Environmental responsible or an environmental consultant?
The best way to identify the differences between the two terms is to start firstly from the National Occupational Classification (NOC), this is why we will start by identifying the differences.
Checking the National Occupational Classification, we found only the environmental responsible in category 3 – technician and other specialists from the technical field subcategory 3257 – environmental protection and occupational health inspectors, assimilated, under numeric code 325710.
The environmental consultant occupation was not identified under one single NOC code which is easy to understand because it is a mix of very diverse specializations and attributions, the activities that are realized by the consultant being part of the job descriptions of the majority of codes specific to subcategory 3257 – environmental protection and occupational health inspectors, assimilated, the environmental consultant is therefore able to perform activities specific to codes 325702- environmental management systems manager, 325710 – environmental responsible, 325703 – environmental auditor, 325713 – waste management specialist.
WHAT DOES THE ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION SPECIFY?
Before looking up the two occupations in the NOC, one must identify whether there is any legal provision that obliges companies to appoint a person as an environmental management responsible.
The specific attributes of the environmental responsible appeared as a response to GEO 195/2005 regarding environmental protection, through legal entities that carry out activities with significant environmental impact organize their own specialized structures for environmental protection. According to this request, are mainly targeted the companies who hold an environmental permit and are considered to have a major impact on the environment.
According to law 211/2011 on waste management “legal entities who generate/own waste, traders, and other economic operators are obliged to designate an employee that monitors the obligations stated by this law or to delegate the responsibility to a third party”. The rules apply to all waste generators no matter of the activity carried out or if they hold an environmental permit or not.
O alta solicitare legislativa, o regasim in Legea nr. 211 din 2011 privind regimul deseurilor, de aceasta data adresata tuturor generatorilor de deseuri, indiferent de activitate, capacitate, detinere sau nu a autorizatiei de mediu si care mentioneaza faptul ca „detinatorii/producatorii de deseuri persoane juridice, comerciantii, precum si operatorii economici au obligatia sa desemneze o persoana din randul angajatilor proprii care sa urmareasca si sa asigure indeplinirea obligatiilor prevazute de prezenta lege sau sa delege aceasta obligatie unei terte persoane”;
THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT
Regarding the differences between the environmental responsible and environmental consultant they are not limited to the job description and is related mainly to the capacity of the last one to have an overview over various fields of activity and propose the best solutions to comply with the legislation and align with the market.
Regarding the studies they both need to have a high education degree preferable in the environmental protection field or connected subsequently completed with various specialized courses (audit, environmental management, sustainability, geographical information systems, data collection and interpretation, technical reporting, etc.).
The differences appear afterwards when the theoretical notions need to be applied in an expert group.
SIMPLE VERSUS COMPLEX
The environmental responsible gets in contact with a small number of environmental issues as being the internal employee of that specific company so, it’s difficult for him to extrapolate the solutions if something changes in the activity. Broadly he is in charge to check if the company complies with the law, identifies the necessity to obtain specific environmental regulatory acts in the environmental protection field (environmental notice, environmental agreement, environmental permit, notice/permit/agreement water management, waste water discharge agreement), checks if the requirements from all the regulatory acts are met, trains the employees on environmental requirements, monitors the environmental factors and fills the reports to the environmental authorities, internal environmental audit and implements the best solutions to mitigate or remove the environmental impact of the company on the environment.
On the other hand, the environmental consultant is in charge of the environmental responsibilities of many companies knowing the specificities of each activity regarding the environmental impact and proposes dedicated solutions for compliance and sustainable development both in the commercial relations with the suppliers / beneficiaries / partners and in the communities in which the respective companies operate.
The companies who choose to work with an environmental consultant are from different fields of activity such as public institutions, industry, mining operations, infrastructure, energy, protected areas administrators.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT
The environmental consultant is always up to date with the changes in the market and can identify efficient solutions for waste management and reaching recycling targets. He is in contact with more institutions than the environmental responsible (EPA. NEPA, EFA, Romanian Waters and Ministry of the Environment), waste collectors, responsibility transfer organizations, laboratories for monitoring environmental factors and participates to different debates, meetings, conferences
In most of the small and medium companies but also in the big ones the environmental responsible is the only one in charge with specific environmental issues of the company. On the other hand, in the companies which have an environmental department this is usually integrated with health and safety, quality, fire protection, etc. In comparison with the environmental responsible the environmental consultants work exclusively in the environmental protection field and are also part of multidisciplinary teams of connected areas (ecology, engineering, chemistry, biology, hydrology) with whom they share best practices. This rings an important advantage for the business development because they can help reduce the costs and comply in the same time with the legislations.
Another detail that worth’s to be mentioned is the fact that the environmental responsible might nor have the license to execute various environmental studies that can be necessary in order to obtain the environmental permit, water permit or environmental agreement. The consultants need to have all the licenses in order to perform their daily tasks.