Will Richardson
Instructor
[email protected]
Will Richardson, an esteemed IEMA Fellow and Chartered Environmentalist, brings 20 years of expertise to environmental management and sustainable business practices. As the Founder of Green Element, a certified B Corporation established in 2004, he has championed tailored environmental solutions that help organisations reduce their impacts for a just and sustainable world. Under his visionary leadership, the Green Element Group has expanded to include Green Element Limited, Compare Your Footprint, and the Sustainability Solved resource hub and podcast.
“It was very digestible. The modules were a good length, sort of seven or eight minutes at a time, which feels really good and really bite-sized. And I’d like to be held to account with some quizzes and things as well, just to make sure that I really was listening.”
Sarah Holloway, Independent Sustainability Consultant
“I use the knowledge that I gained on a day-to-day basis working with clients. So, when we’re going through the environmental questions, I’ve got a better understanding of the different elements of how you can manage a business, the steps that can take, and what they need to prioritise. In fact, it can be a way of engaging the whole organisation in different ways.”
Rachel Mpashi-Marx, former Senior Consultant at Junxion Strategy
Curriculum Breakdown
What each module includes:
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Module 1: Project Strategy Planning
This module introduces ISO 14001 certification and guides you through creating an effective environmental strategy. You'll learn to prioritise tasks, manage timelines, and handle missed deadlines to keep your project on track.
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Module 2: Assessing Environmental Impacts
This module covers assessing your business’s environmental impacts using an Environmental Management System. You’ll learn how to identify and catalog impacts, create an impact register, and rank the significance of each impact, with insights from a Green Element case study.
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Module 3: Data Gathering
In this module, you’ll explore the essentials of data gathering for effective environmental management, including why data is crucial, what types you’ll need, and the best times to collect it.
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Module 4: Setting Goals
This module introduces Business Environmental Sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, along with a Green Element case study. You’ll learn how to set and prioritise sustainability goals, plan targets, apply lifecycle thinking, and conduct year-end reviews, with tools and resources to support your objectives and align with other environmental standards.
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Module 5: Staff Training
In this module, you’ll learn the importance of training employees in environmental awareness, explore effective training methods, and understand how to document training sessions to support ISO 14001 certification compliance.
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Module 6: Defining Roles and Responsibilities
This module covers the importance of clearly defined roles in a corporate environmental program. You’ll learn why roles and responsibilities matter, how to identify them, create a roles document, and adapt to changes in company structure.
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Module 7: Implementing Changes
This module focuses on the necessity of implementing organisational changes for environmental improvement. You’ll explore the reasons for change, identify potential barriers, learn strategies to overcome these obstacles, understand the nudge theory, and connect change initiatives to operational controls.
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Module 8.1: Required Documentation
This module emphasises the importance of gathering and organizing the necessary documentation for your ISO 14001 review. You’ll learn how to structure your folders, identify essential documents, and implement quality control measures.
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Module 8.2: Communications Strategy
In this module, you’ll develop a communication strategy crucial for effective environmental management. Topics include timing for communication, the purpose of a communications register, the importance of recorded communications, and how to present information clearly.
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Module 8.3: Create Environmental Policy
This module focuses on understanding what an environmental policy is, why it’s essential for your organisation, and what elements it should include. You’ll also learn how to maintain the policy and hear a real-world example from a company’s experience.
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Module 8.4: Create Emergency Response Policies
In this module, you’ll learn about establishing effective emergency response processes for your organisation. Key topics include identifying potential emergencies, guidance from ISO standards, the structure of an emergency response process, and your role as an environmental manager.
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Module 8.5: Update Legal Compliance Register
This module provides an in-depth look at managing legal compliance. You’ll understand the importance of a compliance register, the legal systems involved, the consequences of non-compliance, and how it fits into an Environmental Management System (EMS) with a focus on ISO 14001:2015.
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Module 8.6: Update Website with CSR Plans
In this module, you’ll learn about the significance of communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plans and the importance of updating your website to reflect new green initiatives. Topics include defining CSR, ensuring compliance, communicating effectively, and steps to certification.
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Module 9: Internal Audit / Make Corrections
This module covers the process of conducting internal audits and making necessary corrections within your Environmental Management System. You’ll learn what an internal audit entails, its importance, and how to leverage audit results for improvement, including a Green Element case study.
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Module 10: EMS Effectiveness Test
In this module, you’ll outline a system for checking the effectiveness of your Environmental Management System. You’ll learn why effectiveness checks are needed, the processes involved, expected outcomes, and insights from a Green Element case study.
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Module 11: Management Review
This module addresses the process of reviewing findings with management. You’ll learn what a management review entails, who should participate, what key topics to cover, and what actions to take next.
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Module 12: External Audit
In this module, you’ll gain insights into external audits, including their purpose and necessity. You’ll explore the steps involved in conducting an external audit and how to utilise the results effectively, along with our top tips for success.
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Module 13: Certification and Afterwards
This module introduces you to ISO 14001 certification, including its significance, the certifying bodies, and what the certification looks like. You’ll also learn about the next steps to take as an environmental manager after achieving certification.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
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When does the course start and finish?
The course is designed for self-paced study, with most students taking 1-3 months to complete. To receive your IEMA certificate, you must submit your final assessment within 3 months of completing the course.
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How long do I have access to the course?
You will receive lifetime access to the course once you have enrolled. You can access it anytime, anywhere, across multiple devices.
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What if I am unhappy with the course?
If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us at [email protected] in the first 60 days and we will give you a full refund.
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How do I receive a 20% discount on Compare Your Footprint?
To complement this course, and for use in the future, we are offering you a 20% discount on the first year of subscription to our high-quality carbon footprint calculation software, Compare Your Footprint. When you register for the course, you will be sent a welcome email with the discount code.