How to Start Your New Building’s Construction With The Earth In Mind

September 12, 2021

Today, there are many federal, state, and local environmental regulations to follow. Before you begin construction on any commercial building, hiring an environmental manager can help to avoid regulatory infractions. The job of an environmental manager is to know the regulations that protect the environment and ensure these regulations are followed.

Minimize Environmental Impact

Construction has a big impact on the environment, and an environmental construction manager, such as those from LEW Corporation, can help to minimize that impact. This team member not only keeps your new construction within code but can also suggest green building materials and techniques.

Among the plethora of environmental regulations that require compliance are construction waste disposal, air quality, and water pollution regulations. Furthermore, environmental regulations cover both the construction process as well as the finished building.

Fill Out Environmental Compliance Paperwork

An environmental compliance manager can fill out the required compliance paperwork, such as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report. The EPA has a list of hundreds of harmful chemicals that must be documented. If your business has 10 or more employees and is within a TRI-covered industry, TRI reports must be completed and submitted to the EPA. As you can imagine, keeping abreast of the ever-changing federal requirements and mandated paperwork can be a full-time job. It is much simpler to have someone else handle this for you rather than try to do it all yourself.

Create a Healthy Environment

The environment also includes the interior of the building. Creating a healthy work environment is also essential. Some construction materials can off-gas toxic chemicals, and the use of such materials should be minimized. Environmental team members can help to avoid creating a “sick building” during construction.

To fulfill their objectives, environmental team managers create, implement, and maintain policies and procedures to protect the environment. They will also train the construction crew to follow the procedures. However, primarily, they will oversee the construction site to ensure everything is operating within regulatory compliance.

Act as a Liaison with the Government

Environmental compliance managers perform administrative tasks related to environmental regulatory compliance. Besides training the construction crew and filling out paperwork, they can also act as a liaison between government environmental agencies and their employer. Having such a person on the team can free up the time of other team members, as well as relieve stress; understanding and responding to complex government environmental regulations is a job in itself.

At a minimum, an environmental manager needs a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as earth sciences. They will also need several years of related, on-job experience.

Above all, environmental compliance managers must stay abreast of the latest government environmental regulations. Their primary objective is to ensure that the construction project does not violate any environmental regulations.

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