Looking for clarity on our training programs and other services we provide? This FAQ page answers the most common questions we receive from our students and partners, plus practitioners, policymakers, and others. Use the quick links below to jump to the topic you’re interested in—or scroll down to explore them all.
GHG Management Institute (GHGMI) online courses are designed to build your expertise in GHG accounting and carbon management, whether you’re new to the field or looking to advance your career. Our core courses are for everyone, including decision-makers seeking a more comprehensive understanding, engineers and analysts requiring technical proficiency, and professionals looking to transition their careers into carbon management.
We encourage you to use our Interactive Course Selection tool to help you select the course that best suits your carbon management goals. As a starting point, we strongly encourage all learners to explore our core courses, which provide a solid foundation in GHG accounting and are applicable across industries and roles:
Descriptions of all our Courses and Diploma programs can be found on our website.
Please visit our Workshops webpage if you are looking for a virtual or in-person workshop with GHG accounting content customized to your training needs.
All our courses are available in English, and our Registrar’s Office operates primarily in English. In addition, some GHGMI online courses are available in additional languages, including French, Portuguese, or Spanish, providing broader access to GHG accounting and carbon management training. You can filter by language on our Courses webpage.
Our experts and faculty are internationally renowned in the field. They are led by our Dean, Dr. Michael Gillenwater. Please go to our Faculty page for a list of experts and course developers.
The Certificates you can obtain from GHGMI programs are the following:
The GHG Management Institute currently offers three diploma programs:
Enrollment in any of these diplomas provides access to our complete library of courses (excluding course 401, which is only accessible when registered for individually or via enrollment into the Diploma in GHG MRV).
Our three diploma programs are similar. Each requires a learner to pass the introductory Proficiency Exams: 201 Basics of Organizational GHG Accounting or 204 Basics of Subnational GHG Accounting, 202 Basics of Project-Level GHG Accounting, and 501 IPCC: Introduction to Cross-Cutting Issues. These exams are designed to provide you with a solid foundation in GHG management, which is crucial for your success in the field. The Diploma in GHG MRV also requires you to pass course 401: GHG Verification for Inventories and Projects.
Additionally, the Diplomas allow you to curate your program by choosing 3 to 4 upper-division elective courses (300- and 500-level) that best suit your goals.
The Registrar’s Office can provide additional orientation and guidance about which electives best fit your professional path. Please contact us at registrar@ghginstitute.org with any questions or concerns.
One of the advantages of online learning, also known as e-learning, is that it allows for self-paced learning. We have a Suggested Study Pace for every course, which estimates the time an average learner might take to complete the course. However, this is only a guideline. Completion timeframes vary based on your availability and familiarity with the subject matter.
The approximate number of working hours to complete a course is typically 16-20, though this can vary considerably depending on the course. Check the “Approximate Number of Working Hours to Complete” section on each course webpage.
Completing courses and the Diploma depends entirely on your availability and time commitment. There’s no strict deadline from our side to complete the Diploma. We understand that most learners are not full-time students, so rest assured, your access to the program is indefinite. While we do recommend completing the diploma program’s required Proficiency Exams within two years to keep the material fresh in your mind, this is not a hard deadline.
While we recommend focusing on one course at a time due to the time required for most courses (typically between 16 and 20 hours), you are welcome to take more than one course simultaneously.
The Proficiency Exams associated with our courses have not been designed to be taken separately from the coursework. However, there are cases where learners, due to their prior education and work experience, may be eligible to pass the Proficiency Exam without taking the course. For this reason, we allow learners to purchase the exam independently of a course.
To register for the “exam-only” option for a course, follow these steps:
No. A Proficiency Exam accompanies each course separately, but no exam covers the entire Diploma program. Learners receive a Certificate of Proficiency for each Proficiency Exam they pass. The Diploma Certificate is issued upon completion of all courses and passing all proficiency exams.
Exams are graded by Institute staff and reviewed by the Institute’s Dean. The passing grade is 70%. Learners are given two (2) chances to pass an exam. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, you will be notified and re-enrolled in the exam. If you don’t pass the second attempt and plan to try again, you must purchase the exam again; any additional exam attempts incur a fee of US$50.
