Content and Structure

This UC Berkeley certificate course offers a series of interdisciplinary workshops with a focus on innovation and collaboration. Workshops are led by Berkeley faculty and industry experts. Training methods include lectures, small group exercises, role play simulations, debates, participant case studies, panels and presentations and open space sharing. Our curriculum, including the site visit destinations, is modified slightly each year to meet the changing needs of our participants, and our instructor lineup also changes.

The academic contents of the program are complemented by the leadership development sessions. From conflict resolution to agile project management, these professional development sessions are led by those who actively lead projects in the environmental fields.

The curriculum is enhanced by field visits that showcase California’s groundbreaking responses to diverse agricultural, natural resource and urban environmental challenges. Past field visits include:

  • Santa Cruz: ocean and coastal management 
  • Point Reyes National Seashore: wildlife habitat restoration and economic development
  • Muir Woods National Monument: climate change, forest management, and tourism
  • San Francisco Bay Area: urban development, environmental equity, food security
  • Silicon Valley: innovations in sustainable business 
Dean David Ackerly at the Beahrs ELP with a student

Topics Covered

  • Environmental Policy and Economics for Decision Making
  • Climate Change and Global Economy
  • Nature Based Solutions to Climate Change
  • REDD+
  • Carbon Offsets, Net Zero, Climate Disclosure
  • Corporate Social Responsibility (Business and Environment)
  • Environment, Society, and Governance
  • Green Supply Chains
  • Water Resources Management and Policy
  • Urban Development
  • Renewable Energy and Just Climate Transition
  • Effective Management of Protected Areas and Biodiversity
  • Biotechnology and Agriculture
  • Effective Multi Stakeholder Engagement
  • Communications
  • Agile Project Management
  • Collaborative Leadership
  • Negotiation
  • Conflict Resolution 
  • Impact Evaluation
  • Presentation 
  • Marketing