Sustainable Learning Online: UNESCO's Young Masters Programme

In 2011 UNESCO inaugurated a global online education programme for 16–18 year-old students to learn about sustainability issues and solutions. The Young Masters Programme (YMP) is a free global web-based education and learning network about sustainable development. The programme is open for secondary students and their teachers from all over the world.

Extensive on-line teaching material gives the students a thorough understanding of sustainability issues and preventive environmental strategies. The students can also put their knowledge into practical use by starting sustainability projects in their local community.

15 Institutions Offering 50 Green Certificate Programs

There is a large and growing number of certificate programs that are designed to meet the demand for a wide range of green skills. Unlike many other sustainability oriented degrees these certificate programs are often less time intensive. While many of these certificate programs are part of traditional academic environments like universities and colleges, others are part of online educational settings and are tailored to the schedules of working professionals. Here are 15 institutions and a broad cross section of 50 green certificate programs that they offer:

On-Line Sustainability Training Opportunities from the SLC

The Sustainability Learning Centre's (SLC) new e-learning Sustainability Education Series has over 50, 15 minute modules that focus on Green Core Competencies. The 50 modules range from Sustainability Planning to Green Fleet and Supply Chain Management.  Each module is 15 minutes, self-directed and complete with “tests for understanding”.  Participants can gain recognition toward sustainability learning certification.

GRI Training from BrownFlynn

BrownFlynn is a women-owned sustainability and corporate social responsibility consulting firm. They advise organizations on how to integrate responsible practices into their strategies, communicate these practices internally and externally for bottom-line impact, and provide training to build skills and engage associates. BrownFlynn believes that training is an integral part of their service offering, building skills within your organization and in the process, educating and engaging associates in sustainability. As the first United States-based certified training partner of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), our team is dedicated to educating clients on how to utilize GRI's framework for sustainability reporting and as a management process to achieve bottom-line impact.

Going Beyond Compliance: Best-in-Class Environmental Performance (Webcast)

Reaching beyond EH&S regulations to enhance efficiency, improve competitiveness and reduce risks. This event was recorded on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Register below to view the recording.

An increasing number of companies are re-evaluating their environment, health and safety (EH&S) programs. This re-assessment is leading to an expanded role for EH&S as companies look to not only ensure compliance, but also to better understand their risks and opportunities and deliver on business and sustainability objectives.

The University of Vermont's Advanced Certificates in Sustainability

The University of Vermont is now offering sustainability training that is designed to lead your organization to sustainability and profitability. The University of Vermont online sustainability certificate programs provide a flexible and convenient way for today’s organizations and busy professionals to learn the latest in sustainable operations models and maximize their current sustainability skills.

Complimentary Webcast on Integrated Reporting: Achieving Value with Financial Grade Sustainability Data

On Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 8:00 am PDT/11am EDT/4pm GMT watch a free webinar that will address integrated reporting. Register now to learn how best in class companies are leveraging CDP disclosure, the GRI reporting framework, sound business processes and technology to unlock new business opportunities through better transparency and accountability of their operations. Sustainability experts will discuss best practices on leveraging the current set of frameworks and standards available, including GRI and CDP, and help you understand what information needs to be disclosed and at what level. You’ll also gain insights on how to ensure your data is credible and how best to leverage the data to add further value throughout your sustainability programs.

Education for a Sustainable Future (Video)

Education For A Sustainable Future is an independent film production and has been uploaded online for free download and distribution. This film reviews how today's practices in schools are socially unsustainable. The documentary film critically analyses what is considered socially relevant in a new education system which brings out the most potential in all of humanity whilst also detailing specific educational methods from a wide range of sources on how to nurture social skills, critical thinking techniques and a larger variety of important practices to positively reinforce from our earliest years onwards. It must be recognised that a sustainable education is one of the most critical components of any advanced society.

