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307 - ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management

The ISEP Certificate helps learners and organisations make confident and defensible environmental decision‑making. It introduces the core principles behind sustainability and Environmental Management in a clear, practical way.

Prices start from £XXX +vat

What is the ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management?

The ISEP Foundation Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management is a grounding in the real‑world, environmental responsibilities organisations face today. Rather than focusing on theory, the ISEP framework is built around practical judgement, the kind environmental officers, sustainability leads, and operational managers rely on when decisions are scrutinised.

This qualification introduces the essentials of Environmental Management, Waste Management, and core sustainability principles in a way that equips you to make clear, defensible choices in your role. Whether you're taking on environmental responsibilities for the first time or formalising experience you've already gained, ISEP Training ensures you understand not just what good practice looks like, but why it matters.

You won’t simply “learn environmental topics”. You’ll develop the competence to navigate sustainability challenges with confidence, balancing operational realities, commercial pressures, and stakeholder expectations.

The course includes 12 months of membership with ISEP. After completing the Certificate, you can progress to Practitioner level membership, benefiting from being a part of the professional body and global network of sustainability professionals.

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Benefits for Learners:

  • Develop strong foundational competence across H&S and Environmental disciplines.

  • Gain skills that support career progression into safety, environmental or compliance roles.

  • Build understanding of integrated management systems (IMS) and performance metrics.

  • Learn to contribute effectively to organisational sustainability and risk reduction.

  • Enhance confidence when engaging with audits, compliance activities, and improvement initiatives.

Benefits for Employers:

  • Improved organisational compliance with safety and environmental legislation.

  • Enhanced employee capability to support risk management and sustainability strategies.

  • Stronger internal competence, reducing reliance on external consultants.

  • Better operational performance through reduced incidents, waste, and inefficiencies.

  • Evidence of commitment to workforce development and continual improvement.

Student Approved 

Phoenix is rated 5 stars on Trustpilot, helping over 12,000 students a year obtain new qualifications such as the ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management. 

Student Support 

We pride ourselves on offering the best study support in the industry. From our thriving Facebook student community to direct access to our team of experts and top-tier learning materials, we go above and beyond to ensure you have everything you need to succeed in your studies. When you choose Phoenix, you’re never alone on your journey.

The Phoenix Pass Pledge 

Every Phoenix ISEP course entitles you to continue studying free of charge if you fail to meet the required standard in examinations. 

Accredited Partner 

Phoenix Health and Safety is an ISEP Approved Partner. This means our ISEP course materials, tutors, and learning environments are all quality-assured and stamped with excellence. 

The ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management is designed for anyone who needs a solid, trusted foundation in environmental and sustainability responsibilities, including:

  • New or aspiring Environmental Officers

  • Health and Safety professionals expanding into Environmental Training

  • Operational managers responsible for compliance, waste streams, and site performance

  • Sustainability champions tasked with driving environmental improvements

  • Anyone who needs to make informed decisions around environmental impact and resource use

You don’t need a technical background, just a role where environmental judgement matters.

Learners also need a foundational understanding of environmental management and sustainability, which they can gain from courses such as the ISEP Foundation Certificate.

The duration of the ISEP Certificate in Environmental Management depends on the method of study.

  • When studied in the classroom, in-house or through virtual classroom learning, the course duration is 15 days.

  • When studied through e-Learning, we recommend spending 120 hours on the course. Students have access to the e-Learning course for 12 months from date of purchase.

Our classroom course timings are 09:00-17:00 Monday - Friday.

The ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management consists of 8 modules.

1. Introduction to H&S & Environmental Management 

  • Core principles 

  • Risk vs hazard 

  • Sustainability and organisational responsibilities 

2. Legal Framework & Compliance 

  • Key health, safety and environmental laws 

  • Employer and employee duties 

  • Enforcement and penalties 

3. Risk Assessment & Control Measures 

  • Hazard identification 

  • Risk evaluation 

  • Hierarchy of controls 

4. Environmental Management Essentials 

  • Waste, emissions, pollution control 

  • Environmental impact assessments 

  • Resource efficiency 

5. Incident Reporting & Investigation 

  • Root cause analysis 

  • Corrective and preventive actions 

  • Trend analysis 

6. Performance Measurement 

  • KPIs, audits and inspections 

  • Leading and lagging indicators 

  • Data-driven decision making 

7. Integrated Management Systems 

  • ISO 45001, 14001 and 9001 fundamentals 

  • Documentation and procedural controls 

  • Continuous improvement cycles 

8. Practical Application & Case Studies 

  • Workplace scenarios 

  • Good practice models 

  • Improvement planning 

By the end of the course, learners will have the skills and understanding needed to:

  • Explain the implications of global trends for the environment, for society, for the economy and for organisations and the role of an Environment/Sustainability practitioner in overcoming these challenges

  • Explain sustainable business/governance models, their underlying principles and their relationship with organisations, products and services

  • Explain environmental principles and their relationship with organisations, products and services

  • Explain major policy and legislation and their implications for organisations, products and services

  • Explain major and relevant tools, techniques, systems and practices, their application and how they can be used to develop sustainable products and services and improve sustainability performance

  • Explain the role of innovation and other leading practices in developing sustainable products and services and providing sustainable solutions

  • Collect and critically analyse data, and report information that informs decision making

    Identify problems and assess opportunities that deliver innovative and sustainable products and services

  • Determine, implement and measure methods of effective communication

    Identify and engage in two-way communication with stakeholders

  • Apply or implement tools, techniques, systems and practices that identify opportunities and risks.

  • Deliver projects and programmes that achieve performance improvement

    Implement change and transformation

The ISEP Certificate is assessed through three knowledge-based assignments and one which is competence based. They test the learner's ability to apply the knowledge acquired throughout the course within the workplace, so the course can have real-world impact and application as soon as it's completed.

On successful completion of the assessment, learners receive a certificate, as well as details on how to join ISEP as a Practitioner Member, earning your PISEP professional suffix and all other benefits that come as being a member of a professional body.

Please note: All course materials and certificates will be sent via post. There will be an additional charge if booking outside of the UK. We will contact you with the delivery charge once booking has been made. 

This organisation is an excellent first step in building a wide range of compliance capabilities for your organisation. Expanding from environmental management into the heath and safety sector, for example, can lead to roles such as HSE Officer.

To build these skills, we recommend learners study: