CEnv at 20 blog | 2020 vision for 2040 – SocEnv has a critical role

A blog by Mark Kibblewhite CEnv FIAgrE – Director of MK Soil Science Ltd and Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University – to mark 20 years of the Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) professional registration. Mark is part of the very first cohort of professionals registered as a CEnv on the 20th September 2004.

Progress towards a sustainable environment seemed to be going well when the new Millenium started in 2000. The Environment Agency had an ambitious “2020 vision” and demand for professional advice on environmental management was rising. However, a cloud was spotted on the horizon. This was the risk of weak professional environmental advice in the absence of clarity about who is properly equipped to advise.

A particular concern was competence to give robust regulatory advice. There was a feeling that the environment was not represented sufficiently within existing professional standards. The concept of a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) emerged to fill this gap. Quite quickly, a large group of established and highly regarded Professional Bodies joined forces to create the Society for the Environment.

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Find out more about our history, here

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A key and urgent role

When giving a presentation at the European Environment Agency a few years ago, I included a highly disturbing image of the Grenfell Tower fire, saying that “this is what weak regulation looks like”.

Following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent austerity, and congruent with Brexit aspirations, effective environmental as well as building regulation was compromised by poor resources and weakened political support. Some of the results are prominent in the media, such as poor river water quality, or the very rapid decline in biodiversity – others are less publicised, such as widespread soil compaction and soil erosion caused by poorly timed and inappropriate field operations. The good news is that there are many, expert and accredited CEnv’s available to help deliver better progress. And a key and urgent role of the Society of the Environment and its Member Bodies is to support more, and better environmental regulation based on sound evidence and delivered to high standards.

The regulatory vision for 2020 in 2000 was of continuing environmental advances building on two decades of progress. The reality is that the gap has widened between continuing degradation and improving management of natural resources. And the existential threats from climate change, loss of biodiversity and food insecurity are accelerating. This makes the Society for the Environment more important than ever, and the CEnv qualification an essential attribute for those in the many disciplines focused on delivering a sustainable path for humanity and the planet. The Society for the Environment is a much-needed source of hope and optimism for 2040.