What is the Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting?
The Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting is a flexible 9-week online professional development program that provides insight into the fundamentals of sustainability reporting with a unique emphasis on environmental metric data management and decision making.
What Will You Learn?
Fundamentals of Sustainability Reporting
- In-depth understanding of sustainability reporting frameworks, ESG data and metrics, and economic considerations.
- Carbon footprint measurement techniques and reduction strategies, including understanding the Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions standards and assessment.
Hands-On Environmental Metric Data Management and Decision Making
- Customization of environmental metric data collection and reporting processes.
- Excel and Power BI dashboards designed to support efficient data management and reporting.
- Applications in Greenhouse Gas and Waste Management sustainable data reporting.
By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the skills to support their company’s sustainability efforts and create impactful environmental reports.
This program qualifies for the StrongerBC future skills grant. This grant is open for British Columbians aged 19+, and covers up to $3,500 of training at public post‑secondary institutions. Read more about the overall program on the StrongerBC site .
Apply for the StrongerBC future skills grant here .
Who should enroll?
- Early to Mid-career Professionals interested in leveraging their careers by developing their knowledge of sustainable environmental practices.
- Recent University or College Graduates looking to boost their employability and job prospects by earning a specialized certification that validates their commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
- Business Leaders wanting to understand and use techniques to track and evaluate their company’s environmental footprint for potential cost reductions and increased operational efficiency.
- Entrepreneurs looking to gain insights into sustainability reporting to solidify their organization’s reputation with key stakeholders, including investors, customers, and employees.
- Professionals in Corporate Social Responsibility and Finance anticipating an increased demand for proficiency in environmental metrics and sustainability reporting from their clientele.
- Employees that have been tasked to lead environmental reporting practices to meet emerging regulations and/or to address their climate impact.
Ready to make a significant impact in sustainability? Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Register and start your journey towards sustainability leadership today!
Registration Now Open!
For MFRE Alumni
If you are an MFRE alumni, please email mfre.learn@ubc.ca for information about how you should register in Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting.
Who is offering the Micro-Certificate?
The UBC Master of Food and Resource Economics program (MFRE), a one-year graduate program focused on economic solutions for climate, food, and environmental challenges, offers the micro-certificate each Spring and Fall.
The UBC-MFRE Faculty involved in the micro-certificate include:
- Sumeet Gulati, PhD, Professor, Food & Resource Economics (FRE) and Faculty Associate with Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES).
- Carol McAusland, PhD, Professor, Food & Resource Economics (FRE).
- James Vercammen, PhD, Professor, Sauder School of Business and Food & Resource Economics (FRE).
- Kelleen L. Wiseman, MBA, PhD, Academic Director, Master of Food and Resource Economics.
- Karen Taylor, PhD, Lecturer, Food and Resource Economics
How is the Micro-Certificate Structured?
Fall 2025 Session: Sep 15, 2025 to Dec 21, 2025
- Course 1: ESG Fundamentals and Environmental Decisions (3 weeks)
- Sep 15- Oct 5, 2025
- Course 2: Data Gathering and Management for GHG Emissions and Food Waste (3 weeks)
- Oct 6- Oct 26, 2025
- Course 3a: ESG in Agribusiness (3 weeks)
- Nov 3- Nov 23, 2025
- Course 3b: Sustainable Package Decision Making for Food Service and Processing (3 weeks)
- Nov 3- Nov 23, 2025
- Course 4: Environmental Assessment, Strategy Creation, and Sustainability Reporting (3 weeks)
- Dec 1 – Dec 21, 2025
Format: Students wanting to complete the full micro-certificate and receive accreditation must complete the following:
Course 1, Course 2, and Course 4 (mandatory) and Select one of Course 3a OR Course 3b (electives). Each course spans three weeks and includes video lectures, case studies, software application demonstrations, Q&A discussions, assignments, activities, and live sessions with industry experts. Upon successfully completing all four courses, participants will receive a Micro-Certificate in Sustainability Reporting and Environmental Metrics.
Time commitment: Participants can work at their own pace. The total time commitment is 4 hours every week that includes 2 hours per week of viewing content and 2 hours per week of activities, assessments and practice.
Requirements for the Micro-Certificate: An interest in increasing your practical knowledge of environment and sustainability topics and a basic understanding of MS Excel is advantageous.
Cost: $2500 Full Micro-Certificate (includes all 4 courses) or $900 (Individual Course). If you decide to take the courses individually, you must take the prerequisite course, Course 1: ESG Fundamentals and Environmental Decisions, prior to Course 2 and/or Course 3a/3b and/or Course 4.
