ASSOCIATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE OFFICERS AND INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SUSTAINABILITY PROFESSIONALS ANNOUNCE JOINT MEMBERSHIP & PARTNERSHIP

Premier Professional Associations for Climate Change & Sustainability Practitioners To Align Efforts on Membership, Credentialing, Education & Best Practices

For more information, please contact:
Daniel Kreeger / Maureen Hart
202-496-7390 / 860-231-9197
dkreeger@ACCOOnline.org / mhart@SustainabilityProfessionals.org

WASHINGTON, DC – March 1, 2017 – The Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), the premier associations for climate change and sustainability professionals respectively, announced a partnership today that will advance their shared missions — to heighten the knowledge, skills, and professional growth of climate change and sustainability professionals across the globe.  

Effective today, ACCO and ISSP have announced a joint membership offer that enables practitioners to participate in both communities of practice while saving on the standard rates.  Additionally, ACCO and ISSP will begin to examine opportunities to align their efforts related to education and training, facilitating peer collaboration, developing important resources and tools, and credentialing activities.  

The partnership builds upon a history of collaboration on events between the two organizations.  ACCO and ISSP will look to expand information sharing and the development of best practices so practitioners across fields and sectors will have access to valuable information and resources they need to succeed personally and professionally.

“With the political landscape of climate change and sustainability considerations dynamically changing, it is critical that mission-driven organizations convening and serving the climate change and sustainability practitioner communities look for ways to harmonize and support each other’s efforts,” says Daniel Kreeger, ACCO’s co-founder and executive director. “I’m pleased to announce this important partnership with ISSP and look forward to working collaboratively with their leadership to advance our critically important missions.”

As ACCO and ISSP are dedicated to advancing the stature and credibility of their respective professions and practitioner communities, this partnership represents a significant opportunity for the two communities of practice to work toward helping all organizations to be more sustainable by building enterprise capacity and empowering their leadership to respond to climate change.

“The number of businesses, government agencies, and higher education institutions worldwide that are adopting sustainability and climate related practices has grown exponentially in the past decade, creating a need for more professionals with the expertise to guide them," said Maureen Hart, ISSP's Executive Director. “This in turn has created a need for a standard for the skills, knowledge, and capabilities required of effective climate change and sustainability professionals. Partnering with ACCO allows both organizations to leverage their resources to improve the capabilities of their members and all professionals working in the climate-change and sustainability fields.”

To learn more about the joint membership offering, please visit www.ACCOonline.org/issp.

About the Association of Climate Change Officers

The Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization for executives and officials worldwide in industry, government, academia and the non-profit community. ACCO’s mission is to define, develop and support the functions, resources and communities necessary for effective organizational leadership in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities. ACCO administers the Certified Climate Change Professional® (CC-P®) and Certified Climate Change Officer® (CC-O®) credentialing programs. For more information about ACCO, please visit www.accoonline.org.

About the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP)

The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) is the world's leading professional association for sustainability professionals. ISSP is a member-driven organization committed to moving the profession of sustainability forward by leading the design and delivery of the ISSP Sustainability Professional Certifications, and by building strong networks and communities of practice. Webinars, online courses, sustainability professional’s body of knowledge, special reports, resource directories, and salary surveys are just a sampling of the rich content offered to members. Formed in 2007, ISSP boasts almost 1000 members from every region of the world. For more information about ISSP, please visit www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org.

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