Professionals looking to enhance their skills are flocking to short learning programs called microcredentials offered by universities and colleges, and sustainability is an increasingly popular field of study.

Microcredentials, a series of courses designed to be finished in a handful of hours or weeks, have been emphasized by provincial governments and post-secondary institutions as a way to polish up skills and continue education. There are no hard deadlines for assignments, and the learning can be done at a pace that accommodates busy professionals.

From applying environment, social and governance (ESG) factors to investing and developing green business practices, sustainability microcredentials are on the rise in Canada and aligning with expectations that businesses do more to benefit the environment.

Most Canadians hold that business have a responsibility to minimize their environmental footprints. One survey found 59 per cent of Canadian professionals believe sustainability should be a workplace priority.

The demand for sustainable microcredentials among stakeholders “is quite high,” speaking to how “sustainability is on people’s minds”, Amanda Di Battista, chair of Conestoga College’s School of Business, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

What a sustainable microcredential encompasses

The push for the Kitchener, Ont.-based college to launch sustainable microcredentials came from its program advisory committee and partner organizations, which were interested in learning how to implement sustainable business practices said Michelle Grimes, executive director of Conestoga’s business school.

“Sometimes when organizations are starting to get into this kind of work, they think it’s a big undertaking, it’s going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time,” she said. “And we really wanted to show that it really isn’t such a big undertaking.”

Conestoga partnered with the non-profit Sustainable Waterloo Region, local businesses, community groups and the municipal government to draw in students. The microcredentials are also offered to the college’s own faculty and staff.

It first offered a carbon literacy microcredential in partnership with the Carbon Literacy Project based in the U.K. Conestoga's partners asked for more, so the college obliged.

One of Conestoga’s online microcredential programs is Essential Skills for Sustainable Workplaces, made up of three courses that each take six hours to complete. Students learn how to build a green team, organize sustainable events, and build workplaces that minimize waste and run efficiently.

“It starts as a bit of a general interest; looking for ways to implement it, save money, especially as we see more regulations coming out, funding opportunities,” Di Battista said.

The college also offers microcredentials about managing sustainable workplaces targeted at middle management and environmental management.

Among other post-secondary institutions, McMaster University teaches courses on sustainability for businesses and sustainable living.

Seneca College’s six-week program covers the fundamentals of sustainable business, such as measuring sustainability impact according to international frameworks and identifying the sustainability trends, risks and opportunities.

Who has been interested?

Demand has been brisk, with rising interest for Conestoga’s microcredential programs, Di Battista and Grimes said.

Conestoga expected 30 to 40 participants for a climate sustainability foundations program last fall but got over 80. An internal sustainability microcredential to be launched this year was forecast to draw 50 to 60; it too attracted more.

Being equipped with the certificate helps students achieve their aspirations to advance in an organization and build a strategic mindset to implement sustainability in a workplace, Di Battista added.

There has been a range of participants across the hierarchy of an organization.

“We’ve had anyone from CEOs down to your frontline workers,” according to Di Battista.

Sustainability microcredentials have attracted the most interest from people who are unfamiliar with the concept, she added. Others gravitated to the programs because of their passion for protecting the environment, which they hope to embody in the workplace.

The demand for sustainability microcredentials comes as anti-ESG sentiment also seems to be on the rise. Large banks are exiting climate alliances and corporate ESG policies are on the retreat, driven largely by politics.

Di Battista said Conestoga has yet to see a direct impact from this backlash. She believes the college has avoided blowback because its sustainability microcredentials prioritize practicality.

“We’re not asking individuals to go out and change all their company vehicles to electric overnight. That’s not a realistic option,” she said. “But what is realistic is maybe we just start shutting down our computers and turn our lights off at the end of the day and on weekends to save energy.”