Once your exam has been graded, you will receive an email from our Registrar’s office with the results and, if applicable, a Certificate of Proficiency in PDF format. Please allow 3-5 weeks for your exam to be graded. Please note that we do not mail hard copies of Certificates.
If needed, learners can request expedited grading and certificate issuance, which we may be able to accommodate on a case-by-case basis.
No. All course materials are available online. No hard copies of the lessons are provided.
In courses 201, 202, and 401, we have also entered into a licensing agreement to provide all learners at the Institute with one copy of the appropriate part of ISO 14064 (parts 1, 2, and 3, respectively). The ISO standard is available for download on the course page. ISO 14064 Part 1 is distributed as part of the Basics of Organizational GHG Accounting course, ISO 14064 Part 2 is distributed as part of the Basics of Project-Level GHG Accounting course, and ISO 14064 Part 3 is distributed as part of the GHG Verification for Inventories and Projects course.
We don’t provide a Certificate of Participation because our programs are asynchronous, and therefore, we don’t monitor students’ progress in the courses. Thus, we cannot evaluate learning or expertise in the subject.
As part of its core strategy, the Institute has focused on achieving measurable learning outcomes. When we issue a Certificate of Proficiency or Diploma Certificate, we communicate that an individual has completed a rigorous process and can claim that they have gained well-defined knowledge and competency in a subject.
The GHG Management Institute has been spreading and elevating technical knowledge on GHG accounting theory and methods through our writing and teaching. We suggest reading this blog post, where our Dean, Michael Gillenwater, summarizes the two fundamental types of GHG accounting, focusing on their key differences.
Additionally, our GHG Experts Forum may help you find information about the experiences of GHGMI learners. The Forum is a virtual space where GHG experts worldwide can come together to discuss all topics related to GHG management, accounting, verification, training, and other relevant areas. You can access the Experts Forum using a free GHGMI membership account.
We are often asked if a general course on climate change will become part of the Institute’s curriculum. At one time, we developed material for an Introduction to Climate Change course; however, a lot of excellent basic information is already available on the web for free, and we saw no need to recreate it. Thus, we have chosen to focus on more specific carbon management topics, unique in their content and rigor.
For those seeking credible information on climate change, we recommend visiting the sites below as a starting point. This list is by no means exhaustive, and an internet search of your own will undoubtedly uncover more valuable resources on climate change (as well, unfortunately, as a good amount of non-credible information).
We have a dedicated web page that addresses this question. Follow this link, How Does it Work, to read more.
Our online courses, hosted on our learning management system (LMS), are asynchronous and self-paced. You can start a course at any time and complete it according to your schedule. When you are ready to begin a course, submit your registration and tuition via the course webpage on our website.
Your enrollment into the course(s) is processed manually within 1-2 business days. Your enrollment in the course is indefinite, and all online courses are accessible 24 hours a day. There is no need to be online at the same time as other learners or faculty.
All discussions take place via discussion forums, which are available in every online course in the LMS. Discussion forums are a valuable resource for learners, as they offer the opportunity to ask questions, share insights and feedback, and engage with other coursemates and GHGMI faculty. GHGMI faculty monitor the online discussion forums and respond to questions within three business days.
E-learning courses offered by the GHGMI are available online through our Learning Management System (LMS). GHGMI utilizes an e-learning format to keep instructional costs down, avoid emissions associated with instructor and student travel, and enable us to have a global reach as extensive as the internet itself. E-learning allows you to take a course at your own pace and without the need to travel. It also dramatically reduces the carbon footprint for both learners and the Institute compared to traditional classroom formats.
There is no need to be online at any fixed time. You do not need to regularly log in to your courses to retain access to them or your GHGMI account.
Each course hosted on our Learning Management System (LMS) provides discussion forums, where you can share your thoughts, ask questions, and respond to comments from other learners. However, this feature is not real-time (i.e., it is asynchronous). Note that our faculty responds to questions within three business days. Our learners come from all over the world, making it challenging to regularly schedule live discussions that accommodate a variety of time zones. GHGMI offers customized virtual and in-person workshops for groups seeking a more tailored training experience.
