Eligibility requirements
Practical experience* in all phases of developing a GHG inventory on a community or national scale. The applicant must have participated in each of the following GHG inventory development activities:
- Project planning
- Defining the scope of emissions inventory
- Managing data
- Calculating emissions
- Synthesizing emission inventory results
- Reporting activities
*Practical experience is defined as work performed on a job:
- Plus a degree in higher education. Higher education is defined as completion of a degree beyond high school.
- Or five years working in a related field. Related field may include, but is not limited to: agriculture, climate science, economics, energy, environmental, facilities management, natural resources, public administration, sustainability, transportation, urban planning, utilities management, waste management.
Credential Maintenance Program (CMP)
Work experience
- Develop or update one GPC compliant inventory, or
- Provide technical support in the development of four GPC-compliant inventories. Inventories must be published and acknowledged as GPC-compliant. Technical support includes, but is not limited to: peer-to-peer technical advice, review and training on data, methods and reporting.
- Plus one of the following options:
Option 1: Continuing Education
Complete 50 continuing education (CE) hours within the five-year reporting period.
Credit is awarded for receiving and delivering education activities. At least five CE hours must be completed in activities with global application, which is defined as, “education activities with a global scope, for example global standards, globally acceptable methodologies, etc.” Education must be directly related to the content outline of the certification examination.
How to earn CE hours
Credential holders must earn CE hours through activities that contribute to continued competence. Activity types may include the following options, but is not limited to: education (e-learning; conferences; training; academic course work; webinars), authorship and volunteering.
Education
Education may include education/training received, and education/training delivered, and may be obtained from several sources. Education received through continuing education and training must have learning objectives that are directly linked to the content outline of the certification examination. CE hours are calculated and awarded as one hour = 60 minutes of educational contact time.
Education received and delivered are awarded as follows:
- Within the five-year certification cycle, credential holders can only take the same education activity (course, webinar, etc.) once per five-year cycle
- Instructors, teachers and presenters may claim credit for each instance of delivering each continuing education activity
| Type of publication | Number of CE hours |
|---|---|
| Published technical paper; must be peer-reviewed and published | 10 |
| Authoring a book, manual or technical guideline that is published; applies to field. Credit is awarded at the time of publication. | 20 |
| Publishing in a journal, bulletin, or magazine article | 10 for peer-reviewed; 5 for non-peer reviewed |
| Authoring or co-authoring a whitepaper or position paper; may be digitally published and distributed | 10 |
| Authoring or co-authoring a chapter of a technical handbook; credit is awarded when published | 5 |
Volunteering
Volunteer activities that qualify for CE hours include participating in the following test development activities for the Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist exam:
- Job Task Analysis Study - 10 CE hours
- Item Writing - Five CE hours annually
- Item Review - Five CE hours annually
- Passing Score Study - 10 CE hours
Option 2: Retake the examination
Credential holders may take the Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist examination within one year of the expiration of certification, but not sooner. The original certification cycle of five years will remain—cycles may not be shortened or lengthened.