Environment management is a perfect choice for those who want to combine passion and ambition:
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Environment management is the buzzword in today’s corporate circles. The rapid decline in the earth’s ecological environment has pitchforked the issue of sustainable industrial development to the forefront. Global environment concerns such as greenhouse warming, ozone layer depletion and biodiversity destruction have become important issues not only for environmentalists but also for decision makers in companies.

Recent studies have shown that improvements in the environment can actually boost the overall performance of industry. It is in this context that business schools in India have taken a proactive role in creating managers and business leaders who can incorporate environmental issues in corporate decision making. Says K.M. Agrawal, head of public systems department, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Calcutta, “Environment management is one of the most exciting professions today, offering a variety of career opportunities. Many engineering and management graduates now opt for a degree or diploma in environment management, as job opportunities in this field have opened up.”

“The demand for environment professionals is linked with the change in the attitude of business houses, which have begun to realise the impact of environmental damage on their businesses. Changes in the environment can have a trickle-down effect on the business scenario, affecting the physical and financial growth of a company,” he adds.

Taking into account the impending risks, most companies have set up green cells to monitor environment and resource conservation, including reduction in raw materials and water consumption.

“Well-informed environment professionals can contribute to the overall growth and profitability of a business. We have been urging business houses to set up environment cells to perform their task of social corporate responsibility. The result has been encouraging so far. A recent survey conducted by us shows that 69 per cent of companies in the eastern region have a dedicated environment cell,” says Rajeev Singh, secretary general, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Calcutta.

With so much stress on environment management, how does one become an environment manager? “To study environment management, you need to be an honours graduate in any discipline. Science and engineering graduates have a definite edge over others owing to their technical knowledge. However, others with a passion for environment can also do well. What is required is a thorough understanding of environmental issues, policies and the law,” says Agrawal.

Aditya Batra, co-ordinator, education and training, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, is thrilled about the growing levels of environment awareness in colleges and universities.

“Environment education has finally begun to be recognised as a niche area in the study of management. Several colleges and universities are showing keen interest in the subject,” he says.

Batra feels several factors have led to the demand for environment management professionals. “The pressure exerted by policy advocacy groups and international agencies has forced companies to clean up their act. Growing environmental awareness has led to a change in the consumer behaviour pattern, which has prompted companies to adhere to green norms to improve their image. Also, there is a growing realisation that environment management can lead to efficiency in services,” he says.

Batra is excited about the new career opportunities for those who want to combine passion and ambition. “A budding environmentalist today has more than just activism to choose from. He can work in areas such as capacity building, cost control, conservation, water harvesting and waste management,” he adds.

According to him, an environment manager has a greater role to play in today’s business scenario. “He has to act as a bridge between the company and the public and see that the company is adhering to environment policies framed by the government. He has to work in tandem with environment regulators and other agencies and communicate the concerns of the local people to the company’s top bosses.”

Dipayan Dey, environment consultant and director of the Calcutta-based South Asian Forum for Environment (Safe), says the range of jobs in the field of environment management has grown over the years. While one can go into research and training and work as an environment consultant, there are opportunities in the area of pollution control, air monitoring, wastewater management, rainwater harvesting, environment impact assessment and agronomical management.

“Environment protection has opened up job opportunities for lawyers, engineers, social workers and communicators. There is an increasing role for environmental, mechanical and civil engineers in designing, constructing and commissioning systems for urban water treatment and supply, and pollution abatement,” he says.

Environment management graduates can work with different organisations, agencies, industries and consulting firms. They can work in the area of land-use planning and management, hazardous and solid waste management, crop production, water quality management, source and water pollution control, air pollution control, or environmental and crop consulting. They can also pursue MPhil or PhD programmes in environment management or study environment law.

The ministries of environment, pollution control boards and institutes such as the Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai, the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and the different offices of the Botanical Survey of India, apart from several companies and non-governmental (NGO) organisations, offer opportunities to environment management graduates.

With so many different organisations operating in this sector, the salary spectrum is pretty wide. In some small firms, the salary is not very high, but there are several high-paying jobs in the corporate sector. International NGOs also offer a good pay package.

