Is this for you
You are accountable for sustainability outcomes. Prove you can deliver them.
8
competence units
0
exams
2011
GPM certifying since
USD 1,499
one fee, monthly plan available
The CSP is for the people who carry sustainability in an organization: the sustainability or ESG manager who owns the strategy and the report, the procurement director who owns the supply chain's footprint and labour standards, the head of operations who owns the emissions and the waste, the HR leader who owns inclusion and wellbeing, the finance lead who owns the disclosures, and the consultant who is paid to make all of it work. Their titles differ, and the competence they need is the same.
The CSP assesses that competence directly. You show what you have done, against a public standard, to an assessor who has done the same work. When you pass, you hold a certification that tells an employer or a client what you can be trusted to do, and you join a registry anyone can check.
Sustainability and ESG
Managers, directors and heads of sustainability
You own the strategy, the targets and the disclosures. The CSP certifies the competence behind them, unit by unit, with your own evidence.
Functional leaders
Procurement, operations, HR, facilities, finance, risk
Sustainability now sits in your objectives. The CSP recognizes the sustainability leadership you already exercise inside your function.
Consultants and advisers
Independent practitioners and firms
Clients and tender panels ask for qualifications. A competence-based certification against a published standard is a stronger answer than a list of courses.
Public sector and non-profit
Programme leads and policy officers
The same eight units apply to a ministry, a city or an NGO. The evidence is your programmes, policies and results.
What it certifies
The eight shared units of the Sustainability Competence Standard
The GPM Sustainability Competence Standard defines ten units. Eight are shared by sustainability leaders and project managers; two cover the inside of a project and belong to the project management certifications. The CSP assesses the eight shared units at the level of a person who leads the work.
| Unit | What you show evidence of |
|---|---|
| Ethical leadership | Decisions taken against stated values under pressure, conflicts of interest named and managed, and others held to the same standard. |
| Living systems stewardship | Understanding the organization's dependence and impact on living systems and acting to protect and restore their capacity: compliance, resources, emissions, biodiversity. |
| Talent acquisition, retention and empowerment | Fair and inclusive hiring, development and culture, with the capability sustainability work requires built into the team. |
| Assessing and responding to sustainability impacts | A structured impact assessment, materiality applied, and findings turned into governed, monitored responses. |
| Stakeholder collaboration and engagement | The people affected identified, heard and worked with, and a record of how their input changed decisions. |
| Sustainable procurement | Sourcing against impact criteria, due diligence carried through the supply chain, supplier commitments enforced and monitored. |
| Change management and resilience | Sustainability-driven change that sticks, and the organization's capacity to absorb shocks strengthened. |
| Regenerative design | Work designed to measurably improve system capacity beyond a baseline, with indicators and verification. |
How the assessment works
Six steps, no exam
Enrol on the portal, free
Open the submission guide on GPM's learning portal and read the introduction. The competence units, elements and performance criteria are all visible before you pay anything.
Check your fit
Map your own work against the units. If you can point to real outputs for most criteria, you are ready. If not, the gaps tell you what to build first.
Pay the assessment fee, USD 1,499
One payment, or a monthly plan. The fee covers the assessor's review of your portfolio, the interview and the certification itself.
Upload your CV and declaration
A current CV and a signed candidate declaration, including any access needs and consent for GPM to verify what you submit.
Submit evidence unit by unit
For each performance criterion, attach the document, record or measurement that shows it and write a short note on your role and the result. Most candidates complete the portfolio in four to eight weeks alongside their job.
Competence interview, decision and badge
A GPM assessor reviews the portfolio and then meets you online to probe the evidence. A pass leads to certification, a digital badge and a listing in the GPM certification registry. A shortfall comes back as specific feedback so you can resubmit.
Why competence-based
What a CSP tells an employer or a client
| Exam-based certificate | GPM competence-based certification | |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | That you can recall a body of knowledge on the day of the test. | That you have done the work, with results, to a published performance standard. |
| How it is assessed | Multiple choice, timed. | Evidence portfolio reviewed by a practising assessor, then a one-to-one competence interview. |
| The standard behind it | A syllabus or exam content outline. | The GPM Sustainability Competence Standard: units, elements and performance criteria you can read before you apply. |
| Process discipline | Varies. | Aligned with ISO 17024, the international standard for bodies certifying persons. |
| What an employer learns | That you studied. | What you can be trusted to do on Monday. |
GPM has certified individuals in sustainability since 2011. Every GPM certification uses the same discipline: a public standard, evidence, a practising assessor, an interview and a registry entry anyone can verify. The process is aligned with ISO 17024, the international standard for bodies that certify persons, and the head of GPM's assessor pool sits on the ISO committee that governs it.