Green Education Online in the Wake of Rio+20 (Video)

In the words of the President of Green Education On Line, "we must understand the “average” person knows little of these issues. As was presented at RIO+20, while we want to assume many do understand these issues, they do not so internal training is crucial. What is lacking to move all forward at a much quicker pace is training resources on sustainability for both internal training in an industry business culture and for their own employees as well as to offer to their customers to educate their employees.

Green Team GAP ASSESSMENT Workshop

This four hour workshop is designed to help green teams audit their energy, waste, water, transportation and health. The goal is to understand their "gap" and develop a plan to "green up" their facility.

Integrating ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility) into your Management Systems

Today, January 10th 2012, is the early registration deadline for the Sustainable Learning Centre's (SLC) "Integrating ISO 26000 into your Management Systems" Workshop. Space is limited, but if you register today you can save $100.

The Best Books on Green and Sustainability

"He cannot live without a world."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ignorance is the greatest obstacle preventing the world from collectively engaging the crisis of climate change. That is why information is the most important tool we have to combat climate change. Large scale collective action will only come once people understand the issues and the concomitant solutions. No one epitomized the effort to educate the business community on the subject of sustainability more than the late Ray Anderson who died in 2011. Anderson tirelessly promoted the idea that sustainability is good for business. He advocated an approach that “takes nothing from the earth that cannot be replaced by the earth.” As the founder and chairman of the commercial carpet company Interface, Anderson cut the company's greenhouse gas emissions by 94 percent, cut fossil fuel consumption by 60 percent, cut waste by 80 percent, increased sales, doubled earnings and re-invented the way carpets are made, sold and recycled. That is why Anderson's books are on the top of the list of the 100 most sustainable books in the world.

Paperless Future: BenchPrep is Taking Textbooks and Study Groups Online

New technology applications are emerging in social networks that may one day put an end to the tree killing paper used in school texts and paper notebooks. Students already have access to digital networks that assist with their academics in addition to their social lives. About 150,000 people are taking advantage of the services of a company called BenchPrep. In addition to digitizing test prep materials, they are also giving students online access to study aids and virtual study groups.

Building a Sustainability Strategy Online Course

This interactive webinar course on sustainability is composed of four modules. It is 1.5 hours per week for 4 weeks (October 4, October 11, October 18 and October 25). The course starts at 1:00 pm EST and ends at 2:30 pm EST.

Video: Introduction to 24 Hours of Reality

Between September 14th and 15th, the event 24 Hours of Reality saw people around the globe calling attention to the climate crisis and working to solve it. By the time former Vice President Al Gore finished his presentation on the evening of September 15th, the 24 hour long event had 8.6 million views.

24 Hours of Reality

This event is a 24-hour worldwide marathon all about the reality of the climate crisis. 24 Hours of Reality will be broadcast live online, over 24 hours, representing 24 time zones and 13 languages. The Climate Reality Project will host the live streaming event, which begins on September 13 at 8 p.m. EDT and ends at the same time on September 14.

Online Course: Environmental Mechanisms and Impact Assessment Methods

This course explores how the various impact assessment methods are modeling the fate, transport & exposure pathways (causality chain, mechanisms) of emissions. The course allows participants to understand each impact category and why your results change when you use different impact assessment methods.

Top Five Green Master Degree Programs

In 2010, Master Degree Online.com published their list of the five of the best sustainable schools. (This list has been updated by The Green Market for 2011).

Harvard Corporate Sustainability Distance Learning Course

Harvard University is offering an open enrollment, distance learning course on sustainability. The fall 2011 course is focused on Corporate Sustainability.

This course explores sustainability from a corporate perspective with a focus on the global marketplace. The course covers all three responsibilities of sustainability: environmental stewardship, social well-being, and economic prosperity.

E-Learning Course on the Legal Frameworks of Sustainability

A new online course is being offered for those who want to deepen their expertise by knowing more about the legal frameworks surrounding sustainability. The course is being offered from October 10 to November 4, 2011. The four week e-learning course titled "Legal Preparedness for the Green Economy," costs 350 euros or 505 USD.

The overall objective of this e-learning course is to enable self-paced training which aims to enhance the capacity of legal experts, and those in the public and private sector.