Environmental Management – Training, Awareness, and Competence

In this post I thought we could take a look at three very closely related parts of environmental management that are vital for a successful environmental management system (EMS): training, awareness, and competence.

Environmental training

Environmental training is a key part of an EMS that will help enhance environmental performance. The training needs of employees need to be identified to ensure that training meets the organisations aims and objectives.

ISO 14001 broadly requires that three types of training are required:

• Environmental awareness – this general training creates an appreciation and basic understanding of environmental issues for all employees.
• Specialised skills – activity based training on specific activities that may have a significant impact on the environment. For example, operation of an effluent treatment plant, contractor control, etc.
• EMS training – training on the implementation or maintenance of an EMS. This could be auditor training, or training on how to implement or manage an EMS (possibly attended by the environmental management representative and environmental coordinators from across the organisation).

How to identify training needs

A matrix approach is often adopted to identify the training needs of an individual, their current expertise, and their environmental and non environmental responsibilities.

Training should cover all personnel but may also be required for contractors e.g. maintenance contractors, cleaners etc. It is recommend that the way of identifying training needs is documented in the environmental manual.

A word about competency

ISO 14001 requires that people who perform tasks that can cause a significant environment impact should be competent (competency being stated as being based on education, training and/or experience).

Those that require a competency assessment differs depending on organisations, but examples may include:

• Auditors
• Waste operatives
• Maintenance staff
• Effluent treatment plant operators

You should be aware that sending someone on a training course does not necessarily make them competent. That is often part of the journey towards competence but quite often it requires more than that, such as time completing a task under supervision, or instruction by an experienced (already competent) person.

The way that competence is assessed and determined is often completed in a similar way to determining training needs, in fact it is usually combined. It involves developing competence criteria that is required for a role, then assessing the person against these criteria. Where they do not meet the criteria a plan to achieve competence can be developed which will ‘fill the gaps’. This could be through training, supervision, instruction, etc. Whatever system is used it is important competency assessments are documented.

Methods to raise awareness

There are many ways that training can be provided. It does not always have to be in a classroom, and can include:

• Awareness films combining general environmental issues with more specific pressures that may face the individual organisation
• Awareness booklets
• Site Newsletters
• Environmental Posters
• Policy awareness – i.e. distribution of policy statement

Awareness raising needs to be planned, implemented, checked, and reviewed just like other environmental management activities. It should be focused around trying to manage or reduce the significant impacts of the organisation.

Final Note

Training, awareness, and competence are key parts of the ‘support’ part of an EMS. It is vital that they are planned. Competence can be determined by developing criteria, assessing the individual against the criteria, and ‘filling the gaps’ by training, supervision, and instruction.

RRC offers a suite of ISO 14001 online courses to help organisations looking to implement and maintain a 14001 EMS. These range from a short awareness course through to an IEMA Certified Internal Auditor course. You can find out more here.

John Binns BSc (Hons) MSc MIEMA is an experienced environmental tutor and consultant.