Propose an ISSP Course

Providing professional-development opportunities to ISSP members and the wider network of sustainability professionals is core to our mission. ISSP courses vary in topic, length, and scope and all provide regular opportunities for professionals to build technical skills, expand their leadership capabilities, and connect with experts. We welcome your proposal to present your expertise in an ISSP-Hosted Course.

This page outlines the steps for creating a course hosted with ISSP. Please read through each step carefully before clicking the button to access the online application form.

How to Apply

You will be asked for information including information to characterize your subject-matter expertise and course description. Allow two weeks for the ISSP team to review your application. If your application is accepted, an ISSP team member will share our primer, Course Creation 101: Best Practices for Teaching Sustainability Online, along with a Course Planning Worksheet, to be completed while viewing the primer.

Course applicants pay a refundable USD $250 application fee. This fee acts as a deposit and is returned upon course launch. Course applicants must be ISSP members. If you are not yet an ISSP member, a portion of your application fee can be directed toward membership dues.

Before You Apply

The details below outline ISSP course parameters at a high level. If your interest application is accepted, ISSP will provide you with our primer, Course Creation 101: Best Practices for Teaching Sustainability Online, along with a Course Planning Worksheet, which provide greater detail. ISSP courses are educational opportunities and are not intended as a sales-oriented promotional platform. A brief mention of your company, website, or service is permitted.

Course format. ISSP provides professionals with deep-dive, instructional training to build knowledge, skills, and abilities in service of advancing sustainability. Courses are delivered in a self-paced format—rather than live instruction—such as through narrated presentation slides, instructor-produced video lectures, and short films. Because ISSP courses are offered in support of Sustainability Excellence credential-holders, learning outcomes are tracked via quizzes. All course students receive a certificate upon completion, regardless of credentialing status.

Course length. While ISSP does not stipulate minimum or maximum course lengths, the total runtime and depth of content should be suitable to the course topic. Course credits tend to be commensurate with both length and depth of material presented.

Course topics. Sustainability is a wide-ranging and comprehensive discipline, covering social, environmental and economic pillars, as well as the leadership and organizational management essential to achieving sustainability outcomes. ISSP is open to hearing a range of proposed topics. Published courses include foundational knowledge, sustainable hospitality and tourism, sustainability’s business case, greenhouse gas accounting, advanced networking, and more.

Course platform. ISSP uses Freestone, an interactive webinar- and course-delivery platform. ISSP staff will provide you with the how-to guidance you will need to successful create and upload your course to the platform.

Course audience. ISSP’s audience are sustainability professionals working around the world in many different industry sectors, such as in corporations, consultancies, universities (students and faculty), governments (including UN agencies), and nonprofits. Our network includes professionals with decades of experience as well as individuals in mid-career transition into the sustainability field, students and individuals newly graduated from sustainability educational programs. No single course will expertly target all groups. When developing your course, you will want to determine which segment learners your content is most suitable for, considering industry, background and other factors. In all cases, your courses is intended as a deep-dive learning experience for knowledgeable students within the segment of audience you are targeting.

Course costs and credits. ISSP courses are provided at cost and for continuing education credits. Costs and credits are dependent on course length, topic, and learning level. ISSP and course creators enter into a cost-share agreement determined by both parties. Course presenters also benefit from ISSP marketing the course to our total combined audience of more than 20,000 professionals. Note: ISSP courses are not sales-oriented and only very limited mention of a course creator’s company, website, or service is permitted.

Course Creation Process

Course creators will be expected to complete the following steps to see their course through to launch:

Step 1: Apply. Use the button above to submit your idea. An ISSP staff will contact you within 2 weeks. Prospective course creators will complete our Course Creation 101 training and Course Planning Worksheet.
Step 2: Submit a full course proposal. At this stage, you will provide ISSP with details including course learning outcomes, target audience, full description and more.
Step 3: Review. If ISSP approves your course, you will advance to Step 4.
Step 4: Acceptance. Course creators sign a Course Provider Agreement with ISSP. ISSP will create a Google Drive folder to house your materials.
Step 5: Determine content-submission cadence. ISSP and course creators will create a schedule for course content delivery with regular meetings and submission deadlines.
Step 6: Full content submission. All materials will be uploaded to a Google Drive.
Step 7: Course upload. ISSP will create the course on our Freestone platform.
Step 8: Review. Course creators will complete the course in student mode.
Step 9: Launch. ISSP will market the course. Course creators are encouraged to market through their channels.