Why now
The profession is growing, and so is the scrutiny
Sustainability has become a compensated, accountable profession. GreenBiz's State of the Sustainability Profession 2024 reports average compensation of USD 159,430 for sustainability managers (up 37 percent since 2022), USD 244,649 for directors (up 21 percent in two years) and USD 471,933 for vice presidents (up 50 percent since 2022). With that comes scrutiny: regulators, auditors, investors and customers now ask who is behind the numbers and what qualifies them. A competence-based certification against a published standard is the direct answer.
The question has changed from whether the organization has a sustainability lead to whether that person can show, with evidence, that they know what they are doing.
The path
Where the CSP sits
Before
CSF, Certified Sustainability Fundamentals
Five units at contributor level. If you are early in the work, start here; the evidence carries forward.
This page
CSP, Certified Sustainability Professional
Eight units at the level of someone who leads sustainability in an organization.
For project professionals
CSPP, CSPMs and CSPMx
The project management certifications, for people who deliver sustainability through projects, programs and portfolios.
Deepen the practice
Professional Certificate in Regenerative Leadership
GPM's programme for leaders who want regeneration as a design discipline, built on the Sustainability in Practice standard.
Getting started
Read the criteria first, then decide
Enrol on the portal. Enrolment is free and shows you all eight units and every performance criterion before you pay.
Map your last two or three years of work against them. Policies you wrote, assessments you ran, suppliers you changed, programmes you led, disclosures you signed off. That is your portfolio.
Not there yet? The CSF assesses five of the same units at contributor level and everything you build for it counts toward the CSP.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the CSP certification?
The Certified Sustainability Professional (CSP) is GPM's competence-based certification for people who lead sustainability work in an organization. It assesses evidence of your own work against the eight shared units of the GPM Sustainability Competence Standard, followed by an interview with a GPM assessor.
Is the CSP a project management certification?
No. The CSP certifies sustainability leadership in any function: corporate sustainability and ESG teams, operations, procurement, human resources, finance, risk and compliance, and consulting. GPM's project management certifications are the CSPP, CSPMs and CSPMx.
Who is the CSP for?
Sustainability and ESG managers and directors; heads of procurement, operations, HR or facilities who own sustainability outcomes; consultants and advisers who sell sustainability services; and functional leaders who have been made accountable for sustainability targets and need their competence recognized.
How is it different from the CSF?
The CSF assesses five units at the level of someone who contributes to sustainability work. The CSP assesses eight units at the level of someone who leads it, including sustainable procurement, change management and resilience, and the full impact assessment and response cycle. CSF evidence carries forward into a CSP portfolio.
Is there an exam?
No. You build an evidence portfolio against each performance criterion and then discuss it with an assessor in a competence interview. The process is aligned with ISO 17024.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
USD 1,499, with a monthly payment plan available. Enrolment on the portal is free. Most candidates complete the portfolio in six to ten weeks alongside their job.
How long is the CSP valid?
Five years from the date of award. Renewal is arranged with GPM's certification team ahead of the expiry date.
Who issues it and how is it recognized?
GPM, the sustainability organization that wrote the Sustainability Competence Standard, the P5 Standards and the Sustainability in Practice professional standard. GPM has certified individuals since 2011; certified professionals are listed in its public registry and receive a verifiable digital badge.
Page updated 5 September 2026. Fees in US dollars; a monthly payment plan is available on the portal.
GPM®, Green Project Management® and Sustainable Project Management® are registered trademarks of GPM Ltd. PRiSM™, P5™, CSPP™, CSPMs™, CSPMx™, CSP™, CSF™, GPM360°™ and PSM3™ are trademarks of GPM Global and, where applicable, PMI-GPM. PMI and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute.
Also on this site
The CSF: the first step. The Sustainability Competence Standard: the units in full, free. P5 for Business Practice: the impact standard for organizations. PSM3: assess your organization's maturity.