All of My Past Online Sustainability Course Certificates and Reviews
Below are the online sustainability courses I completed over the past few months, along with their certificates and my personal reviews based on what I learned.
This course, being “Waste and Environmental Management” by ‘My Sustainable Classroom’ on Udemy, was one I completed in February, and it was one of the shorter online courses out there, but it brought forth a lot of rich information in a nice, cohesive presentation. I learned a lot, in particular, about what it is like to be successful at being environmentally sustainable in all areas of work, especially in the business field and private sectors. I did write earlier in my articles section a more in-depth review of this course, and the course as a whole really focused on three crucial pillars of sustainability: those being environmental protection, economic viability, and social equity. The course details that if a business were to not abide by these essential pillars, then it cannot be deemed a sustainable business. I fundamentally agree with this statement, and I like to think of how this same set of pillars can translate into determining whether national and state governments are considered sustainable in their practices from such criteria. The course, therefore, as a whole, went deep into explaining how these three pillars are connected by using concrete examples of businesses in the real world, such as those using heavy machinery and industrial ones, to see how these categories would apply. I also very much appreciated the insight and advice the online course gave forth for businesses to reach the ‘sustainable business’ status it established from the start. It stated that implementing useful energy saving habits and proper documentation, with even the simple process of using spreadsheets to record data on energy usage, as well as submeters to measure energy usage of machines, is a first step in knowing the next steps on cutting energy usage at the times machines and services are running when not needed. I found these rather basic steps that would later result in sustainable practices were very useful, and I would recommend any businesses I come across that use machinery to adopt such measures to reach the status of a ‘sustainable business’.
Finally, the online course closed with the topic of the four different types of waste in the manufacturing industry, including: Hazardous(batteries, chemicals, oils), Non-Hazardous(plastic bottles, paper), Organic(food from kitchen/canteens), and Electrical wastes(printers, monitors, phones) and brining awareness for the need of such industries to adopt proper waste segregation methods, which I was very appreciative of the course to outline.
In summary, I found that my very first online sustainability course provided a lot of information pertaining to a comprehensive understanding of environmental sustainability in business, emphasizing cost reduction, efficiency, and long-term benefits of adoption of sustainable practices. I want to carry the knowledge learned from this course into later providing insight to some businesses I have exposure to on what they can always do better to reach a higher level of sustainability.
Completing this online course on Udemy, “Global Environmental Problems: Surveying the Human Footprint” in September has really expanded my knowledge into how major emerging global problems nowadays are defining our planet every step of the way, along with covering how human activity has impacted and influenced Earth’s natural systems. A key concept that the course introduced from the very start was the concept of Garrett Hardin’s ‘Tragedy of the Commons,’ which I learned is a theory stating that shared natural global resources will be overused by human greed more often than not, where in the conetxt of this course, individuals or nations will act strongly in their own self-interest rather than a mutual global achievement of sustainability. After learning of this theory, I strongly reflected upon how unfortunate and true this concept applies to our real world nowadays, with governments worldwide acting strongly for their own benefit instead of mutual collaboration with other nations aimed at better eco-friendly practices. This course has also introduced me to the importance of how geography serves as almost like a framework in explaining why global environmental problems occur in the first place. Critical aspects such as resource use, population growth, and economic development are very well connected in explaining any environmental disturbances that may arise on Earth.
I was also intrigued by the course’s deep exploration of interconnected systems that sustain life on Earth, including the flow of energy, the carbon cycle, and biodiversity. The idea of human impact on fostering ecological imbalance was also very apparent from learning topics of deforestation, pollution, waste, agriculture, and climate change, all human-driven activities contributing to that ecological imbalance worldwide. I was also drawn to the course’s exploration of the ideas of how continued trends of urbanization and conventional energy use in our world expand the human footprint, all of which significantly contribute to global warming.
