Should we start with a goal?
April 1, 2008 by John Morelli , AYOUB MOHAMED and NEIL MILLER | Filed under: 1, 2, 3-The Goal of the Environmental Manager, General
Hello Ayoub, Bakhtiyar and Brian,
Although this discussion is intended to focus on the role of the environmental manager in moving us toward sustainability, Brian has introduced his claim that the goal of the environmental manager is, in fact, sustainability. He has qualified that claim somewhat by limiting his definition of environmental manager to the corporate environmental manager, and limiting his definition of sustainability to environmental sustainability. This is Brian’s research hypothesis and I don’t want for us to trespass on his work, but it seem to me that it would be easier for us to define the role of the environmental manager if we (as a profession) reached some consensus regarding our goal. So I am suggesting that we concentrate our efforts on examining his claim, and hopefully this will help him along with his research as well as help us along with ours.
What does everyone think about his suggestion?
John
Mr. Morelli and Brain
According to my immature understanding to the very detailed duties of the EH&S management, there isn’t a significant difference between the corporate environmental manager and environmental manager. In my vision, EM or CEM is the same person, who works as a consultant or advisor to their organizations providing them with support and technical assistance in compliance with the EH&S requirements. The environmental manager’s big concern is how to protect the planet from any damage or abuse to the environment and ecosystem. Traditionally, when the trend of the climate change and global worming was in its beginnings, there were a few of environmental professionals and the organizations rarely had environmental managers. The only concern to EMs was how to comply with regulation, I think they lacked the real belief that there was damaging to the environment, they didn’t pay considerable attention to the life cycle, resource reduction, hazardous waste, groundwater contamination, etc. As the world population increased and the industry and waste generation and pollution accordingly increased, ordinary people started to think about the environment and contribute in the preservation. EMs had to take a bigger role and took lead in the new awareness and then the title corporate EM existed.
I have another comment that the word corporate which became a prefix to many environmental terms (such as corporate EM and corporate social responsibility CSR), means working together. The public, government, and industry should work together to reach environmental sustainability. Sustainability and environmental sustainability are close to each other. Environmental sustainability is using the natural resources and the environment without compromising the needs of next generations and sustainability is to make a business last longer with less impact to the ecological system (environmental sustainability). The environmental manager here is called corporate environmental manager who has belief and passion in environmental protection and environmental sustainability as well as having the duty of helping his company or organization to do a sustainable business.
I wish this was of help to your research Brain.
Ayoub & Brian,
I was wondering if we could elaborate the difference between Corporate and Environmental Manager. What I was thinking while reading the initial goal was that an environmental manager might be a person who works at a micro-project level being involved in oversite of a specific process in a company. On the other hand, with the name “Corporate” in front of the title, I thought that it would be someone who works high up in the company and must oversee the entire workings of every process. They would not be someone like a CEO but would be working on generalizing what the final emission goals are or work with regulators to initiate some sort of initiatives plans. Where as the Environmental Manager would be working on applying the new standards to the specific processes they are in control of.
Brian, If you could chime in and help with the definition that I’m a little confused on, I think this would be a good topic to peruse for our forum’s goal.
Good point Neil. I was the one pushing for Brian to narrow this to the corporate environmental manager, but I think you are right, it is confusing and neither of us (I believe) meant to signify that we were talking about only those at the headquarters level. We only meant to distinguish between those working in corporations vs. those working in other sectors of society — at least for the purpose of this discussion. So, why don’t we just call them, “private sector environmental managers?”