HEC Montréal and the United Nations University Establish a First-of-Its-Kind Executive Education Partnership in Canada

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2026 /CNW/ -- During Climate Week NYC 2026, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) and HEC Montréal announce the UN's first partnership in Canada dedicated to executive education. This collaboration will initially take the form of an intensive five-day program leading to a Certificate in Sustainable Leadership for senior executives and organizational leaders.

Organizations face global challenges of growing scale and complexity. Understanding these issues is no longer enough. Leaders must grasp their interconnections, balance competing priorities, and make informed decisions in uncertain environments. Executive education plays a key role in developing this capacity for analysis, reflection, and action.

By combining the expertise of the United Nations University in science and global issues with HEC Montréal's expertise in executive education, the two institutions aim to strengthen leaders' ability to translate a deeper understanding of the world into informed decisions and meaningful action.

"Today's leaders must make decisions in an environment where transformations are accelerating and intersecting. Executive education provides the space to step back, renew perspectives, and turn knowledge into decisions. With UNU-INWEH, we are bringing together leading-edge science, international perspectives, and management realities to better prepare leaders to act amid uncertainty and lead change."

Dominique Anglade, Executive Director, Executive Education HEC Montréal

From Knowledge to Decision

At the heart of this collaboration is a simple ambition: to bridge scientific knowledge about major global transformations with the real decisions organizations must make.

This approach aligns with the work of Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH and recipient of the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize. His research is recognized for its examination of the interactions between human and environmental systems and for connecting science, policy, and decision-making.

"The major challenges of our time do not occur in isolation. They are deeply interconnected and require decision-makers to make difficult choices, often under conditions of uncertainty. Science can inform these choices, provided it is understood, contextualized, and connected to action. By bringing scientific knowledge closer to leadership development, through our work together with HEC Montreal, we seek to strengthen leaders' ability to make sound, sustainable decisions that are fit for the pressing challenges of our world."

Professor Kaveh Madani, Director, UNU-INWEH

A Certificate Rooted in Leaders' Realities

The program will bring together experts from academia, the United Nations, and the business community. Topics will include major environmental and economic transitions, resource management, polarization dynamics, foresight, and decision-making under uncertainty.

Participants will be encouraged to connect these transformations to their own leadership responsibilities, assess implications for their organizations, and strengthen their capacity to prioritize, decide, and mobilize. The certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of a rigorous learning and assessment process demonstrating achievement of the program's learning objectives and academic requirements.

Discover the program: Certification in Sustainable Leadership

About HEC Montréal and Executive Education HEC Montréal

An internationally renowned French-language university, HEC Montréal is open to the world and firmly rooted in the Quebec community. Founded in 1907, it trains leaders in all areas of management, who contribute responsibly to the success of organizations and the sustainable transition of society. Its community includes more than 14,000 students from 154 countries, 305 faculty members and more than 120,000 graduates worldwide. The School offers more than 160 programs at all undergraduate and graduate levels.

Executive Education HEC Montréal is committed to empowering people and organizations to achieve more by transforming knowledge into impact. For more than 65 years, Executive Education HEC Montréal has designed practical, strategic learning experiences grounded in today's most pressing business challenges. Ranked #1 in Canada and #28 worldwide in the Financial Times executive education 2026 rankings, executive education offers more than 80 short-duration programs (1 to 9 days) covering every area of management, delivered in person, online, or on-site within organizations, in Montréal and internationally. 

Each year, more than 9,000 leaders and 450 organizations choose Executive Education HEC Montreal to develop the capabilities, perspectives, and networks they need to make sound decisions, engage their teams, and drive organizational transformation

About UNU-INWEH

Marking its 30th anniversary of operation in 2026, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is one of 13 institutions that make up the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the UN. Known as 'The UN's Think Tank on Water', UNU-INWEH addresses critical water, environmental, and health challenges around the world. Through research, training, capacity development, and knowledge dissemination, the institute contributes to solving pressing global sustainability and human security issues of concern to the UN and its Member States. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, UNU-INWEH has been hosted and supported by the Government of Canada since 1996. With a global mandate and extensive partnerships across UN entities, international organizations, and governments, UNU-INWEH leads UNU Hubs in Calgary, Hamburg, New York, Lund and Pretoria.

Dominique Anglade and Professor Kaveh Madani are available for media interviews. The partner organizations' logos and official photos from the signing ceremony will be available to the media upon request as of September 23, 2026.

SOURCE HEC Montréal

MEDIA CONTACT: Émilie Novales, APR, Senior Media Relations Advisor, HEC Montréal, [email protected], 438 520-3536; Marjan Asadullah, Communications Assistant, UNU-INWEH, [email protected]