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The Academy by Search with purpose

Develop the business and leadership skills of the next generation of sustainability talent.

  • Board-level confidence

  • Commercial fluency

  • Influence where it counts

Whether you’re preparing for a CSO role, recently stepped into one, need support to be more effective, or building sustainability capacity across your portfolio, The Academy is for leaders who want to deliver real impact.

Built for future sustainability leaders.

Designed by Fern Freeman, executive search expert and founder of Search With Purpose.

With over 15 years of experience placing CSOs and ESG leaders across FTSE companies and private equity, Fern created The Academy to bridge the leadership gap she saw again and again.

Diverse group of professionals in an engaging discussion around a table—capturing the collaborative, peer-led learning environment at The Academy by Search With Purpose.

This is what we hear all the time:

“My head of sustainability has the technical knowledge, but not the business and leadership skills to implement them effectively.”

“Our CSO needs to influence C-suite & work with investors more effectively”

“We need our sustainability leader to put an investment case to our CFO, but they need support.”

“Our Head of Sustainability is excellent, but we’re worried they might burn out.”

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

Sustainability roles are more senior, more complex, and more visible than ever. But leadership development hasn’t caught up. The Academy gives you what internal training rarely can: space, challenge, support, and tools — designed for the realities of leading sustainability today.

How it works

Choose between:

5-month modular experience

or

2–3 day intensive cohort sessions

  1. In-person, small groups

  1. Facilitated by experts in their field outside of the ESG ecosystem. Learn from the best. Harness the power of interdisciplinary learning

  1. Built around peer discussion, real-world case studies, and practical tools

How is the Academy different?

Making sustainability more effective by learning from leaders in other functions.

Tailored for real-world leadership, not academic theory

Led by someone who knows what it takes to land and grow in senior roles

Trusted by private equity firms, FTSE-listed companies, and senior advisors

Built for strategic sustainability — not generic leadership

This is for you if:

  1. You’re preparing for a CSO or ESG leadership role

  1. You’ve been given ESG responsibility — without support to lead it

  1. You need board-level influence but lack the tools and confidence

  1. You’re responsible for developing ESG capability across a portfolio

Upskill your team

The Curriculum

  • Read a P&L. Make your case with numbers and craft a viable investment case. Position sustainability as value add rather than cost.

  • Stakeholder management. Boardroom presence. Clearer conversations.

  • Protect against early symptoms of burnout and anxiety. Sustain your energy. Stay grounded. Make better decisions.

  • The art of driving change, overcoming resistance and embedding sustainability. See the bigger picture. Lead across silos.

  • Find opportunity. Translate sustainability into commercial strategy. Sustainability as an engine for top line growth, rather than simply risk mitigation.

What participants leave with:

  1. A better understanding of the commercial impact of sustainability

  1. Stepped confidently into new CSO roles

  1. Earned influence at board level

  1. Clarified strategy during critical transition periods

The are many courses that offer technical sustainability, but this course focuses on what it takes to effectively implement that theory.