Appointment of an Environmental Management Officer

When is an Environmental Management Officer necessary?

Strictly speaking, every company needs an Environmental Management Officer. Wherever business, production, and trade take place, risks for the environment arise. However, there is no legal obligation to have an Environmental Officer. The Environmental Officer is to be distinguished from the Environmental Management Officer. Companies must appoint one if they are planning to get a certification of an Environmental Management System. The Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), which the Federal Environment Agency helped to develop, as well as the specifications of an Environmental Management System according to ISO 14001, provide for the appointment of an Environmental Management Officer for certification. He monitors environmental management after certification and is thus the guarantor for compliance with a company’s environmental goals.

What tasks does an Environmental Management Officer cover?

An Environmental Management Officer fulfills numerous qualified tasks and is the highest “employee environmental protection”. He is appointed by the management and supports them in the development and implementation of their environmental policy. He has two main tasks:

• Preparation, conception, implementation, and monitoring of an Environmental Management System according to EMAS or ISO 14001
• Regular review and evaluation of the Environmental Management System
• Reporting to the management and giving recommendations for optimization

These tasks of the Environmental Management Officer are divided into numerous sub-tasks:

• Advising the technical department on the preparation of task-related environmental targets
• Support in the development of environmental protection measures
• Monitoring the implementation and regular adjustment of these goals with concrete measures in production and administration
• Drawing up guidelines and specifications for all corporate divisions to comply with the EMAS or ISO 14001 requirements
• Regular checks and monitoring of environmental targets
• Training management and staff to comply with legal requirements
• Preparation for EMAS or ISO 14001 certification and the following audits
• Evaluation of the audits and recommendations to the management for optimizing the Environmental Management System

When does it make sense to appoint an external Environmental Management Officer?

An Environmental Management Officer needs scientific, business, and legal expertise as well as communicative and linguistic skills. While corporate groups can maintain staff units with several employees for environmental protection, SMEs often lack time, resources, and sometimes even the necessary know-how. Especially when time resources in management and staff are tightly calculated, the external Environmental Management Officer relieves the resources. This leaves time for the value-adding day-to-day business of the employees. In such cases, it makes sense to appoint an external Environmental Management Officer.

How does an external Environmental Management Officer proceed?

An external Environmental Management Officer is initially a sparring partner of the management. He supports the management in the analysis of environmental risks and prepares the rough guidelines for an environmental policy.

In detail, he systematically develops the basics for the introduction of an Environmental Management System:

1. Strengths and weaknesses analysis
2. Description of opportunities and risks
3. Target development and draft of the environmental policy
4. Communication of the environmental policy to middle management
5. Consultancy of the departments on how to implement the environmental goals
   1. Clarification of management responsibilities
   2. Management trainings
   3. Identification of necessary measures and implementation support
   4. Deriving key figures for the Environmental Management System
   5. Definition of control measures for verification
6. Written documentation of the Environmental Management System
7. Selection and installation of hardware and software for the Environmental Management System
   1. IT training for staff on the application of the Environmental Management System
8. Reviewing the Environmental Management System for implementation
   1. Monitoring of key figures and deviations
   2. Identification of optimization potentials along new technologies
9. Preparation of EMAS or ISO 14001 certification
   1. Selection of the certification service provider
   2. Preparation and monitoring of the certification and the subsequent regular audits

What are the benefits of an external Environmental Management Officer?

An external Environmental Management Officer provides the necessary expertise from the time of his appointment. Other than with an internal solution, no further training measures are necessary. There is also no downtime due to illness or holidays with an external Environmental Management Officer. He is able to reconcile the legal requirements of environmental management standards such as ISO 14001 and EMAS with business management requirements in a company. With his technical and scientific know-how, he accurately captures the environmental risks of a company and develops solution strategies from his practical experience. He advises neutrally, is unbiased, and has the communicative skills to shape a change process in a goal-oriented way.

What does an external Environmental Management Officer cost?

The costs for an external Environmental Management Officer depend on the effort and scope of the desired and required services. We value the close contact with our customers and develop customized Environmental Management Systems according to ISO 14001 or EMAS together with them. We work in a solution-oriented and effective manner. We also take responsibility for the implementation of our recommendations. To determine the client’s individual needs, we consider the size of the company, the number of sites and employees, as well as the type and scope of the required Environmental Management System. Based on our many years of consulting experience, we offer three service packages at a fixed price. We are happy to adapt these to your individual needs.

External Environmental Management Officer by Memex Consulting GmbH

The conception, implementation, and, above all, documentation and control of an Environmental Management System according to ISO 14001 require a lot of know-how. An external Environmental Management Officer needs a lot of tact and advisory skills to advise the management. Memex Consulting GmbH from Munich offers all of this. Medium-sized companies, in particular, should enrich their own expertise with external expertise.

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of an external Environmental Management Officer in your company? Arrange a free initial consultation with Memex Consulting GmbH now. Let’s talk about environmental management in your company.