Access to our courses is not immediate, as we manually process all registrations. Please allow up to two business days for us to process your registration. Your enrollment notification and account credentials (username and password) will be sent to you via email from registrar@ghginstitute.org.
If two business days have passed or if you would like us to expedite your enrollment, please email registrar@ghginstitute.org, and we will be happy to assist you.
You must submit your registration and associated tuition through our website at ghginstitute.org. To register for a course, navigate to the course registration page and add the course to your cart. Complete the checkout instructions to submit your payment and registration information. We manually process all course enrollments within 1-2 business days.
All of our courses are available online only, meaning they cannot be downloaded to your local device and are not accessible when your device is offline. For this reason, an internet connection is required to access our courses. Other requirements are as follows:
Hardware
Laptops, desktop computers, and handheld devices, such as tablets and mobile phones, purchased within the last five years, typically have the processor speed and memory capacity necessary to effectively access course materials on our Learning Management System (LMS).
Operating Systems
Most operating systems are supported, including Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X.
Browsers & Settings
Most browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox, will be compatible with our courses. For all browsers, pop-ups MUST be enabled for https://member.ghginstitute.org. Our courses will not function properly if you have pop-ups disabled. If you aren’t sure how to allow pop-ups on your browser, please refer to the following instructions:
Microsoft Edge:
Google Chrome:
Safari:
Mozilla Firefox:
No specific training or experience is required to take courses with the Institute. However, the training we provide does assume a certain level of technical and economic background knowledge. Learners should be comfortable with basic math, engineering concepts, and some chemistry. It is also strongly recommended that learners are familiar with Microsoft Excel, as this software will be used throughout the coursework. The coursework is interdisciplinary.
All GHGMI members and alums have access to our GHG Experts Forum, where you can interact with professionals in the field, ask questions related to emissions inventories, carbon markets, and other carbon management topics, as well as network with other GHGMI members. Included in the Experts Forum is a job board, where GHGMI staff and members will occasionally post job opportunities in the field. Becoming a GHGMI member is free, and you can sign up by clicking here.
You would certainly be able to say that you’d received a Certificate of Proficiency or a Diploma from the Institute. However, note that GHGMI is not an accredited university, and certification is another matter entirely.
Professional certification is a means by which individuals formally demonstrate competency in a practice area. Professional certification programs consider a range of measures (e.g., training, experience, witnessing) to assess professional competency. Professional certification programs typically accept our Certificates of Proficiency and Diplomas as demonstrations of training.
In partnership with Eco Canada, GHGMI will establish an official Environmental Professional in Greenhouse Gases (EP[GHG]) Certification Program, anticipated to be launched by the end of 2025. We recommend you sign up for updates to learn more about the program and how to apply for EP(GHG) certification.
To read the course description and register, please visit either the Individual Courses page or the Diploma Programs page. Select the course or diploma program you are interested in, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the “Add to Cart” button.
For individual courses, you’ll have three purchase options:
Note: If you buy a course without the exam and change your mind in the future, please return to the course page to purchase the exam separately. A discount is available on the price when the course and exam are purchased together.
Once you’ve completed the payment process, you’ll receive an enrollment email from the GHGMI Registrar’s Office (registrar@ghginstitute.org) within 1 to 2 business days. This email will include your login credentials and access details for the selected course or program in GHGMI’s Learning Management System (LMS).
Course and exam fees are listed on the Individual Courses page and the Diploma Programs page. To view the different tuition fees for the registration options, please click on the drop-down menu at the bottom of the “Individual Course” page.
There are multiple payment options for our courses and programs. You can pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover), PayPal, check via mail, or wire transfer. Please note that the customer is responsible for any transaction fees incurred via PayPal or wire transfer. If paying via PayPal, please ensure that the box “I will pay the fee” is selected when completing the online payment form. This option indicates that the customer agrees to cover the transaction fees, ensuring the full payment is received. Failure to select this option may result in a delay in enrollment. Payment must be made in full before a learner is enrolled in a program.
If you require additional payment accommodations or information on invoicing and payment procedures, please email registrar@ghginstitute.org.
