Embedding sustainability skills across our sustainable procurement and supply chain teams

We’re pleased to be funding environmental management training and the subsequent certification via the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) for those working in our Sustainable Procurement and Supply Chain Sustainability teams, phased over the next two years. IEMA’s Foundations Certificate in Environmental Management course covers a wide range of environmental, sustainability and governance principles, and gives those taking part the opportunity to build their knowledge of the breadth of the sustainability agenda, and the management tools and skills that they will need whilst working within this area.

Once the certification has been achieved, colleagues will also become IEMA Associate members which offers access to events, networking, news updates and resources. This will ensure that everyone working across sustainability is well informed and up to date on the latest sustainability-related developments so they can deliver best in class work across the business.

In providing access to IEMA’s training and resources, we hope to accelerate our progress towards achieving the ambitious goals we set out in our ESG action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress. These include achieving net zero carbon emissions from our direct operations (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2030, and across our full value chain (Scope 3) by 2050 or earlier.

Andy Griffiths, Head of Sustainable Procurement at Diageo, and Fellow at IEMA said: “I’m delighted that Diageo is offering IEMA’s environmental management training to our Sustainable Procurement and Supply Chain Sustainability teams. It not only demonstrates Diageo’s commitment to learning and development, but also our ambition to deliver on our sustainability goals.

“As a fellow at IEMA, I know firsthand the benefits this training can bring for our teams and I’m really looking forward to seeing the benefits as we put the learnings into practice.”

Over 45 colleagues around the world will undertake the Associate level of learning and exams.

Alan Darby, Corporate Partnership Manager at IEMA said: “IEMA, the institute representing environment and sustainability professionals around the world, is delighted to be supporting Diageo in building the capability, skills, knowledge and capacity needed to deliver their ambitious sustainability goals. Working closely with Diageo’s Sustainable Procurement and Supply Chain Sustainability teams, we have developed a comprehensive programme of support to ensure colleagues can achieve appropriate levels of professional recognition.”

The IEMA qualification builds on the learning and development programmes which are already underway at Diageo to upskill colleagues on sustainability. They include our partnership with Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford which educates our senior leaders on ESG, and our internal training programme for marketers which aims to improve the understanding of sustainability throughout the creative processes, through to communicating with consumers on sustainability initiatives.