Overview

    The CGOA® (Certified Green Office Ambassador) is a 2-day course designed to expose participants to the key features and functionality of the environmentally protective lean and green office facility. The course covers practical strategies and techniques towards energy and water use, waste and recycling, paper, printing and office supplies, F&B and dishware, transportation, sustainability planning—while achieving environmental performance goals. The course contents also provide tools to help your organization get better environmental performance on the office floor.

    CGOA® training will address how to setup, manage and monitor key aspects such as energy efficiency, waste handling etc. to ensure a green office facility. CGOA® training will also address key operations and maintenance aspects.  

    CGOA® is the first entry level training in the GCI Green Office training track. Thereafter, participants can continue on intermediate and advanced level training such as Certified Green Office Specialist (Energy Efficiency), Certified Green Office Specialist (Waste) and Certified Green Office Expert.

    Audience Profile

    The primary audience for the CGOA® course:

    • Office associates, supervisors, administrators, managers and professionals working in and around the office facility (representing both end-customers and/or service provider/facilitators) and,
    • having the responsibility to achieve and improve energy efficiency and sustainability of the Green Office Facility, such as office managers, operations / facility managers,
    • Business associates and executives,
    • Implementation vendors/consultants.

    Prerequisites

    There is no specific prerequisite for the CGOA® course. However, participants who already have at least one or two years’ experience in an office facility environment may be best suited. Those with no experience just yet are most welcome to participate.

    Courseware

    Participants will be provided with an English courseware that covers all course information. Depending on country, an additional local translation version of the courseware will be made available at no extra charge. Other languages available are French, Spanish, Bahasa Melayu, Chinese, Japanese and German.

    Course Objectives

    After completion of the course the participant will be able to:

    • design/deploy/manage and monitor environmental and sustainability parameters for a green office facility
    • design/deploy/manage and monitor energy and water essentials in a green office facility
    • design/deploy/manage and monitor environmental wastes and recycling in a green office facility
    • design/deploy/manage and monitor paper, printing and resources in a green office facility
    • design/deploy/manage and monitor food, beverages and dishware in a green office facility
    • design/deploy/manage and monitor various green office transportation strategies

    Course Outline

    Module 1: Introduction to Climate Change

    In Module 1 – Introduction to Climate Change, you will be introduced to the basic concepts and terminology of climate change. This includes discussions on global warming science, understanding the environmental impact of the office industry globally, learning how to calculate carbon footprints of an individual as well as the carbon footprint of an office facility. The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Module 2: Optimizing Energy and Water Use

    In Module 2 – Optimizing Energy and Water Use – This module is designed to introduce students to energy efficiency and water conservation techniques. The chapter describes how to implement lighting strategies, energy efficient computers, cooling optimization and water saving techniques within a green office environment. The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Module 3: Implementing Waste and Recycling Strategies

    In Module 3: Implementing Waste and Recycling Strategies, you will be introduced to a variety of strategies that reduce the amount of waste generated by your green office as well as strategies to recycle. This module prepares the student to work towards organizational efforts to identify and eliminate environmental wastes. As a result, students will learn how to align their organization’s environmental management system’s goals and objectives as a routine task of its lean initiatives and business decisions. Module 3  will help students identify waste in terms of food, materials, and paper use.  The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Module 4: Optimizing Paper, Printing and Office Supplies Resources

    In Module 4: Optimizing Paper, Printing and Office Supplies Resources, you will be introduced to how you can optimize recycled paper content, paper scraps, printing, filing and shared resources. This module provides practical strategies and techniques for improving resource sharing and full use optimization. The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Module 5: Maximizing Food, Beverage and Dishware Resources

    In Module 5: Food, Beverage and Dishware Resources, delegates are exposed to the variety of techniques that can increase the sustainability of the pantry as well as events. These include reusable dishes, event resources, sustainable food and drinks and containers. The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Module 6: Implementing Lean Transportation Techniques

    In Module 6: Implementing Lean Transportation Techniques you will be exposed to the plethora of practical strategies for using lean transportation techniques such as ride sharing, sustainable commuting, video conferencing and vehicle rentals to reduce traveling carbon footprint while improving operational performance.  The module is concluded with a variety of exercises for you to complete.

    Exam Workshop

    The exam workshop will be on the last day of the course.  This session will help participants prepare for the certification exam through mock questions.

    Exam

    Certification exams will be administered at the end of the last day of the course. The exam is a one-hour, 40 questions, closed book exam. Results of the exam pass/fail will be communicated to the attendee immediately after the examination. Attendees who pass the exam will receive the official “Certified Green Office Ambassador” Certificate. The CGOA® certificate is valid for 2 years, after which attending the updated version of this course or progressing to a higher certification level (Specialist or Expert) and updated exam will be required to maintain the CGOA certification standing.