After placing your order on the GHGMI website:
Please allow 1-2 business days for the Registrar’s Office to send you your detailed login instructions.
We suggest checking your spam folder and adding our office address, registrar@ghginstitute.org, to your list of trusted contacts.
It’s a straightforward process. Please proceed as indicated in the “Registration” section above and ensure you use the same email address you use with your current GHGMI account. That way, we can locate your GHGMI account after we receive your registration and add your new program to it.
To use an applicable GHGMI coupon code while purchasing GHGMI programs, follow these steps:
If you require assistance, please email the GHGMI Registrar’s Office at registrar@ghginstitute.org.
To register someone other than yourself, follow the steps described in the “Registration” section above. After adding the programs to your cart, you can enter the learner’s information into the “Student Information” section of the cart checkout, and your billing information into the “Billing Details” section. Then you may proceed with checkout as usual.
If you’re considering registering more than one learner at a time, please add the applicable number of course seats to your cart and add the full names and email addresses of each learner you are registering to the “Order notes” section. If you need assistance or have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@ghginstitute.org.
The GHG Management Institute (GHGMI) offers a financial aid program that awards partial tuition scholarships to qualifying individuals committed to combating climate change, with support from the GHGMI Scholarship Fund. Financial assistance is granted based on available funding. Applications for financial aid are reviewed every 5 to 7 weeks. For more information on the eligibility criteria and application process, please visit our Financial Aid webpage.
Refund requests must be submitted via email to the GHGMI Registrar’s Office at registrar@ghginstitute.org. Refunds will be granted according to the following stipulations:
All course refunds are subject to a processing fee of US$75. The Diploma refunds are subject to a processing fee of US$125.
No. Our online learning platform is available to you 24/7, year-round.
You can start your course at any time once you receive a Welcome Email from the Registrar’s Office. Please allow 1-2 business days for your order to be processed after payment is received. There is no set “start” or “end” date for courses. You may access the online classroom and course materials at your own pace, and you’ll retain ongoing access to the course content even after completion. Exams can be accessed whenever you’re ready—there is no deadline to take them.
We recommend attempting the exams shortly after completing the course material, while the information is still fresh in your mind.
Participants enrolled in the “course+exam” option will receive access to the exam at the same time as the course materials. To begin a Proficiency Exam, simply click on the exam at the bottom of the individual course page. If you are enrolled in the “exam only” option, you’ll find the exam in the “My Courses” tab. Be sure you are ready before proceeding to take the exam, as exams are timed and must be completed in one sitting within the allotted time limit.
If you are enrolled in a diploma program, you will be given access to each exam at the start of the program once you share your elective selections. You may choose which courses you want to start and work on multiple courses at once, should you choose to do so.
Yes! For those seeking a more tailored approach to their envisioned training or for a deeper dive into concepts taught in our online courses, we offer virtual and/or in-person workshop sessions. You can learn more and fill out an interest form here.
Workshops can be combined with an online course(s) or be a standalone session(s). We offer virtual training opportunities (up to 2 hours per day) as well as in-person training sessions (up to 8 hours per day).
Workshop costs vary according to 1) the amount of material covered, 2) the number of days needed to develop materials and deliver requested material, 3) the number of instructors needed, and 4) the instructor(s) travel costs associated with training (if in-person session), including airfare, lodging, and meals.
Our minimum workshop cost for a 2-hour virtual session is US$2,500. In-person session prices vary significantly depending on location and length, but start at US$5,000.
GHGMI’s staff and faculty have a wide breadth of experience in the realm of carbon management. Common workshop agendas have included corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting, scope 3 accounting, project-level GHG accounting, carbon credits and markets, GHG verification, national-level GHG accounting, and other related topics. We encourage you to fill out an interest form with your proposed topics to see if we can deliver your envisioned session. We will work with you to develop an agenda that best suits your training needs and expectations.
Workshops may be held wherever you wish (including virtually). GHGMI does not own any buildings or facilities. As such, venue rental and hosting are your responsibility, unless you would like us to assist you in locating a suitable venue space.
We kindly request that you complete an interest form at least two months before your proposed workshop date. This ensures instructor availability and time to develop workshop materials, if necessary.
