Educational institutions, communities and businesses have a critical role to play in addressing global sustainability challenges like climate change, and the first step in the journey toward sustainability is to assess the existing organizational “footprint.” Sustainability assessment skills such as carbon footprinting are increasingly in demand professionally, as more corporations and institutions make public commitments to sustainability and carbon reduction goals.
Tracking and managing your carbon footprint (also called a “greenhouse gas [GHG] inventory”) is a technical process, but is not one that you need to be a scientist or math whiz to learn. With an understanding of some basic GHG accounting concepts and an awareness of the tools and resources available, anyone can help their organization or community take this important first step towards improved sustainability.
After completing the Carbon Footprinting Certificate Program, you will be prepared to tackle a GHG inventory for your school, organization, business, or community. The three required courses provide an introduction to carbon footprinting, an overview of core concepts for footprinting, and strategies for interpreting and communicating your carbon footprint results. The carbon footprint tool that will be used for teaching is SIMAP, a tool hosted by UNH, but the concepts taught in this program can be applied to any carbon footprinting tool.
The Carbon Footprinting Certificate Program requires 3 core courses and 1 elective. See below for more details on these courses.
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