Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) and Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP)

International · Green Business Certification Inc., with the International Society of Sustainability Professionals as education partner · professional

666practice questions written to this syllabus
28subjects

Format

Online (remote) or test-centre examinations administered by GBCI; SEA is entry level and a prerequisite for SEP. Question count and duration are in GBCI's candidate handbook, not on the page read.

Sections

Over the years

The ISSP credentials page was read: GBCI acquired the credential in 2019 and administers the exams. These replace the earlier ISSP-SA and ISSP-CSP names. The most general-purpose sustainability-professional exam in this catalogue.

Official source: https://www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org/credentials

Subjects this exam draws on

Earth Systems & Environmental Geoscience9 questionsSoil Science & Soil Health3 questionsHydrology & Water Resources for Environmental Scientists9 questionsSustainability Science: Concepts, History & Ethics39 questionsAgricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Mitigation9 questionsSoil Organic Carbon & Carbon Sequestration6 questionsLand Degradation, Desertification & Soil Conservation11 questionsAgricultural Water Conservation, Water Footprint & Governance13 questionsWater Quality & Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution11 questionsEcosystem Services & Pollinators in Agricultural Landscapes9 questionsLandscape Ecology, Protected Areas & Human-Wildlife Interactions14 questionsWater & Wastewater Treatment3 questionsSolid & Hazardous Waste Management10 questionsSoil Contamination, Toxicology & Remediation4 questionsNutrient Stewardship & Nitrogen Management14 questionsLivestock & the Environment11 questionsSustainable Food Systems, Diets & Food Loss53 questionsEnvironmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment23 questionsLife Cycle Assessment32 questionsCarbon Accounting & Greenhouse Gas Inventories15 questionsCarbon Markets, Offsets & Payments for Ecosystem Services10 questionsCircular Economy & Bio-based Resources75 questionsEnvironmental Management Systems, Auditing & Standards34 questionsSustainability Reporting & ESG Disclosure73 questionsSustainable Agri-food Supply Chains & Deforestation-free Sourcing89 questionsEnvironmental Law, Policy & International Agreements9 questionsEnergy, Environment & Agri-energy Transitions15 questionsSustainability Transitions, Governance & Social Dimensions63 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Which gas makes up about 78% of today's atmosphere by volume?

  1. Nitrogen
  2. Oxygen
  3. Argon
  4. Carbon dioxide
Answer and working

A. Nitrogen

Oxygen is about 21%, argon 0.9%, CO2 about 0.04%. Argon and CO2 are minor constituents.

Earth Systems & Environmental Geoscience · Origin and evolution of the earth and its spheres

2. Which framework from Cornell University reports scored soil health indicators with management suggestions?

  1. The Universal Soil Loss Equation
  2. The Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health
  3. The Streeter-Phelps model
  4. The Soil Taxonomy key
Answer and working

B. The Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health

CASH combines physical, chemical and biological indicators.

Soil Science & Soil Health · Soil health indicators and soil quality indices

3. Why are water balances useful in environmental impact assessment?

  1. They measure water quality parameters such as BOD directly
  2. They calculate the price of water for each user automatically
  3. They estimate unmeasured components and test the effects of abstraction or land-use change
  4. They replace all need for flow monitoring at the project site and downstream for decades of operation
Answer and working

C. They estimate unmeasured components and test the effects of abstraction or land-use change

Mass balance constrains estimates and reveals inconsistencies.

Hydrology & Water Resources for Environmental Scientists · The hydrological cycle and water balance

4. What did later comparisons find about the Limits to Growth 'standard run' scenario?

  1. Its standard run matched real trends in key variables
  2. It was proved entirely wrong by the year 1980
  3. It predicted unlimited growth with no environmental problems
  4. It was never compared with real data
Answer and working

A. Its standard run matched real trends in key variables

Studies comparing historical data with World3 runs found reasonable agreement in several variables, though interpretations differ. The report did not predict unlimited growth.

Sustainability Science: Concepts, History & Ethics · History of environmental thought: Malthus, Leopold, Carson, Limits to Growth

5. Why can covering a slurry store to cut ammonia lead to higher nitrous oxide later?

  1. Covers turn methane into nitrous oxide inside the store through a chemical reaction
  2. Covers can reduce slurry nitrogen to zero, forcing farmers to buy more synthetic fertiliser
  3. More nitrogen stays in the slurry and is lost as N2O after spreading unless applied well
  4. Covers produce nitrous oxide directly from the plastic as it is warmed by the summer sun
Answer and working

C. More nitrogen stays in the slurry and is lost as N2O after spreading unless applied well

Conserved nitrogen is a resource but also a loss risk in the field; good spreading practice is needed to realise the benefit. Covers do not emit N2O, do not convert methane to N2O, and do not remove nitrogen.

Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Mitigation · Manure management emissions: CH4 and N2O

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