Climate change has been recognized as the fundamental problem of the 21st century, and the anthropogenic cause of climate change has been established. This course will introduce the scientific basis of the greenhouse effect, the global carbon cycle and climate change and will identify and explore methods used to determine an organization’s GHG output. Mechanisms used by industry, governmental organizations and commercial enterprises to remain competitive as the world transitions to a low carbon economy will be explored. Students will gain GHG inventorying skills presented in ISO 14064 and the WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and will gain fundamental understanding of the causes, effects, and possible mitigation strategies for climate change.

This course will introduce social responsibility concepts and approaches presented in key documents like the ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard and the Universal Bill of Human Rights, and will explore the web of relationships in which an organization or a community exists, with the objective of providing the foundational knowledge necessary to plan a strategy for closing the gap between the activities, products and services of the organization or community and the ecosystem within which it exists.