Hanley Sustainability Institute

By Grace Haas

As a sustainability major I am constantly being asked: what is sustainability, what kinds of things do you study and what exactly do you want to do with that degree? 

I think what makes a sustainability degree so interesting and confusing is that it starts with a “why.” In many sustainability classes we start with why we need to make changes, why we need to take steps to be more sustainable and then we cover different ways we can do that.

The career paths for sustainability are endless, whereas many traditional degrees often start with what will be done in the job field — nursing, engineering, marketing, etc. This is not to say that individuals who chose these majors are not just as driven with purpose and passion, but more the nature of a sustainability degree leaves a lot up to the recipient.

The upside to a sustainability degree is that there is no set path laid out for you to take; the downside to a sustainability degree is that there is no set path for you to take.

One of the career paths I have been considering recently is one in carbon emission calculation. I have a big passion for working against climate change and global warming on a large scale. Ever since I was introduced to the idea of greenhouse gas emissions and how they are warming the planet at an unnatural rate, I have wanted to find a way to take action against this.

To help me to achieve my goal of carbon calculating as a career, I am currently working towards a certification in carbon footprinting through the University of New Hampshire. In order to get this certification, I need to go through three rounds of classes and complete an elective workshop. I have completed the first round and am in the middle of my second round, which focuses on the actual data collection of carbon emissions.

So far, this class has taught me the importance of carbon calculating or rather all greenhouse emission calculating, as all greenhouse gasses are converted in terms of CO2. I have learned about the different scopes of carbon emissions and how they are all calculated differently. It was really interesting to be able to practice carbon accounting using SIMAP, a carbon and nitrogen-accounting platform, while working in a group within the class.

Carbon accounting is important for so many reasons. It enables businesses and firms to understand, manage and hopefully reduce their impact on the environment. When damage is quantified it often can incentivize people to make a change. This change can be tracked and we can see the progress being made by these firms through carbon accounting.

In the field of sustainability, there is a daunting task at hand. The problem often seems too vast and complex, but right now I am focusing on learning what I can and doing my part to make change, one step at a time.