimum of ten years of experience working in a managerial position
At least 3 years of experience managing projects related to technology, innovation, or business development
International experience is appreciated
Past Participants Profile
Work Experience
Top Industries
Top Titles
Top countries
Instructors
Research scientist, MIT and Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Senior Lecturer, Daniel J. Riccio Graduate Engineering Leadership Program, MIT
Associate Dean of Engineering, Associate Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, and Co-Director of MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium
Executive Director, MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium
Professor of Building Technology Program in the Department of Architecture and Director of MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems, MIT
Certificate
All the participants who successfully complete their program will receive an MIT Professional Education Certificate of Completion, as well as Continuing Education Units (CEUs)*.
To obtain CEUs, complete the accreditation confirmation, which is available at the end of the course. CEUs are calculated for each course based on the number of learning hours.
*The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as 10 contact hours of ongoing learning to indicate the amount of time they have devoted to a non-credit/non-degree professional development program.
To understand whether or not these CEUs may be applied toward professional certification, licensing requirements, or other required training or continuing education hours, please consult your training department or licensing authority directly.
MIT Professional Education in Numbers
+60K
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92%
Participant Testimonials
Application Process
Complete the application form and pay the non-refundable fee.
The Admissions Committee will evaluate your application.
Await the decision from the Admissions Committee . If accepted, you'll be able to complete your enrollment.
If you receive an offer of admission, you’ll have 72 hours to pay the enrollment fee and reserve your place.
Frequently Asked Questions
The program fee includes teaching fees, access to online coursework and different activities taking place during the residential weeks.
The program fee does not include accommodations for the in campus week, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more), and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fees.
During the Blended Professional Certificate journey, participants attend two on-campus residential weeks: one at the beginning and another at the end. These weeks involve masterclasses led by MIT Faculty, campus tours, expert speaker sessions, networking events, and more. The second residential week concludes the experience by presenting the Impact Project and celebrating with a Certificate Award Ceremony. To learn more, download our Residential Week Brochure here and watch this video here.
The "Blended Methodology" in our Professional Certificate Programs offers a comprehensive 360º learning experience. It combines online, live webinars, and in-person sessions. The online component includes course content, activities, and discussion forums available on our Virtual Campus. Live sessions consist of webinars with MIT Faculty, weekly Office Hours with learning facilitators, and career advising sessions. These sessions are recorded and accessible on the Virtual Campus for participants' convenience. The in-person component involves attending Residential Weeks on the MIT Campus, where participants engage in face-to-face masterclasses with MIT Faculty, listen to guest expert speakers, and participate in various networking activities.
The Impact Project is a collaborative project that spans the entire duration of the certificate program. The aim of the project is to identify a problem, propose a solution, and employ the tools acquired through each course to demonstrate actionable methods to arrive at the end goal. In this way, this project ensures that participants have the opportunity to reflect on the covered topics, apply and link new knowledge from each program within the Blended Professional Certificate. The impact project culminates with a final pitch presented at the MIT Campus during the second residential week.
Faculty-led webinars and Learning Facilitator's office hours serve different purposes within the program. Faculty-led webinars are conducted twice per course, at the beginning and end, where MIT faculty introduce and conclude the topics covered. On the other hand, Learning Facilitator's office hours, led by subject experts, are held weekly to review and delve into each weekly module. These sessions aim to assist participants in assimilating and deepening their understanding of the course material.
MIT Professional Education, directed by the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), offers short online programs for professionals worldwide through Professional Certificates. These programs, guided by MIT instructors, aim to provide high-quality online learning services. To ensure program accessibility in different languages, MIT Professional Education collaborates with Global Alumni, a European-American EdTech specializing in online learning services from renowned universities worldwide. For more information about Global Alumni, visit this link: Global Alumni. You can also find official communications about our relationship with Global Alumni in the following links: MIT Professional Education - Who We Work With.
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Connect with a Program Advisor for a 1:1 Session
Schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 857 847 5489.
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