Is Professional Online Education on Sustainability the New Trend?

Online training is well-established for individuals to improve employment prospects.  With this in mind, the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) started the Sustainability Academy to provide flexible, affordable, certified sustainability practitioner training.  In 2017, CSE began work on president and founder Nikos Avlonas’ pledge to reach 100,000 sustainability practitioners by 2010!

In 2018, CSE is happy to announce a far-reaching effort to meet this goal.  CSE has launched the Sustainability Academy as an in-house training opportunity for corporations to efficiently reach global workforces, providing a uniform language to pursue corporate sustainability strategy and goals. 

Workday, the Coca-Cola Foundation, the United Nations and many other organizations have already taken advantage of CSE’s program. 

The ROI is indisputable: 

Shareholders - the American Society for Training and Development found that an increase of $680 in training per employee generates nearly a 6% improvement in shareholder return.  Firms investing the most in training and development yielded a 45% higher return than the market average, along with higher profit margins and higher income per employee. 

Increase market share – a Nielsen survey in 2015 found that 72% of Millennials "are willing to pay more for products and services that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact.”  

Increased efficiency – after training, an HSBC "Climate Champion" activated software to automatically shut down computers along with an awareness program which together saved 4 million kilowatts per year of electricity and nearly 900 metric tons of carbon dioxide, saving $332,000 on energy bills.

Satisfied employees – research has found that a 2% increase in productivity can net a 100% return on investment in training (CompTIA and Prometric).  For every dollar on training, Motorola found an almost 30% gain in productivity over three years, reduced costs by over $3 billion and a 47% increase in profits.

Employee retention – Louis Harris & Associates found that 41% of employees without training opportunities plan to leave within one year versus only 12% of those with excellent training opportunities.  AON found that employees rank "opportunities for personal growth" ahead of salary!

Companies are looking for ways to bring sustainability training to their employees and out into the community as part of their social commitment.  US and multinational corporations and organizations alike need a critical mass who understand sustainability and all its components.  Increased productivity, increased morale and improved carbon footprint is only the start.

The Sustainability Academy helps corporations and organizations improve the skills and update the knowledge-base of the staff and volunteers on whom they rely.  Courses offer practical information on the business case for sustainability; stakeholder engagement; the use of standards and guidelines to implement successful sustainability strategies organization-wide, and more.  Courses include:

• Diploma on Corporate Sustainability

• Certificate on Sustainability Reporting

• Certificate on Carbon Reduction Strategy

• Certificate on ESG Performance for Investors & Sustainability Professionals

• Introduction to Social Impact Assessment and SROI

The online Sustainability Academy is proud to scale its offerings, partnering with companies to meet organizational needs, increase public appeal and improve lives.

For more information, contact sustainability@cse-net.org.