Environmental Manager Responsibilities

Environmental managers are involved in managing the requirement of environmental regulations in an organization. Their main responsibility is to make sure that the environmental regulations are in compliance with the standardized format of environmental health and safety regulation. They usually work in the area of maintaining regulations on air and water quality, waste management treatment, and maintaining pollution control in the organization. This job profile involves them to work in both scientific and administrative areas.

Key Responsibilities

The main task of an environmental manager is to oversee the environmental regulation processes in both public and private sectors. It involves him for development, implementation, and management of environmental protection strategies, regulatory policies, and other programs for promoting healthy environmental practices in the organization. Environmental managers work in an organization to examine its corporate activities and locate the area of improvement in its environment sustainability practice, so that it runs in compliance with the guidelines formulated by federal, state, and local regulatory authorities.

The key responsibilities of an environmental manager comprise:

Overseeing the environment protection strategies implied by the organization as well as developing, modifying, and implementing the required strategies for ensuring corporate sustainability
Developing recycling schemes, pollution reduction and prevention program, and taking prompt action on sustainable procurement of environment related services
Coordinating the management of all the tasks related to pollution control, recycling processes, waste material management, environmental health management, energy conservation, and renewable energy management
Carrying out implementation and functional management of environmental policies and practices in the organization, ensure its authenticity, and validate it in compliance with environmental regulatory authorities
Auditing and analyzing the the environmental performance reports, reporting the same to the internal staff, external clients, and environmental legislative bodies
Conducting impact assessment for identifying the environmental risk, and working towards managing the overall cost reduction in implementing the program
Managing environmental protection strategies with respect to organizational progress, taking a note of its effect on employee's security and budget assigned by the management
Creating awareness program in and outside the organization regarding environmental protection issues, methods to combat such environmental hazards, and generate a sense of responsibility towards protecting the environment
Determining the best possible solution for environment protection which reflects the best used corporate strategy, and goes in accordance with legislative, ethical, and social welfare
Coordinating with internal staff members, senior managers, and board of directors for effective implementation of environmental protection program, consulting senior managers for providing environmental training to staff members and other workers, promoting environmental education and research in all sectors of the organization
Liaising with regulatory authorities for conducting effective environment protection program in the organization, updating their knowledge regarding latest amendments in environment protection act, preparing drafts and detailed report for presenting it to regulatory bodies, etc.
Managing the team involved in environment protection program, coordinating with technical, scientific, and engineering staff members regarding the same

The environmental managers are required to review the entire operational activities for carrying out environmental examination, preparing audit reports, and accessing the quality. They are also involved in identifying the environmental issues and working in compliance with legislative laws for resolving the matter. Another significant component of this role is managing the working staff, and training them appropriately, so that they act as a single workforce and contribute equally towards improving the environmental performance.

Required Qualifications and Skills

For getting an entry-level job in environmental management profile, one has to obtain a bachelor's degree in environmental science or other related fields. Graduate-level studies in the field of chemistry, biology, geology, or geophysics are also acceptable if one is capable of applying these principles in environmental aspects. Masters and doctorate level education is preferred, but not essential for this profile.

As one starts gaining experience, one can apply for higher positions in this field. An open survey on a job portal site suggested that HR managers preferred the professionals with around 5 years experience over the freshers. One can start his career as a research technician or research assistant in the field of environmental science, and then proceed towards the management profile.

Apart from this, one has to demonstrate a certain skills for successful career accomplishment. One needs to be aware about the latest proceedings in federal, state, and local legislative policies, latest scientific proceedings in the field of environment sciences, and working knowledge on computer programs like Geographic Information Systems, digital mapping, computer mapping, etc., required for conducting the environmental examination.

Salary Compensation

The average annual salary of an entry-level environmental manager falls in the range of $35,000 to $50,000. The payscale keeps increasing as one gains experience, and the highest level salary goes beyond $100,000 per year.

The job profile of environmental managers is very dynamic and it involves varied workload for successfully carrying out the responsibilities. If you wish to start a career as an environmental manager, it would be beneficial to have an in-depth knowledge about the environmental manager responsibilities before applying for this job profile.