UC Irvine Extension Announces New Sustainability Courses and Webinar

IRVINE, Calif. - Dec. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- University of California, Irvine Extension today announced that it will offer “Micro-Sustainability: Local Impact” and “Corporate Social Responsibility & Green Business,” two online courses that explore current events, challenges and solutions related to sustainability and the environment. The courses are part of UC Irvine Extension’s Sustainable Solutions & Practices Certificate Program and begin on Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, respectively. Offered on Dec. 13 from Noon to 1 p.m. PST, a free webinar titled, “Micro-Sustainability: A Primer for Local Impact” will serve as a precursor to the Micro-Sustainability course, giving attendees an idea about the ever-increasing importance of positive local change.

“These offerings provide invaluable education and training for change-driven students seeking to make a future sustainability impact,” said Angela Jeantet, director of education and business programs at UC Irvine Extension. “Understanding the current social and economic state of our environment is key for professionals in almost any field, and our seasoned course instructors will draw from extensive hands-on experience to impart this knowledge.”

In Micro-Sustainability: Local Impact, students will learn to apply the adage “Think globally, act locally,” in terms of sustainability challenges, practices and solutions. The course will guide participants on the community-level problems and actions that can be taken to ameliorate the threats to today’s ecosystems. Discussion topics will include consumer behavior, transportation and food challenges, green marketing and “green wash” campaigns, sustainability of built environments, energy consumption, waste management, and development of an individual sustainability plan.

Corporate Social Responsibility & Green Business will explore the explosion of corporate social responsibility into mainstream business decision-making—which has been fueled by an unprecedented number of recent environmental, financial, legal, social and climate events. Providing a broad overview, this course introduces, identifies, reviews and assesses the interrelated sustainability motivators, drivers, principles and practices that have become the new imperative for business and financial sense.

To register for the webinar, visit http://unex.uci.edu/services/events/#00885. To learn more about the new courses and to register, visit http://unex.uci.edu/areas/sustainability/solutions/course... or call (949) 824-5592.

About UC Irvine Extension: University of California, Irvine Extension is the continuing education arm of UC Irvine, serving nearly 40,000 students globally and offering more than 3,200 classes annually on the UC Irvine campus, online and at employer sites throughout California and worldwide. Since 1962, UC Irvine Extension has served Orange County with programs and classes to help adult learners reach their career advancement and personal enrichment goals, and remains dedicated to providing broad access to the resources of the University for the benefit of the public, both through University Extension certificate and specialized studies programs and a broad range of free and open educational resources including UC Irvine OpenCourseWare. Learn more at http://extension.uci.edu, or join us on YouTube or Facebook.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s largest employer, UC Irvine contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UC Irvine news, visit today.uci.edu.