Surely you have ever heard of companies that need a environmental consulting. It is a type of specialized advice on environmental matters that is carried out by both companies and organizations for an optimization of natural resources. In addition, it has the main objective of reducing the environmental impacts that the company or organization in particular may have.
In this article we are going to tell you what environmental consulting is and what is its importance.
What is environmental consulting
When we talk about environmental consulting, we refer to advice on environmental matters that companies or organizations need in order to improve quality and reduce impacts on the environment. An environmental consultancy can cover various topics such as environmental legislation, implementation of environmental management systems, processing of various ecological labels, planning of local agenda 21 and preparation of environmental impact studies, among others.
All these tools are specialized so that the company can improve its quality and optimize the use of natural resources. For example, an environmental management system in a large company can be decisive in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that it emits into the atmosphere. The environmental pollution produced by a company can be reduced by introducing an environmental management system that addresses all these points. Reduce the light consumption, use renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, etc. are some of the measures that are implemented in an environmental management system.
All these tools are evaluated and implemented from management to environmental consulting. In an environmental consultancy there are specialists capable of analyzing all the deficiencies of the company and the possible improvements. For this, some SWOT analyzes are carried out in which the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of a company in environmental matters are studied.
If the company is dedicated to construction, the environmental consulting will be focused mainly on environmental impact studies. These studies are in charge of investigating and analyzing the different impacts on flora, fauna, water, soil and air that such construction may have. Depending on the value of the land and the possible condition, this construction can be carried out or not. The environmental impact study has numerous administrative procedures for subsequent approval.
Types of environmental consulting
There are two main types of environmental consulting:
- Specialized consulting: It is the one that is mainly dedicated to environmental issues. It exclusively deals with these issues to improve the quality of the company in environmental matters. These topics are energy consulting, hazardous waste management consulting, environmental impact reduction, eco-labeling, etc.
- General consulting: the general consultancy is oriented towards advising companies with a wide portfolio of services. Obviously, among these services such an environment but not as the main tool.
An environmental consulting specialist must have a multidisciplinary training that allows him to address the different characteristics of projects. You must be able to approach problems that arise from different possible angles. This knowledge must be both theoretical and practical. When we refer to theoretical knowledge, it can be knowledge of legislation. For a company to do things the right way, it needs to comply with current environmental legislation. On the other hand, the specialist must be practical and capable of using tools such as geographic information systems (GIS).
In this way, we achieve that in the environmental consulting projects can be developed properly. The training of the specialist in environmental consulting must be continuously recycled to keep up to date with all the news in the environmental field. You should not only take the courses but also be complemented by attending conferences, workshops and seminars.
Importance of environmental consulting
Today the environmental consulting sector has become very important. Due to the development of environmental legislation that Spain has had in recent decades, it has forced companies to count the environmental impacts derived from their activity and compliance with environmental laws. As a consequence of these changes in legislation, productivity levels have had to be adapted and, therefore, the demand for professionals specialized in the environment is increasing.
The main function of these specialists is to advise on issues such as the adaptation of a company's activity to environmental legislation. In this way, you not only get to do things correctly without having problems with the law, It also improves the image of the company. The image of the company has its environmental point of view and also helps to promote sales. The specialist in environmental consulting must also be trained to carry out the processing of grants and subsidies by the administration. You will also need to learn how to increase business efficiency and productivity.
Topics and Clients
Environmental consulting covers numerous topics, among which we find the following most common:
- Water
- Waste
- Noise pollution
- Environmental expertise
- Soils
- Energy
All these topics are covered by a specialist technician who works with the customer to provide the most beneficial solution for the company. In addition, it seeks the best solution for the environment and society. The environmental consultant is responsible for designing, implementing and following the different environmental management systems. It should highlight the theoretical and practical aspects.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about environmental consulting.