One of my biggest takeaways from this course is stressing the sheer importance of government adoption of sustainable natural resource management. It is crucial that governments and nations worldwide part ways with the present ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ theory tied with explicit self-interest and actually start adopting better natural resources management in helping prevent future global environmental problems, reducing their carbon footprints, and at the same time preserving biodiversity that is in harm's way from increased human activity.
This course was a hefty and updated version of an ‘Environmental Management Masterclass’ for this 2025 year, making me learn with the most up-to-date concepts. I’d say the process of learning the many concepts was a journey that very much provided a one-of-a-kind understanding of how environmental management operates across all levels of sectors, including global, national, and corporate ones. Similar to my past online sustainability courses I completed, this course from the start emphasized the sheer importance of environmental awareness and sustainability in both businesses and governments, with then progressing into more vital studies that provide concrete examples of international environmental legislation, with agreements like the Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or ‘SDGs’ for short. I learned how these essential agreements serve as the very backbone in fostering effective environmental policy and encouraging nations to adopt more responsible climate and resource strategies.
One aspect of the online course I deeply appreciated was when it introduced Environmental Management Systems (EMS), in particular, the ISO 14001 standard, which outlines a widely used “Plan-Do-Check-Act” model that is very much used by organizations worldwide to continuously improve day-to-day actions that don’t harm the environment. Likewise, by the online course again providing concrete and practical examples, I truly understood how EMS principles fundamentally translate into measurable sustainability practices, effectively enabling companies to very much reduce their waste, carbon output, and maintain a sustainability-focused mindset that improves efficiency and the environment for the better.
A critical point of this course was learning more about Environmental Impact Assessments, or EIA for short, and Environmental Risk Assessments, being ERA for short, which I learned are essential tools for evaluating potential environmental consequences before effective projects are approved to proceed. These two assessments, in my opinion, are crucial for any expansive organizations or businesses to utilize before proceeding with any sort of projects, and I hope to spread awareness for the need of such practices to any such organizations I may come across.
On a final note, I’d say this course provided the most clear and abundantly filled information that there is a clear importance for corporate reporting and adoption of more sustainable practices. This masterclass has truly strengthened my understanding of how effectively structured environmental management, policy, put together with strong communication, can connect in a way to achieve high degrees of sustainability. Through gaining this knowledge, I hope to apply these concepts in promoting businesses, corporations, and organizations to adopt sustainable practices by measuring their environmental impact through assessments, taking away vital insight from environmental legislation, and implementing better practices.
This was by far my favorite online sustainability course I have taken yet. It gave me an immensely comprehensive understanding of environmental science, sustainability, and, just like in the “Global Environmental Problems: Surveying the Human Footprint” course I completed in September, the exploration of interconnected systems on our Earth that allow for life to thrive. I was immediately hooked from the start when this course began exploring the foundations of environmental science, taking a deeper examination of how human activity connected with industrial development has shaped current ecological challenges arising in our rapidly changing world. By continuously learning more about the Earth’s systems throughout this course, from concepts like nutrient and water cycles to biodiversity, I learned how they all tie back into how exactly they are very much impacted by human impacts such as wide-ranging pollution and deforestation.
I especially enjoyed learning the sections covering biodiversity and conservation, which emphasized the importance of protecting our vulnerable ecosystems through legislative measures or global cooperation, which I really value and strive to see our world move toward a more environmentally conscious mindset. I was also particularly intrigued by the climate change modules, where I deepened my understanding of the human activity and natural processes that contribute to climate change. Likewise, learning more about the lessons of proper natural resource management, whether that be from individuals or governments, showed me how conscious practices in sectors such as forestry, agriculture, and energy transitions can foster deeper environmental resilience and more impactful sustainable practices. This is something I’m very fascinated with, the proper management of our Earth’s natural resources, and I want to facilitate awareness of the importance of such practice and the irreplaceable benefits it would bring forth.
The course then ended with sections tied to environmental ethics, sustainable policy innovation (which I’m especially keen on influencing later in my life), and overall future sustainability efforts, all teaching me that true commitment to the betterment of our planet through sustainable measures and practices can drive very meaningful change for the better of our societies worldwide.
