Importance of Environmental Consultants
Who are Environmental consultants
Environmental consultants are the persons or agencies who have the expertise, and in-depth knowledge in tackling small-scale to large-scale projects and have a profound experience in research, training, and understanding the legal and technical challenges as far as environmental rules, regulations, and policies are concerned. Hiring a consultant is a stress-free way to get your project done. A qualified expert consultant is bound to save time, and do the best possible efforts to get your project required approvals and compliances without giving you unnecessary headaches so that you have the time for other important things.
Why Environmental consultants are mostly misunderstood
Hiring an environmental consultant to help your company or organisation achieve its environmental goals is more important than ever in today’s business world. If you aren’t paying attention to regular environmental concerns or not adhering to the environmental regulatory compliances, it can however seriously
And if your business is complying with all the environmental compliances, and have the necessary approvals and clearances, you will have an overall positive impact as far as operational costs, maintenance, and product market response and have less environmental impacts due to the manufacturing of products are concerned. In the long run, whosoever is complying will have a larger market share.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to mitigate the environmental impact of your company or day-to-day factory operations, but most companies are in view that hiring an environmental consultant isn’t necessary.
Why hire an Environmental Consultant
Here are some of the reasons why you should hire or appoint an environmental consultant to help your company to achieve its environmental policy and meet the environmental challenges the industry faces according to the rules and regulations of environmental law that can boost its success in the future.
- Expert Knowledge: Environmental consultants have a broad spectrum of knowledgeable persons in their fields connecting with each other. They may have Air Pollution experts, Water pollution experts, Solid waste management experts, Hazardous waste experts, etc.
- Experience: Environmental consultants have qualified persons having a good working experience in their domain. They have handled a good number of projects before and know what necessary permissions are required right from the beginning of the project to the final delivery of the project.
- Time saver: If you are setting up the project and decided to do the environmental compliances on your own, you may end up consuming a lot of energy, effort, and time which you can, of course, save by hiring a dedicated environmental consultant.
Things to keep in mind while hiring an environmental consultant
Knowledge and Qualified: If you’re considering hiring a consultant, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
- Consultants can help you out with massive paperwork, and documentation which is the most tedious work, after all, filling out the application, getting no objection certificates (NOCs), presentations, report preparation, and project clearance.
- They can be a time saver for your essential project by assisting to locate the right resources and expert people for the desired job.
- Consultants may have access to resources that you don’t.
- They can provide an objective perspective.
- They can help you avoid potential pitfalls.
- They can offer valuable insights.
Hire the right person: A professional: When you need an EIA professional to complete a project or provide analysis, it is important to do your research and find the right person for the job. There are many reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional environmental EIA consultant.
- Consultants have expertise in specific areas and can offer their services on a contract basis, which can be more cost-effective and time-saving than hiring a full-time employee.
- In addition, an environmental EIA consultant can provide impartial advice and perspectives that can be helpful when making decisions about a project.
Request references: When you’re ready to take the plunge and the two aforesaid criteria are met as per your requirement, be sure to ask for references. A good environmental EIA consultant will have a list of happy clients who can attest to their work. This will give you peace of mind and help you feel stress-free about the decision. Additionally, when you know what you’re getting into ahead of time, it makes the entire process much smoother.
Look at their successful delivered project
When three of the above criteria are aligned together, look at their past projects, who their clients are, and who are they working with. This will not give you enough idea of what types of assignments they can undertake but also let you know whether they’re a good fit for your project or not. You may also enquire whether they have completed the past projects in the given timeline and if the project delivery got delayed by the stipulated timeline what are the reasons? After all, you want to hire someone who can get the clearance for your project and get a green signal with their hassle-free work.
Commitment and Self-respect: Building a healthy relationship with your EIA consultant is important for a stress-free and smooth working business relationship. Here are some tips on how to build that relationship:
- Be clear about what you want from the outset. This will help the consultant understand your needs and limits, and also set expectations for both parties.
- Communicate regularly. Whether it’s updated on the project or just general chit-chat, keep the lines of communication open to avoid misunderstandings later on.
- Pay attention to their expertise. They were hired for a reason, so listen to their suggestions and advice – it could save you time and money in the long run.
- Respect their time.
- Build your relationship with them.