Agrawal says a fresher can expect a salary in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 a month. Those with some experience can easily earn Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 a month. “This year, students of IISWBM have received good placement offers from companies like IBM, Hindustan Petroleum and ACC Ltd. The highest salary offered was Rs 6 lakh per annum,” he says.

Most institutes offer a two-year course in environment management, such as IISWBM, Calcutta, Indraprastha University, New Delhi, Institute of Environment Management, Lucknow, Environment Management and Policy Research Institute, Bangalore, Gujarat Environment Management Institute, Vikram University, Ujjain and SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.

Leading business schools like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad and Bangalore offer environment management as an elective subject. “Students who have completed their first year at the IIM are allowed to take it up as an elective subject. It is also open for participants of PGPX (postgraduate programme for executives) and PGP-PMP (postgraduate programme in public policy and management). IIM also offers a doctoral programme in energy and environment policy,” says P.R. Shukla, head of the public systems group, IIM, Ahmedabad.

The demand for students with an environment management background is on the rise. The emerging recruiters are firms in natural resources and clean technology sectors, consulting firms and international agencies. Besides, many manufacturing firms prefer recruiting those who took at least one course in environment management. This was not the case even a decade ago when manufacturing firms used to consider those who showed interest in studying environment management courses misfits. The environment courses receive significant response from international students,” he says.

IIM Bangalore offers a postgraduate programme in corporate strategy and environment as an elective subject in the second year. “Last year, around 51 students, mostly from abroad, registered for the programme. Environmental issues are also covered in a programme called business, government and society. In the public policy programme, we offer an elective on environmental economics and policy,” says Professor P.D. Jose, assistant professor, corporate strategy and policy area, IIM Bangalore.

Apart from business schools, several other institutes like the CSE, Safe and ICC offer different courses in environment management. While CSE offers courses in rainwater harvesting, waste recycling management, environment impact assessment and environment audit, Safe has started a course in collaboration with the United Nations University on biodiversity management. ICC runs a course on environment management systems relating to ISO 14001.

With so much stress on environment management, those interested in the subject can certainly look forward to a green career.

All in a day’s work

What does an environment manager do? He runs a thorough check on the projects undertaken by the company to ensure that they are in conformity with environmental laws. If any rules have been violated, he brings this to the notice of the management. He inspects project sites to ensure that the company follows the regulations laid down by the government’s environment department. He communicates the concern of the local people on environment-related matters to the management. Finally, he seeks a clarification from environment regulators and sorts out disputes, if any, with them.

A typical day in the working life of S.B. Prasad, head, environment and occupational health services, Tata Steel Ltd, is instructive.

Prasad starts his day by scanning national and local newspapers. Local news on environmental issues is very important, especially in Jamshedpur since the township is also maintained by Tata Steel. These issues need to be addressed suitably.

Prasad starts work at 8.00am. He takes a quick look at the mail box, followed by studying the environment daily report, collecting information about non-compliance, environmental incidents, the functioning of pollution control equipment and so on. This is followed by a quick meeting with sectional heads. Half an hour is reserved for holding teleconferences with the heads of the works department.

A site visit to understand a problem, a scheduled meeting and replying to important mails take up the first half of the day. The emails include queries from various agencies such as the ministry of environment and forests, the ministry of steel, the Jharkhand Pollution Control Board, the Central Pollution Control Board and non-governmental organisations.

The afternoon is taken up by action on various initiatives and follow-up presentations for management information system (MIS), awareness and training. Other tasks include studying legal requirements, compliance monitoring, liaising with various agencies and attending or conducting meetings on various subjects.

While campaigning in Indiana on a Sunday, Hillary Clinton explained how she will address the losses of white and blue collar jobs, saying “We’re going to create green collar jobs.”

What is a green collar job? One green CEO says, ” in essence a blue-collar job that has been upgraded to address… environmental challenges.” And how do green-collar workers differ from their blue collar counterparts? We asked a former steel worker turned “renewable energy technician” to point out a few details on the job site:

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)