Sustaining Sustainability Is Aim of Workshop Focused On Organizational Assessments and Systems

Early Bird Discount Available Until October 1st for 5-Week ISSP Workshop Taught by ISSP President Dorothy Atwood
Sep 23, 2013 9:15 AM ET
Dorothy Atwood

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PORTLAND, OR, September 23, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Management systems are the key to ongoing progress toward encouraging sustainable practices in any organization. A sustainability management system (SMS) allows for systematic internal review, monitoring and corrective actions for continual improvement.

An on-line workshop offered in October by the International Society of Sustainability Professonals (ISSP) will walk you through the creation of such a system to fit your needs.  You don't need a third-party certified ISO 14001 management system to benefit from the Plan-Do-Check-Act framework. You will learn what level of sophistication works best for you and what elements to add as your system matures. You will complete the workshop having learned practical methods to solidify and advance sustainability efforts by applying proven management system tools, practices and competencies:

•    Build and maintain sustainability management systems
•    Develop sustainability metrics
•    Create/maintain sustainability reporting
•    Describe continuous improvement (CIP): Kaizen, ISO 14000, Lean Six Sigma, TQM, etc.

The workshop will help you answer the following questions for your own sustainability program:

How do we...
•    Go from a sustainability plan to a living sustainability system that is part of our core business?
•    Assess where we are and set priorities?
•    Review goals, projects and the program as a whole?
•    Have training, communication, and support systems in place for our program?
•    Keep the program alive if a key champion leaves?

Your online workshop experience, from pre-work to deliverable completion, is October 1 through October 31.  The workshop is delivered online and via the Internet so you participate from your computer for both the live weekly webinars and for the 24/7 online 'classroom' experience. Successful completion of this workshop can be applied as a core credit towards the ISSP Sustainability Professionals Certificate.

About the Instructor

Dorothy Fisher Atwood has more than 25 years of environmental consulting experience with the last ten years focused management systems implementation for private and public organizations. She is the current president of ISSP, and is the Management Systems program manager for Zero Waste Alliance (ZWA), a Portland-based non-profit.

Workshop Schedule and Registration

Online activities begin October 9 and end October 30.
 The October 9 and 23 live webinars are scheduled for 10:00 am Pacific Time-USA for 60-90 minutes. The October 16 and 30 live webinars are scheduled for 4:00 pm Pacific Time-USA for 60-90 minutes. All webinars are recorded and are available to workshop participants at any time. Cost for the 4-week workshop is $450 with an additional $75 off for ISSP members. An extended early bird discount of $50 is available to everyone through October 1st. To view additional workshop details or to register, click here.

About ISSP

The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) is the world's leading professional association for sustainability professionals. ISSP is a member-driven association committed to moving the profession of sustainability forward through building strong networks and communities of practice. Formed in 2007, ISSP boasts more than 700 members from every continent in the world. Members share resources and best practices, and develop themselves professionally. Webinars, webchats, on-line courses, special reports, resource directories, salary surveys, and professional competency studies are just a sampling of the rich content offered to members. For more information about ISSP and its offerings, please visit www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org.