This program qualifies for the StrongerBC Future Skills grant. The StrongerBC Future Skills Grant offers up to $3,500 to support eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. Open to most B.C. residents aged 19 or older, the grant is available regardless of financial need. Registration for the 2025/2026 programs will open on a per-program basis. For the latest updates and to check your eligibility, visit the WorkBC StrongerBC Future Skills Grant webpage.
The Future Skill Grant (FSG) has the limited numbers of seats allocated to the Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting, if we reach to the maximum number of the seats, you will be emailed and placed on the waitlist.
If you are planning to use the Future Skill Grant (FSG), you will need to do the following:
- Check your eligibility for FSG at WorkBC.
- Login to Future Skills Grant portal using your BC Services Card, this will allow you to determine your eligibility and claim your funds [Further instructions are on the site].
- Fill out your application and choose the Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting. Be sure to check the boxes as shown here when you are applying through the FSG portal.
- Be sure that the information in your profile on the future skills grant management system (FSGMS) (Legal Name, SIN, Date of Birth, Address & Email) is correct. Please update any incorrect information.
Once we receive your information, we will enroll you in the Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics for Sustainability Reporting and send you next steps to view course content.
Keep Up-to-Date:
Stay up to date with news regarding our micro-certificate. Fill in the form, and we will contact you when registration opens.
Current UBC students and Masters of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) alumni can register through an internal channel. Please email mfre.learn@ubc.ca to learn more.
Why should you register?
- Gain an in-demand skill set that when applied to a business, can provide valuable data that organizations can use to track their environmental performance over time.
- Advance your sustainability knowledge so you can lead environmental impact tracking and sustainability planning within your organization.
- Broaden your career path to include the green economy.
- Obtain practical hands-on experience with Excel Dashboards and Power BI, essential tools for managing and reporting environmental data effectively.
- Contribute to a more sustainable future.
Hear from our alumni:
Sarah Pickering
I learned a lot about the various reporting standards, what metrics organizations use, and how the world of ESG is evolving from an impressive list of guest speakers and UBC Professors. We focused on food waste, Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and KPIs in reporting, as well as starting to finish the steps of creating a sustainability report for an organization. I really enjoyed this learning experience.
Ana Patino
The Micro-Certificate in Environmental Metrics has been a game changer for me. The course provided me with essential skills and knowledge in sustainability reporting and its data management of it, leading to my recent promotion as a Sustainability Reporting Specialist. The applicability of the course content to real-world scenarios was invaluable. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to advance their career in sustainability.
For more information, contact:
MFRE Micro-Certificates
mfre.learn@ubc.ca
Master of Food and Resource Economics | Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
Topics Covered:
Course 1: ESG Fundamentals and Environmental Decisions
- ESG and Sustainability Reporting
- First Nations in ESG
- Economics and Externalities
- Transition to Net Zero
- Climate Opportunities and Risks
- ESG Frameworks, Standards, and Other Services
- Steps for ESG Reporting – Customize your Plan.
- Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy
- Environmental Regulatory Response and Strategy
- Environmental Metric Categories
Course 2: Data Gathering and Management for GHG Emissions and Food Waste
- GHG Emissions Units and Scope 1, 2, 3
- GHG Principles, Conversions, KPIs, and Emissions Targets
- Waste Management, Food Loss and Waste Inventory
- Food Loss and Waste Quantification, and KPIs
- Excel and/or Power BI: Designing a Data Collection and Computation Worksheet
Course 3a: ESG in Agribusiness
- ESG principles and Climate Risk in the agribusiness context
- ESG strategies, regulatory and market trends in the agribusiness sector
- Measuring, analyzing, and reporting environmental metrics in agribusiness
Course 3b: Sustainable Package Decision Making for Food Service and Processing
- Environmental impacts of packaging and the importance of sustainability
- Variety of sustainable packaging materials and their applications
- Principles and practices behind sustainable packaging design
- Assess and implement sustainable packaging solutions in a business context
- Excel data models that can be used to determine “best fit” packaging using criteria of cost, sustainability, and product requirements
- Regulatory landscape and consumer demands for sustainable packaging
Course 4: Environmental Assessment, Strategy Creation, and Sustainability Reporting
- GHG Dashboard Excel and/or Power BI: Data Management – GHG and Food Loss and Waste Case
- Customizing, Automating, and Building a Sustainability Report
- Climate Risk Management: Tools to Identify and Analyze
- Climate Risk Management – Mitigation Strategies
- Risk Management –Assessing Options Using Basic Cost Benefit Analysis