Introduction to Sustainable Development
• How did the concept of sustainability evolve?
• What were the drivers and events?
• Theories of sustainable development

Sustainable Development - Definitions and Applications
• History of the concept of Sustainable Development.
• Why sustainability has numerous definitions and what it means today.
• Rio Conference and Agenda 21 - the development of international protocols
• Linkages between energy and sustainability
• Energy systems and their importance in achieving sustainability

Environmental Issues Associated with Sustainable Development
• Air and water quality - issues and prevention
• Waste minimization
• Global warming - efforts toward local and international cooperation
• Pollution Prevention
• Sources and impacts of atmospheric carbon
• Kyoto Treaty and the Montreal Protocol

Local Sustainable Policies for Sustainable Development
• Features of local sustainability programs
• Recycling programs, first step to sustainability
• Institutions have taken the lead
• Discussion regarding local governmental solutions to sustainable cities
• Sunbelt cities and their sustainability programs
• Sustainable cities in Europe

Impact of Sustainable Development Policies
• Brief history of why planning processes are important
• Planning techniques used to achieve sustainable development
• Transportation systems - alternative fuel technologies available to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of transportation systems.
• Clean Cities program

Corporate and Industrial Sustainability Programs
• How some corporations are developing internal sustainability programs
• ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development
• Commercial case examples
• Industrial and Manufacturing case examples
• Service sector case examples

Management Approaches to Developing and Implementing Sustainability Programs
• Management components of a corporate sustainability plan
• Policies associated with sustainability programs
• Designing corporate sustainability programs (roundtable workshop)
• Resources and websites
• Approaches to implementing sustainability programs.

Sustainable Buildings
• The importance of high performance building systems
• Green buildings - LEED and the components in green construction
• Energy Star Buildings
• International energy conservation code
• Lighting efficiency technologies
• HVAC system optimization
• Building envelope
• ASHRAE Standard 90.1

Renewable Energy Solutions and Carbon Reduction
• Wind, solar and geothermal energy systems
• Combined heat and power
• Fuel cells and energy storage systems
• Approaches to carbon reduction
• Counting your carbs - ways to calculate carbon reduction
• Markets for carbon credits

Financial Analysis and Project Implementation Approaches
• Rate of return analysis
• Life cycle costing
• Real costs in the real world
• The role of measurement and verification
• Energy and emissions credits and trading
• Technical limitations vs. opportunities
• Performance Contracting

Industrial Sustainability Solutions and Emerging Technologies
• Energy management approaches
• Central plant solutions
• Process optimization and waste minimization
• Emerging technologies
• Changing manufacturing processes: materials, components
• Utility programs - Rural electrics take the lead
• Manufactured products and materials

Taking the CDSP Exam
• Brief review of test components and exam highlights

Recommended Reading:
Sustainable Development Handbook (2008) by Stephen A. Roosa, published by The Fairmont Press. Available at https://www.aeecenter.org/books