Rob Earl CEnv has told us what being a Chartered Environmentalist means to him. Find out what Rob has to say about becoming a CEnv below.
What does being a CEnv mean to you?
I am retired now after 43 years in the Water Industry. In that time, I was always involved in environmental work. Whether it was interpreting the development of estuarine sediments, the fair distribution of water resources, recycling waste, or overseeing environmental compliance. For most of my career my one option for progression was through Civil Engineering, a profession that only partly reflected my skills, interest and experience. Nevertheless, I built a reputation for applying developments in environmental law to work practices in order to keep the company in the vanguard of compliance.
Throughout the 1990s, the environmental professions gained ground. I achieved recognition for the work I was doing, initially through the Environmental Auditors’ Registration Association and then as an associate member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). It wasn’t until 2004, when the Society for the Environment was set up, that I was able, through my fellowship of the Institute of Water, to become registered as a Chartered Environmentalist.
I was chartered in September 2004 and was among the first professionals to be awarded that status – my registration number is 215 in an organisation that has since registered more than 7,500 CEnvs!
Rob’s background in the Water Industry:
Despite what you read in the press, the Water Industry has an impressive record on environmental improvement. And has many opportunities for dedicated environmentalists. In my four decades in the industry, I saw it mature into an organisation that fully integrated the principles of sustainability. Ensuring long-term security not just for water resources, but for the UK population and for the wider UK environment. Our regulators may have set the environmental standards, but we in the Water Industry delivered them in order to reverse environmental decline. My role included the management of, and later governance over: waste recycling, archaeology, environmental management systems, nature conservation, sustainability reporting, contaminated land and pollution prevention.
While my company had no official recognition for CEnvs, I was very proud of my chartered status. It gave me credibility and confidence in my dealings with external stakeholders. These included contractors, sustainability benchmarking bodies, the police, external auditors and regulators. Independent recognition of my environmental expertise and experience gave me the authority to make decisions and to set company policy based on sound sustainability principles. Chartered Environmentalist status recognised the professional approach I adopted to achieve the cultural shift to sustainable practices in my Water Company. It was a change I wanted to see and that our planet deserved.
Chartership in retirement:
Since retirement, my chartered status has given me an even wider opportunity to participate in environmental protection projects. Both in my local community and nationally. As well as the many CPD events on offer. SocEnv opens doors for collaboration with other CEnvs cross-sector. Removing the silos in which so many passionate environmentalists have been obliged to work. And providing the inspiration for effective changes to reverse humanity’s environmentally destructive behaviour.
When your CV states “Chartered Environmentalist,” you can be sure that your credibility in unquestionable. That your competence has been fully endorsed by the leading lights of environmental expertise.
