The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Institute for Sustainability, chaired by Deborah Grubbe, president of Safety Solutions, LLC, is bringing together an advisory council to launch a program that offers engineers and other qualified professionals a specialized credential in sustainability. The advisory council is composed of industry executives, academics, and government and NGO leaders.

The Institute is reasonably well positioned to establish a baseline definition of what Sustainability entails, as well as to establish a Body of Knowledge (BOK) in the field of sustainability. The body of knowledge at the heart of the new sustainability credential is based on AIChE’s Sustainability Index. The Sustainability Index focuses on seven areas critical to a world class sustainability effort:  strategic commitment, innovation, environmental performance, safety performance, product stewardship, social responsibility and value chain management.

The Institute has also conducted a market analysis, and our results say that younger engineers, in particular, are very interested in such a credential. 

The credentialing program will distinguish recipients as qualified experts in sustainability, and will be supportive to those engineers who aspire to the Professional Engineering License. The program is also planned as a way to help companies control training costs by pooling expertise and having resources that have been evaluated for quality readily available.

If you would like to learn more about the Institute for Sustainability, here are some pertinent websites:

IfS Home: http://www.aiche.org/IFS/index.aspx 

IfS Mission and Goals: http://www.aiche.org/IFS/About/Mission.aspx 

IfS Sustainability Index: http://www.aiche.org/ifs/sustainability/about.aspx