By Stella Odueme
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has launched My ACCA Sustainability Hour, a new initiative for school children in Nigeria with over 144 schools across the country to benefit under the initiative.
The programme which will run for six months, with monthly modules covering selected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will mainly target students from ages 10–16.
The initiative underscores ACCA’s commitment in ensuring the accountancy profession can take a leadership role in the attainment of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
Speaking during the launch event, , Director – Africa at ACCA, Jamil Ampomah, reiterated the urgent need of accelerated action on the commitments of the SGD’s.
“While countries across Africa are embarking on various development endeavours in their national plans as cascaded from the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063, the 2030 Agenda’s goals of a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable future are threatened. Global progress has stalled or reversed due to escalating conflicts, climate change, and economic downturns. Focusing on transformative entry points like education bridges the gap between goals and policy, investment, capacity building and more complex realities such as cultural dynamics,” he said.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 marked the tenth annual stocktaking of global progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The report highlights that only 35 per cent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half are moving too slowly while 18 per cent are in reverse.
Special Adviser to the President on National Economic Council (NEC) and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai hailed the ACCA Sustainability Hour initiative for schools.
“Education remains vital for sustainable development, yet, according to the 2025 SDG report, 272 million children and youth remained out of school in 2023. While dealing with this harsh reality, we must prioritise teaching SDGs in schools to empower future generations with the knowledge, skills, and values to address complex global challenges like poverty, climate change, and inequality, fostering global citizenship, critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving for a more just and sustainable world,” she said.
The ACCA Sustainability Hour initiative for schools introduces students to sustainability through topics such as climate action, water management, waste management, energy management, poverty, and hunger, with each of the six modules focusing on a specific UN Sustainable Development Goal.
According to group, the program is designed with a scalable, adaptable, and inclusive framework for global implementation, ensuring it caters to diverse educational environments.
ACCA, a global professional accountancy body founded in 1904 with operations in 180 countries. It has a diverse community of over 257,900 members and 530,100 future members.
ACCA is redefining accountancy through cutting-edge qualifications, continuous learning and insights that are respected and valued by employers in every sector, equipping individuals with the business, finance expertise and ethical judgment to lead and drive sustainable value in organisations and economies worldwide.
Guided by strong purpose and values , ACCA works with policymakers, standard setters, the donor community, educators and other accountancy bodies globally to strengthen and build a profession that focuses on people, planet and prosperity to create value for all. Its three global policy priorities (Bridge the Accountancy Skills Gap, Drive Sustainable Business, Champion the Professional Accountant) reflect their intended change and serve as a clear call to action for governments and policy makers around the world.
ACCA’s Commitment to Future Skills development is redefining the profession around technology,
AI, sustainability, and global standards. Some of its thought leadership reports, influencing policy and practice worldwide include; the Future of work, AI in finance, and Environmental Social & Governance (ESG)
Cognizant of the role international education plays in advancing sustainability. ACCA has, since 2013 embedded sustainability concepts in ACCA’s qualification and education programs. ACCA’s curricula have expanded to cover sustainability-led business strategies and environmental accounting.
In May 2025, ACCA introduced a Professional Diploma in Sustainability (ProDipSust) which enables learners gain in-depth knowledge of sustainability frameworks and ethics, sustainability strategy and management, sustainability reporting and sustainability assurance.
Other courses that are offered include; Certificate in Sustainability for Finance, Climate Finance, ESG awareness pack, mastering sustainability reporting, Introduction to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards pack among others.
