University of California, Berkeley
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

Created by the Office of Sustainability, the UC Berkeley Sustainability Staff Training and Certification is composed of ten comprehensive modules, designed to allow you to work and complete at your own pace. Upon successful completion of the 10 modules, UC Berkeley Staff can earn a Staff Sustainability Training Certification of Completion showing your gained knowledge in sustainability.

The modules are cover environmental, social and economic sustainability and offer a snapshot of UC and UC Berkeley’s unique approach. Each module takes about 20 minutes to complete and are supported with videos, articles and more. The modules include carbon neutrality, zero waste, resiliency and environmental justice, sustainable eating, ecosystems and biodiversity, built environment, transportation, sustainable spending, water, and engagement.

To record the staff development achievement it is recommended that staff enroll through the UC Learning Center. Becoming certified through this program also situates employees (if they volunteer) to become a peer to peer campus sustainability advisor, helping us build a widespread culture and community of sustainability at Berkeley.

To access this staff training through the UC Learning Center, click the link here: https://hr.berkeley.edu/uc-learning-center-lms

To access the training and NOT complete the certification, click the link here: https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/ucberkeleysustainabilitytraini/home

Additionally, UC Berkeley invites all staff to attend the annual summit held by the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability, where campus sustainability options are highlighted and honored. The campus also certifies Green Departments that complete a sustainability checklist in areas such as energy use, recycling and transportation. According to the most current count, 30 certified departments representing 4,400 employees have been certified as green departments. Capital Projects staff are offered free training for their LEED certification. This means that 27% of staff and faculty are part of a department that has been recognized as green.
https://sustainability.berkeley.edu/engage/green-certifications

Sponsored Tuition enables eligible staff to take UC Berkeley Extension classes, of which 10% of the courses offered are sustainability-related. Sponsored Tuition is a career development initiative spearheaded through a partnership between People & Culture and UC Berkeley Extension which provides tuition assistance for eligible employees. UC Berkeley People & Culture will cover the course fees for employees to take UC Berkeley Extension courses.
https://hr.berkeley.edu/sponsored-tuition

UC Berkeley offers reimbursement to some staff to attend the annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, held at UC Santa Barbara and other state campuses. This conference focuses on the sharing of best practices and lessons learned from the people on the front lines of implementing sustainability efforts in California higher education. The CHESC program offers a wide range of educational programs about waste, water, energy and other forms of sustainable programs.

LinkedIn Learning also offers more than 5,000 on-demand courses on business, creative, and technology skills and you get to access it for free as a UCB staff member. At least 5% of these courses have sustainability related content, and over 50 are directly sustainability focused, according to our UC Staff Sustainability Training and Certification.

The information in this field was provided by the UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability.