A Profession on the Move
Ever increasing environmental and resource constraints, as well as the introduction of many high-profile Government agendas, mean that environmental roles within business are taking centre-stage in tackling climate change.
Because of the UK’s commitment to achieving an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050, the rising costs of energy and raw materials, water scarcity, extreme weather and geological events and the increasing scarcity of natural resources, organisations face many challenges on maintaining their operations sustainably.
All organisations are being encouraged to recruit professionally skilled and knowledgeable environmental practitioners to ensure they are prepared for these challenges and that they continue to meet the current environmental standards, laws and legislation surrounding many business activities.
As a result, the environmental profession is on the move. Populated by passionate, knowledgeable, capable people the profession is businesses’ key to survival and sustainability.
In operational and compliance roles practitioners deliver effective environmental benefits through reduced consumption of materials and energy and ensure their organisation operates within the correct parameters of law and practice. At the strategic end of business, individual practitioners typically boast high standards of education, experience, skill and knowledge and are able to apply all of this to identifying risks and maximising opportunities for future success.
IEMA, as the professional body dedicated to creating a sustainable future through the development of environmental skills, knowledge and thought leadership, represents these practitioners and offers guidance, support and development opportunities. Over the next pages you will find information from IEMA about the environmental profession and how to go about making your way into this growing and stimulating field.
Click on the links below or alternatively visit IEMA’s Careers Advice Hub, Access Environment, at www.iema.net/access_environment.
[What is an Environmental Practitioner?
An environmental practitioner typically works across the organisation at all levels of operations and management to deliver environmental improvements and cost savings. There are many job titles and roles, but a skilled and qualified environmental practitioner;
· identifies and measure areas where a company can reduce its environmental impact
· delivers environmental improvements
· ensures that the organisation is complying with environmental regulations
· reports on its performance and making recommendations
As practitioners move towards the top of the profession (some of whom will be Chartered Environmentalists) they increasingly take responsibility for developing and implementing their organisation’s business strategy with environment at the heart of decision-making. In leadership roles they innovate, envision and transform the whole organisation towards a sustainable future. See IEMA's Skills Map for more information on these levels of experience and knowledge.
At the operational level environmental practitioners make a difference by using their knowledge and skills to ensure that their company continues to comply with environmental regulations and develop programmes to deliver environmental performance improvement. There are those who specialise in assessing and managing the environmental impacts of commercial and community development projects.
There is a variety of interesting and rewarding careers that involve the specialist management and protection of the earth’s land, air and water resources which require expertise in areas such as: ecology, energy, sustainability, legal compliance, waste, resource management, life cycle assessment, biodiversity, impact assessment, auditing and risk management.
The skills and training required to become an environmental practitioner vary according to specialism. Graduates and career changers should expect to develop their knowledge and skills through a combination of qualifications, training, continuous professional development and involvement through networking, conferences, workshops and reading throughout their whole career. IEMA leads the way in providing the support and access to this for our 15,000 members, who are environmental practitioners, and is dedicated to a sustainable future through environmental skills, knowledge and thought leadership.
Environment roles are rapidly emerging and evolving as the environment becomes part of the fabric of strategic decision making in organisations. This offers a wealth of opportunities for those with a passion about creating a sustainable future.
As the leading body for anyone working in the environmental or sustainability profession, IEMA considers it essential that the knowledge and skills that individuals with environmental responsibility require are clearly set out. Feedback from business, employers and individual members tells us that there isn’t a clear career or development path for the environmental profession and in particular, for those new to the profession who need more direction.
The development of IEMA’s Environmental Skills Map for the environmental profession addresses this need.
· It enables environmental professionals to see a clear pathway of the knowledge and skills they require throughout their careers
· For early career professionals, it provides direction as to the knowledge and skills they will need to develop to progress to more senior positions
· It sets out the key skills required by individuals in leadership positions, ensuring that the environmental profession is striving for senior strategic roles in organisations – supporting individuals who role is developing from ‘greening operations’ to ‘greening organisations’
· Enables IEMA to develop structured programmes of support to develop professionals throughout their careers
· The skills map, is more than a top level framework – through ‘click throughs’ it provides detail about what an environmental professional at each operational level in an organisation needs to know and be able to do – this is the dynamic part of the framework that we update with current professional development topics
· It provides examples of the types of job titles the environmental profession is using and sample job descriptions
· It provides clear recognition of the role of the environmental professional and the value an individual can add to an organisation
· It recognises the distinct knowledge and skills an individual requires that makes them an effective environmental professional, recognition of the cross functional, diverse, multi-level, change agent role
· The framework communicates the role of the environmental professional to other professions, peers and colleagues
Visit www.iema.net/access_environment/developingskillsknowledge/skillsmap to find out more.
Making a career change into another industry can be daunting, exciting but hard work! However, based on a Summer 2011 IEMA survey, over a third of environmental practitioners have changed careers at some point in their career history.
Many choose to change career due to loss of enthusiasm in their role, a lack of challenge or because they want to work in an area that really makes a difference.
However it seems that one of the main reasons people change careers into the environment is because they care about creating a sustainable future. Over 56% of respondents to a 2011 IEMA survey said that they moved from another sector into an environmental role because they either wanted to make a difference or they had a natural interest in the environment and wanted a job that reflected that passion.
Many other people move into an environmental role because their existing job had evolved and taken on environmental responsibilities (this is particularly common in the Health & Safety, Quality and Facilities Management fields).
Even industries that were not previously aligned with environmental principles are now required to employ environmentally knowledgeable professionals and therefore the profession is on the move, making its way to the centre of organisation's business plans. That means more jobs being created, opening up opportunities for those with an interest in the environment.
Visit Access Environment’s Career Change pages (www.iema.net/access_environment/career_change) to find out how you could move into an environmental role.
Ten Top Tips on Moving into an Environmental Role
Environment roles are rapidly emerging and evolving as organisations move from greening their operations to greening the whole organisation, offering a wealth of opportunities for those with a passion about creating a sustainable future.
But what steps should you take to move into an environmental practitioner role?
1. Assess Your Skills: Look at your existing skills, are they transferable to a new role? Research the wide range of roles that are available to make sure you can plan your training and development effectively that will enable you to enhance your existing skill set. Look out for person profiles in the environmental press like The Environmentalist magazine or the environmentalistonline (www.environmentalistonline.com).
2. Where are you now?: Websites like Access Environment (www.iema.net/access_environment) provide information for those starting out, those changing, and those seeking to move onwards and upwards.
3. Be Best Trained: If you are looking for a training course, try to find a programme that meets your needs not only in terms of content, but also delivery method. Increasingly, courses are being delivered in multiple formats - online, distance learning, work-based, classroom-based or blended learning - so there is likely to be the right course for you out there. Ideally, look for training programmes that are recognised by professional or other approving bodies; a third party accreditation provides you with a level of confidence about the quality of the programme. Visit www.iema.net/training to see details of IEMA’s Approved Training Providers, each of whom have had their course methods, trainers and content assessed and approved by IEMA.
4. Get the Knowledge: A sound knowledge of environmental management and assessment issues is absolutely essential. The standard IEMA recommends (and which is often cited as a pre-requisite in job applications) is the Associate Certificate programme, designed to equip delegates with knowledge and understanding about a broad range of environmental management and assessment issues. For a full list of qualifications visit www.iema.net/training.
5. Stay up to date: Read the environmental press, such as The Environmentalist magazine, broadsheet newspaper environmental sections, and environmental websites to keep up to date with the news. If you are aware of current environment and business issues, take on board what different businesses and sectors are doing about them and understand what they mean for organisations you will increase your own knowledge and be able to demonstrate what you know in interviews, exams or networking. It will also help you to make an informed choice about sectors, locations, size of organization and types of jobs that may suit you best!
6. Get Involved: If you are able to, look for volunteer opportunities near where you live that involve some sort of environmental, conservation, consultation or research activities. This time will give you invaluable experience of working in the environment, help you to connect with like-minded people and a vital attribute on your CV! Visit volunteering websites like www.do-it.org.uk or, if you are in England, find your nearest Volunteering Centre. Environmental champion groups are a great way to get involved at work whilst still in your current role. Finally, professional bodies like IEMA have Regional Steering Groups that really welcome new people and their ideas.
7. Know your stuff!: Government departments such as Defra and DECC have informative websites where you can find out latest news on legislation and policy - which is an essential part of a practitioner role - plus there are often opportunities for people like you to contribute to consultations.
8. Social and Professional Networks: Ensure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date, interesting and relevant. Have you got a catchy sub-heading that sums up who you are and what you do? Have you posted a good quality, professional looking photo? Is your education, work experience and extra-curricular profile working hard for you? Employers often look at LinkedIn when they receive job applications so make sure that yours gives a good impression of you. Also, you can connect to people you’ve met, worked with, studied with and even get recommendations for any good work you’ve done. The groups are a great way to connect with other professionals. Take a look at the IEMA Group (www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1960441&trk=hb_side_g) to get started.
9. Face to Face Networking: Try and get along to networking events to meet people who work in the field you are interested in. It’s a great way to learn what people talk about in the sector, who’s who and for finding out about work opportunities. great way to connect with other professionals. Take a look at Green Drinks and IEMA’s Regional Events (www.iema.net/events) that are open to non members are ideal for anyone wanting to enter the sector.
10. Look in the right place: Once you’ve followed tips 1 to 9 you should be in the position to take up your first environmental role. The IEMA jobsite is the best possible place to looks for your ideal role as you can search by job type, sector, location, salary and keywords. It provides a wealth of information about what jobs are currently out there and the responsibilities, qualifications and essential knowledge and skills needed.
If you need any further guidance visit www.iema.net/access_environment or contact IEMA at careerchanger@iema.net.
