Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate
The Leadership in Environmental Sustainability professional development certificate program launched in Fall 2023. This online certificate program equips individuals with knowledge about environmental sustainability and advanced competencies required to become future change agents.
About the Program
The Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate is a certificate course offered by the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) at Brock as a part of its professional and continuing education offerings. Sustainability is an established imperative in businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. Now, more than ever, society needs individuals who have the capacity to navigate the contemporary circumstances of rapid change, uncertainty and conflicts. The Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate is designed to equip individuals with knowledge about environmental sustainability and advanced skills required to become future change agents. Each course explores the linkages of major sustainability-based concepts and their relation to the environment. To support the needs of both current and aspiring leaders, this program can be tailored to ensure that you gain the skills and knowledge necessary to meet your professional development goals.
Key Features
- Receive a formal Certificate of Completion from Brock University
- Online delivery (with synchronous components)
- Flexible timeline for course completion
- Multiple pathways to earning the certificate
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this certificate participants will be able to:
- Understand and explain fundamental sustainability concepts using appropriate vocabulary.
- Comprehend emerging issues and approaches in environmental sustainability.
- Make connections between environmental issues and other broader issues related to society, economics, and politics.
- Develop a comprehensive set of practical skills and tools to affect change towards sustainability within your organization.
- Critically analyze situations relating to environmental sustainability (problems and opportunities) and design strategies on how to address them.
- Effectively mobilize knowledge to enhance awareness, communicate information, and motivate action.
- Appreciate the need for collaboration and devise innovative ways of engaging with others.
- Identify different perspectives relating to environmental sustainability and demonstrate the capacity to bridge conventional barriers.
Program Requirements
The Environmental Sustainability Leadership certificate consists of required and elective courses. Participants are required to complete a total of 4 courses to receive the certificate. This includes 2 intensive required courses as well as 2 electives courses. Each course is made up of a series of linked modules related to the course topic. This program is offered in English and can be completed in 1 year or less. Successful participants will receive a certificate upon completion from the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) to signify their proficiency in environmental sustainability leadership.
Required Courses:
- Current State of the Environment (October 21, 2024 – December 13, 2024)
- Enacting Sustainable Environmental Change (January 13, 2025 – March 7, 2025)
Elective Course Topics to include:
- Acting on Climate Change
- Intersectional Environmentalism
- Initiating Sustainability Transformations
- Effective Science Communication and Knowledge Mobilization
* Spring/Summer 2025 course offerings and dates TBD
Course Offerings
Aim of the Course
This course provides students with an overview of sustainability by exploring contemporary issues and the current state of the environment. Students will learn terminology, theories, and concepts to build the foundation to effectively communicate on, and critically engage in, a variety of topics in sustainability.
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Understand and explain fundamental sustainability concepts.
- Compare different ways of understanding the environment and sustainability.
- Demonstrate awareness of systems thinking, specifically the interactions between natural and social systems.
- Describe the current state of the environment.
- Identify and analyze the implications of a ‘change perspective’ in concept and application.
- Diagnose considerations and strategize advancements of sustainability.
This is an online course offering that allows learners the opportunity to connect with the instructor and their peers on three separate occassions (see dates below). Not to worry if you are unable to join the synchoronous online meet ups listed below as each will be recorded and shared with all learners.
This online course will run from October 21, 2024 to December 13, 2024 (8 weeks) with the opportunity to connect with your course instructor and peers on:
- Tuesday, November 12 from 7 to 8pm EST
- Tuesday, November 26 from 7 to 8pm EST
- Tuesday, December 10 from 7 to 8pm EST
Aim of the Course:
This course prepares students and professionals to become a new kind of leader who understands the complexities of social-environmental challenges and knows how to navigate uncertain contexts, collaborate across disciplines, and generate innovative solutions to current issues.
With this course we want to inspire and empower you to make a difference in your world, to become an agent of change. We do this by building a foundational understanding of sustainability. Along with this, you will gain the skills and knowledge that will help you make a difference in the environmental, social and economic issues that we face every day. To inspire you, we will also show you examples of what other agents of change are doing now to contribute to a more sustainable world.
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Describe what being a change agent for sustainability mean
- Identify important characteristics, roles, and responsibilities of effective change agents for sustainability
- Comprehend the importance of communication, and utilize communication tools for effectively inspiring and enacting change
- Differentiate between problem-solving and decision-making, and explain what is involved in each
- Understand why collaboration is important for reaching sustainability goals in the workplace
- Understand the importance of monitoring and evaluating environmental sustainability initiatives, and how it can be accomplished
- Demonstrate practical application of aspects related to being an effective change agent to operationalize change in the workplace
This is an online course offering that allows learners the opportunity to connect with the instructor and their peers on three separate occassions (see dates below). Not to worry if you are unable to join the synchoronous online meet ups listed below as each will be recorded and shared with all learners.
This online course will run from January 13, 2025 to March 7, 2025 (8 weeks) with the opportunity to connect with your course instructor and the following dates:
- Tuesday, February 4 from 7 to 8pm EST
- Wednesday, February 18 from 7 to 8pm EST
- Tuesday, March 4 from 7 to 8pm EST
Aim of the Course:
Climate change is intensely impacting the earth, with profound implications now and in the future. In this course, learners will participate in interactive discussions and content about climate change, from the local to global levels. It will explore both the science and personal actions we can take to tackle climate change. The course will also empower learners with tools and resources to understand the foundations of climate change, its impact on our societies, and how to navigate a changing climate. Throughout the course, examples are provided to help equip learners with credible and practical information on how to act on climate change within their workplace roles. No prerequisites are required to take this course.
Note: No prerequisites are required to take this course. The course can be utilized as an elective towards gaining a Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate.
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Describe the fundamentals of climate change science
- Explain observed and projected trends in the climate
- Identify the implications (impacts) of climate change in the local and global context
- Understand vulnerability in the context of climate change
- Identify mitigation actions as well as how to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change
- Demonstrate how resilience to climate change can be fostered through action
This is an online course offering that allows learners the opportunity to connect with the instructor and their peers on one separate occasion (see date below). Not to worry if you are unable to join the synchronous online meet up listed below as it will be recorded and shared with all learners.
Aim of the Course:
This course introduces students to the concept of intersectional environmentalism, which is a crucial form of environmentalism that includes protecting people and the planet they live on. It will explore the overlapping social and environmental injustices in various communities and identify how they are interconnected. Learners will learn how our social, economic, health, governmental, and environmental issues are all connected and explore just solutions for a more sustainable future.
Note: No prerequisites are required to take this course. The course can be utilized as an elective towards gaining a Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate.
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Describe the fundamentals of climate change science
- Explain observed and projected trends in the climate
- Identify the implications (impacts) of climate change in the local and global context
- Understand vulnerability in the context of climate change
- Identify mitigation actions as well as how to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change
- Demonstrate how resilience to climate change can be fostered through action
This is an online course offering that allows learners the opportunity to connect with the instructor and their peers on one separate occasion (see date below). Not to worry if you are unable to join the synchronous online meet up listed below as it will be recorded and shared with all learners.
Elective course offerings will begin in spring 2024 with additional offerings being added in spring 2025. Course topics include:
- Effective Science Communication and Knowledge Mobilization
- Intersectional Environmentalism
- Acting on Climate Change
- Initiating Sustainability Transformations
