GREEN study guide
GREEN · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
GREEN is a sustainability credential built around seven weighted domains, and the exam is delivered as multiple choice. It is aimed at professionals who need working fluency across sustainability rather than deep specialization in one silo: analysts and associates in ESG or sustainability teams, finance staff moving into sustainable finance, operations and project managers responsible for environmental performance, and compliance or governance staff who must understand reporting and disclosure obligations. The GREEN study guide has 7 sections and about 2,147 words.
01Fundamentals of sustainability and ESG
This domain tests whether you can distinguish sustainability, ESG, and CSR; apply materiality; and interpret ratings and frameworks without conflating them. Sustainable development is meeting present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs.
296 words, about 1 min02Climate science, greenhouse gas accounting, and reporting
Climate science, GHG accounting, and reporting tests your ability to translate climate science into inventories and disclosures: boundaries, scopes, CO2e, targets, and climate risk. The greenhouse effect is driven by radiative forcing; IPCC scenarios link cumulative CO2 emissions to warming.
313 words, about 2 min03Sustainable finance, green bonds, and ESG investing
This domain tests green-bond structures, sustainability-linked instruments, taxonomy and fund rules, and the difference between financing green activity and being a green company. Green bonds follow the ICMA Green Bond Principles: use of proceeds, project evaluation and selection, management of proceeds, and reporting.
325 words, about 2 min04Environmental management, circular economy, and resource efficiency
Environmental management, circular economy, and resource efficiency tests whether you can run an EMS, rank environmental aspects, apply the waste hierarchy, and avoid end-of-pipe thinking. ISO 14001 uses the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle: context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, improvement.
284 words, about 1 min05Social sustainability, labor practices, and community impact
Social sustainability, labor practices, and community impact tests human rights due diligence, labor standards, worker engagement, and community risk-not philanthropy. The UN Guiding Principles rest on three pillars: the state duty to protect, the corporate responsibility to respect, and access to remedy.
314 words, about 2 min06Governance, ethics, and compliance
Governance, ethics, and compliance tests board effectiveness, fiduciary duty, ethics programs, and the controls that make ESG claims credible. The board owes fiduciary duties of care and loyalty.
305 words, about 2 min07Green project management and risk assessment
Green project management and risk assessment tests lifecycle delivery, environmental and social impact assessment, risk scoring, and mitigation hierarchy for projects presented as green. Projects move through initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.
310 words, about 2 min