Workshop length will vary depending on your preference and the amount of material covered. You are welcome to inform us of your preferred timeframe (e.g., two hours, three days, etc.). We will also let you know the estimated time required to cover the requested material. For example, an introductory session on corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting is typically two hours in length, excluding practical exercises.
We do not currently have any regularly scheduled public workshops. Public workshops will be announced via our newsletter and listed on our workshops page.
The GHGMI software evaluation program aims to ensure that commercial carbon accounting and reporting software produces data of sufficient quality when applied by competent professionals to manage greenhouse gases (GHG). In doing so, GHGMI supports the development of the GHG software marketplace and improves the quality and functionality of GHG software products on the market. We view GHG software as an essential tool for GHG professionals, and as such, this program supports the Institute’s larger mission of professional development of tomorrow’s carbon management experts.
GHGMI’s software evaluation process entails a technical review, comprising an initial evaluation and annual updates. Currently, we assess GHG software functionality for corporate-level GHG emissions inventories by evaluating compliance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard using a tailored evaluation and testing protocol.
Software providers may also obtain ad-hoc evaluations of recently added or improved/unique functionality or the software’s compliance with a specific GHG program.
GHGMI plays the part of a typical customer using the software product during the evaluation process. We review functionality by applying a software evaluation protocol and checklist comprised of over 100 detailed questions and tests. We document the results of our review in a Software Evaluation Report for the software supplier and a Software Evaluation Summary for potential users and stakeholders at large.
Evaluation and review typically take between 10 and 12 weeks, depending on the timeliness of communication and schedule coordination.
GHGMI’s evaluation and testing protocol:
The GHGMI evaluation protocol applies a case study of a hypothetical company to test the functionality and performance of GHG software. The evaluation and testing protocol does not:
Our review is designed to provide independent expert feedback to software developers and to stimulate improvement. Software providers use our evaluation process and reports to:
A number of the software providers we assessed agreed to have their Software Evaluation Summary published on our website. The summaries document the primary outcomes of the review process and include highlights and comments. As a potential buyer, you can use the summaries to obtain unbiased technical information about GHG software products. While the summaries provide unbiased technical information, they do not rank software packages and providers or assess their ability to address your specific requirements. Potential buyers of GHG software are well served to include the companies evaluated by GHGMI on a short list of possible suppliers. However, you are strongly advised to engage with software providers directly to discuss and assess how each package/provider would meet your specific needs.
When you communicate with customers, potential customers, or other stakeholders, you may:
Ensure you read, fully understand, and comply with the program terms and conditions specified in your contract and summarized here.
The Sectoral Activity Data for GHG Emissions (SAGE) platform is a first-of-its-kind tool that streamlines the collection and processing of activity data, minimizes errors early in the process, and produces essential documentation for GHG inventory estimates, projections, and mitigation assessments.
SAGE simplifies data gathering, minimizes early-stage errors, and generates essential documentation for GHG inventories, projections, and mitigation impact assessments.
SAGE is designed for national governments, policymakers, climate experts, and technical teams responsible for greenhouse gas reporting and transparency. It’s ideal for anyone working to improve their country’s GHG inventories, meet international reporting requirements, or strengthen climate action planning.
It’s free! Thanks to funding from the UNFCCC, SAGE was developed and is available at no cost to all potential users. This allows you to explore the platform freely and experience its benefits before making any commitments.
The Alumni Registry is a comprehensive list of all GHGMI alums who have earned a credential from us, including a Certificate of Proficiency and/or a Diploma. The full name of the alum, their country of residence, and their awarded certificates are included on the Registry. Alum contact information is not and will never be included.
If you have earned a certificate from GHGMI but don’t see your name in the Registry and wish to be included, please send an email to registrar@ghginstitute.org. We will confirm your credentials and add your name to the Registry. Similarly, if you see your name and wish to opt out, please inform us of your request via email.
In accordance with our alumni contact policy, you may send us a request to connect with alumni via email at registrar@ghgisntitute.org. Please inform us of the following:
We will then send the message to the alumni and invite them to connect with you bilaterally should they choose to do so.
