The Education Services department of Siemens Building Technologies Inc. is offering three sessions of a sustainability and environmental management course for building owners, managers and others.

The class, which is open to the public, focuses on how to improve the efficiency of buildings and their effects on their surroundings.

Topics covered in each of three two-day courses include environmental performance improvement and measurement, and the basics of Energy Star and the U.S. Green Building Council LEED standards. The course also will cover businesses cases for environmental management plans and how to reduce costs through energy efficiency.  

"There is so much confusion about sustainability," Siemens Building Technologies' Education Services Manager Karen Petersen said in announcing the course this week. "This class provides the necessary information to develop a practical sustainability plan."

The class will be offered November 11–12, 2008, March 10 –11, 2009, and July 7– 8, 2009. The class runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Siemens Building Technologies training facility at 950 Deerfield Parkway in Buffalo Grove, Ill., 60089. People interested in enrolling in the class may call 1-800-487-7771.