IEMA is now ISEP. On 17 July 2025 the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment officially became the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals, following a member vote in December 2024.
Nothing material changed. Course content, learning outcomes and accreditation are the same, existing IEMA certificates remain valid and respected, and membership grades transferred directly. Only the name, logo and course titles were updated. You will see both names used for some time yet, and they mean the same thing.
What is an IEMA (ISEP) course?
ISEP is the professional membership body for environment and sustainability practitioners — more than 22,000 members across 125 countries, built over 25 years. Its courses are the recognised route into the profession and the standard reference point for employers hiring into environmental and sustainability roles.
The name change reflects how the work has grown. Environmental management used to mean compliance and assessment. It now takes in carbon reduction and net zero, climate adaptation and resilience, biodiversity, responsible sourcing and the culture change needed to make any of it stick. The courses had already moved that way; the name caught up.
Why take one
It leads to membership
ISEP courses map to membership grades, so the qualification is also a route to post-nominals and professional recognition — which matters when environmental roles are advertised.
Tenders increasingly ask
Public sector procurement and large private supply chains now routinely request carbon reduction plans and environmental credentials at prequalification. Qualified people are part of the answer.
Compliance is tightening
Packaging EPR, workplace recycling reform and digital waste tracking have turned several environmental practices into duties with fees and deadlines attached. Someone has to own that.
It builds board-level skills
The higher-level courses focus on evaluating performance and reporting it upward — which is often what separates someone doing environmental work from someone leading it.
Which course suits which role
The range runs from whole-workforce awareness through to practitioner qualifications. Match it to the role, not to seniority.
| Course | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| IEMA Environmental Awareness | The entry point. Short course covering why environmental performance matters and what individuals can do — suitable for any employee. |
| IEMA Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Workforce | Whole-workforce rollout. Builds on awareness with practical sustainability skills people can apply in their own role. |
| IEMA Environmental Sustainability Skills for Managers | Managers and supervisors who need to build sustainability into decisions and day-to-day operations rather than treat it as a separate workstream. |
| IEMA Leading with Environmental Sustainability | Senior leaders and directors setting direction. Focuses on strategy, governance and driving change across an organisation. |
| IEMA Foundation Certificate in Environmental Management | The substantial entry qualification for those moving into an environmental or sustainability role, or taking on formal responsibility for it. |
| IEMA Certificate in Environmental Management | The practitioner-level qualification, for those managing environmental performance as a significant part of their job. |
| IEMA Foundation Course in Environmental Auditing | For those auditing environmental performance and management systems rather than running them. A distinct skill from managing. |
| ISO 14001 Internal Auditor | Auditing an environmental management system against the ISO 14001 standard — the qualification most often asked for where certification is held or sought. |
Course names have changed slightly. ISEP updated course titles to reflect the new brand, so you may see the same qualification advertised under an older IEMA name elsewhere.
The content is identical. If you are comparing providers and the titles do not quite match, that is usually why.
IEMA and ISEP questions
Is my existing IEMA certificate still valid?
Yes. Certificates issued under the IEMA name remain valid and are recognised exactly as before. There is nothing to renew, replace or convert. The organisation changed its name; your qualification did not change.
Are IEMA and ISEP the same organisation?
Yes — same body, new name since 17 July 2025. Members voted for the change in December 2024 after consultation. Membership grades, entry criteria, course content and standards all carried across unchanged. Many people still search for IEMA, which is why both names appear on this page.
What happened to my membership post-nominals?
Suffixes transitioned from the IEMA form to the ISEP equivalent, with some variation by grade, and members were asked to start using the new ones from 17 July 2025. The grade itself is unaffected — nobody was re-assessed or downgraded by the rebrand.
Do I need an ISEP course or ISO 14001 training?
Different things. ISEP courses develop the person — knowledge, competence and professional recognition. ISO 14001 is a management system standard for the organisation, and certification is what tenders often ask for. Many businesses need both: qualified people running a certified system.
Which industries are these courses relevant to?
All of them. Construction, manufacturing, engineering, energy and facilities management are the heaviest users, but environmental duties now reach every sector — waste, packaging, energy reporting and supply chain expectations apply as much to an office or a retailer as to a factory.
Environmental and sustainability training
ISEP courses alongside the wider environmental management range, with dates across the UK.
Related training and guidance
ISO 14001
Environmental risk assessment
NEBOSH courses
IOSH courses
All health & safety courses
On-site group training
Course content, membership grades and criteria are set by ISEP, formerly IEMA.