According to the Observatoire national des emplois et métiers de l’économie verte (Onemev), nearly four million people in France work in an “eco-trade”, a job related to the environment. 3.7 million people work in “greening” professions. They are not necessarily directly linked to environmental protection. However, they do take significant and quantifiable account of the environmental dimension in their practice. More than half our workforce is concentrated in transport and building-related activities (energy performance, asbestos diagnostics, waterproofing, thermal insulation, etc.). The remainder is divided between agriculture/forestry, industry, maintenance of green spaces, tourism, commerce, research…
140,000 professionals work in one of the 215 “green” professions listed by Onemev. According to the organization, their ” purpose and skills contribute to measuring, preventing, controlling and correcting negative impacts and damage to the environment “. Main sectors: energy and water production and distribution (43%), sanitation and waste treatment (36%). Circular economy-related professions (LCA, eco-design, etc.) have also been booming in recent years. All these professions are accessible from CAP to bac + 5. But whatever their initial training, environmental professionals are required to keep up to date with technical, standards and regulatory developments.
Environmental professions, from vocational training certificate to engineer’s diploma
To run an environmental management system, companies rely on QSE (quality, safety and environment) managers, environmental engineers and environmental technicians. Environmental managers, often engineers, are tasked with minimizing the impact of their company’s activities on nature, while preserving production and profitability. To achieve this, it ensures compliance with regulations and environmental standards (ICPE, REACH regulations, water law, ISO 14001, etc.). He designs, manages and implements the company’s operational environmental policy. It measures the impact of production methods on the environment and proposes solutions to optimize materials, procedures, transport, flow and waste treatment… Equipped with a solid technical background, the environmental manager needs to be credible with manufacturing managers and on the shop floor. He must also know how to persuade managers and staff of the relevance of the actions to be implemented.
In large companies, the environmental manager is supported by environmental engineers (5 years’ higher education) and project managers who are experts in a particular field (heat, waste, greenhouse gases, etc.). Teams also include environmental technicians (bac +3), who carry out more or less specialized tasks depending on the size of the company and the sector of activity: waste recycling, polluted sites and soils, indoor air quality, hygiene and cleanliness, and so on. A technician must know the standards and apply them scrupulously in the field.
Finally, a company can call in an environmental auditor. This professional carries out audits, either within the company where he or she works (internal audits), or on behalf of third-party organizations (third-party audits for obtaining or renewing ISO 14001 certification in particular). In the case of an EMS audit, its role is to check that the company’s approach to managing its environmental policy complies with best practice, in particular ISO 14001. He must therefore master this reference system to the hilt, and take the necessary training to do so.
