Sustainable HR: The Social Pillar of ESG, Pay Equity, Wellbeing and Workforce Data – Paris, 8–12 Feb 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Sustainable HR is now tested by investors, rating agencies and employees who want evidence on pay fairness, wellbeing, safety, inclusion and skills, yet workforce data often sits in separate systems with no link to the social pillar of ESG. HR teams are asked to fill questionnaires and disclosures without agreed definitions or targets. This Core Concept course shows HR and sustainability staff how to select material people topics, calculate social metrics, prepare credible disclosure and plan workforce transition. Participants build a Social-Pillar HR Roadmap and KPI Set for a case company.

Course Objectives:

• Explain how workforce topics feed the social pillar of ESG and investor analysis, and screen people-related topics for materiality
• Map existing HR data to GRI 401 to GRI 405 topic disclosures and to emerging investor expectations on human capital
• Calculate pay equity gaps, wellbeing indicators, safety rates and diversity measures from HR and payroll records
• Design a just-transition workforce plan that links skills gaps, reskilling pathways and redeployment decisions
• Prepare evidence for ESG rating questionnaires and apply data quality controls to social figures
• Produce a Social-Pillar HR Roadmap and KPI Set with baselines, targets and owners

Target Audience:

• HR generalists and business partners who respond to sustainability data requests from the business
• Reward and payroll specialists who hold pay, grading and benefits records
• Wellbeing, occupational health and safety coordinators who track absence, injuries and support services
• HR analytics and HR systems staff who extract and reconcile workforce data
• Sustainability and ESG officers who compile social disclosures and rating questionnaire answers

Course Outline:

Day 1: ESG Basics for HR and the Social Pillar

• Environmental, Social and Governance Pillars: Where Workforce Issues Sit in Investor Analysis
• Corporate Responsibility Versus ESG: Stakeholder Impact Lens and Investor Risk Lens
• Double Materiality Screening of People-Related Topics
• Stakeholder Expectations Map: Employees, Worker Representatives, Investors and Customers
• Sustainable HR Maturity Self-Assessment Scorecard

Day 2: Social Disclosure Frameworks and Workforce Topic Standards

• GRI Standards Architecture: Universal, Sector and Topic Standards
• GRI 401 Employment and GRI 402 Labor/Management Relations Disclosures
• GRI 403 Occupational Health and Safety and GRI 404 Training and Education Disclosures
• GRI 405 Diversity and Equal Opportunity Data Fields
• ISSB Human Capital Research Agenda and Investor Workforce Risk Signals

Day 3: Fair Pay, Wellbeing, Safety and Inclusion Metrics in Practice

• Pay Equity Audit: Like-for-Like Job Grouping and Adjusted Versus Unadjusted Gap Calculation
• Living Wage Benchmarking and Fair Pay Policy Statement
• Wellbeing Index Design: Absence Rate, Burnout Pulse Survey and Assistance Programme Usage
• Safety Performance Indicators: Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate, Near-Miss Reporting and Leading Measures
• Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard: Representation, Promotion Rates and Inclusion Survey Items

Day 4: Workforce Transition, Labour Standards and ESG Rating Data Quality

• Just-Transition Workforce Plan: Roles at Risk, Reskilling Pathways and Social Dialogue
• Skills Gap Heat Map and Green Skills Taxonomy for Redeployment
• Contractor and Supplier Labour Standards Overview: Forced Labour, Working Hours and Grievance Channels
• ESG Rating Questionnaire Response: Social Section Evidence Pack
• HR Data Quality Controls: Definitions Register, Reconciliation and Restatement Triggers

Day 5: Case Study: Social-Pillar HR Roadmap and KPI Set

• Case Company Workforce Data Pack Review and Material Topic Selection
• Social KPI Set Build: Baselines, Targets, Owners and Reporting Frequency
• Sustainable HR Roadmap Drafting: Quick Wins, Medium-Term and Long-Term Horizons
• Sustainability Committee Briefing Note Preparation
• Peer Challenge Panel and Roadmap Defence

Skills You Will Gain:

• Double Materiality Screening
• Pay Gap Analysis
• Wellbeing Measurement
• Safety Indicator Tracking
• Inclusion Data Analysis
• Just-Transition Planning
• ESG Questionnaire Evidence Preparation
• Social Data Quality Assurance

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Social-Pillar HR Roadmap and KPI Set built on case data and tested by peers
• Answer investor and rating agency requests on workforce topics with figures you can trace to source records
• Spot weak pay, safety or diversity figures before they reach a published report
• Compare sustainable HR practice with HR and sustainability peers from energy, finance, retail, healthcare and public services

Conclusion:

Sustainable HR turns the social pillar of ESG into measurable workforce practice. The course moves from ESG basics and material people topics, through GRI workforce disclosures and investor expectations, to pay equity, wellbeing, safety and inclusion metrics, and then to just-transition planning, labour standards, rating questionnaires and data quality. The final day applies these methods to a case company and produces a Social-Pillar HR Roadmap and KPI Set ready for discussion with leadership.