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We are now hearing of Green officers, environmental officers, and sustainability officers. What are they, and how does one become one? While there is no Webster dictionary definition of these terms, we will attempt to provide some clarity to these roles.

The Green officer is generally an appointed role of an employee or staff member in the company. There is no inference of training or capability to do the job assigned although there may be ample good will and willingness to learn. The Sustainability Officer, however, is a person who has been trained and developed to fulfill the duties of development and deployment of the company's sustainability plan. The Sustainability officer is also called: Certified Sustainability Officer, Corporate Sustainability Officer, or Chief Sustainability Officer. Many abbreviate the concept to a simple title as CSO.

The CSO training can be from a four year college program, or by a more narrowly-developed online training program. It does make sense that a Green or sustainability officer would opt to take the course online to reduce the sheer impact of the learning experience.

More recently, the larger and more progressive corporations have been actively hiring and installing sustainability officers because they seem to have a better vision of what is coming to businesses nationally and internationally. Few can doubt that in the next five years that nearly every business will be pressed to Go Green or lose public esteem and important contracts. The first and obvious step is to install someone within the company to advocate and promote the Green program.

With the appointment of a Green officer the next step should be to acquire training as a sustainability officer in the company.Companies looking to prepare for what is certainly coming should heed the sound advice now viewed as acceptible practice. Appoint a Green officer and put them through the Certified Sustainability Officer training.

The good news is that the cost of such decision is minimal. The Green officer is already on the payroll, and training is not a big expense. Compared to hiring an outside consulting firm to take your company Green, the CSO program is sheer genius and very effective.

To fast-track the training of your newly appointed Green Officer simply follow this link to what is the best training program avaliable to South African companies. CSO training