Bellevue College is offering a new Sustainable Business Best-Practices certificate program beginning this fall quarter, which starts Sept. 20. The coursework is designed to train employees to help businesses operate successfully in an increasingly ecologically sensitive world.

The 19-credit program consists of four classes: Introduction to Sustainable Business Practices, Introduction to Carbon Footprint & Resource Economics, Communication for Sustainable Business Practices, and Sustainable Business Analysis.

Developed with involvement from the business community, the program is designed to teach students to identify and build a business case for operating practices that would not only be more ecologically sound but that could also increase a company’s financial return.

Students will study such topics as eco-efficiency, life-cycle analysis, carbon footprint calculations, energy efficiency, waste and water management, “triple-bottom-line” accounting (which adds measures of societal and economic success to the traditional profit/loss statement), green supply-chain issues, and corporate communications and training.

The program was developed after Bellevue College conducted a “Green Survey” among 16 Puget Sound companies, large and small, to identify and assess the work-force skills employers need to operate successfully today and in the future.

Leaders of the participating companies expressed an increasingly urgent need for professionals who understand how to integrate sustainable practices into all aspects of their operations.

For the convenience of working students, all classes will include a mix of evening, in-class sessions and more flexible online study.

Those wishing further information may visit the college website, call 425-564-5716, or attend an informational open house on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. in room 201 of the college’s N Building (at the south end of the Bellevue College main campus).

Those interested in registering for the class should contact Julie Griffin at jgriffin@bellevuecollege.edu.