Policy makers, lobbyists, and the courts wage constant battles over regulations in the effort to stem climate change, clean up after environmental disasters, and lower the amount of pollution being released into nature.
Those groups gather the headlines, but it’s environmental managers—the boots on the ground who actually implement policies—who are the critical players in the real world. An environmental manager plays a crucial role in an organization’s efforts to reduce its negative impact on the environment, maintain regulatory compliance, and avoid unnecessary environmental liabilities. They are responsible for implementing policies and advocating for change at the intersection of humans and the environment, and their work is essential in tackling environmental problems and communicating with people across the globe to find solutions.
And they aren’t created out of thin air.
“There are three competencies that environmental managers—successful environmental managers—should have,” said Marc Lame, clinical associate professor emeritus at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, during an appearance on O’Neill Speaks, the official podcast of the O’Neill School. “They should be able to understand complex and volatile issues and trends, things like environmental justice, ecosystem management, sustainability, accountability—and those are actually pretty complex issues and trends. They need to co-produce ethical environmental solutions. … Then they have to implement them. It’s not just a matter of having some kind of strategic plan that ends up sitting on a shelf or being a doorstop. They need to actually be able to implement those ethical environmental solutions.”
Lame is the author, along with Notre Dame colleague Richard Marcantonio, of the new book Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills. The book is a contemporary textbook and manual for aspiring or new environmental managers that provides the theory and practical examples needed to understand current environmental issues and trends. It focuses on environmental management through the lens of protecting public health and protecting the environment.
Lame has spent 40 years practicing and teaching environmental management, and his new book is designed to serve as both a textbook and practical manual for managers in this critical field. It also allows Lame to deliver his teaching style and methods to people around the country and beyond.
“When I walk in the halls of the Environmental Protection Agency, I have old students come up and chat with me about contemporary issues and how they’re still using some of the same skills I taught them,” Lame said. “That makes me pretty proud. One of the reasons I wrote the book is I’m basically trying to put out what evolved into my course over 25 years. Everyone can have it now. It’s a true rendering of how one talks to students, scholars, and colleagues.
Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills is published by Cambridge Scholars. O’Neill Speaks can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast service.
Leave a Reply