What does an environmental compliance manager do?

Environmental Compliance Managers are responsible for managing an organization's environmental performance and ensuring that they comply with environmental laws. Their main role is to assess their organization's current business practices and develop strategies that improve and meet environmental targets. Part of their daily tasks is to perform environmental audits and assessments and develop environmental strategies and policies. There are a few skills required to be a good environmental compliance manager. These include critical-thinking skills, leadership skills, and communication skills.
Environmental compliance manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real environmental compliance manager resumes:
- Manage EHS regulatory compliance programs, including RCRA LQG requirements.
- Manage special projects such as the remediation of hazardous and RCRA contaminate sites after facilities are closed.
- Manage sewage treatment plant direct discharge monitoring, operation, reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
- Track operation's NPDES, SMCRA, and SPCC permits.
- Maintain and train staff on applicable SWPPP, SPCC, and BUSTR protocols.
- Conduct facility audits for compliance with OSHA, EPA, NIOSH and NFPA requirements and consistency with corporate policies.
- Conduct RCRA facility investigation for SWMU's at the plant.
- Maintain daily and weekly record keeping and plan sheet SWPPP updates.
- Develop national potable water testing and reporting program, per EPA requirements.
- Ensure AFEs are up to date on a timely manner for RSO group.
- Renew focus on ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 systems to ensure successful passage of surveillance audits at two locations.
- Establish online EHS training programs for environmental awareness and emergency egress.
- Supervise demolition and abatement of asbestos and lead containing materials; coordinate selection of contractors and third party oversight consultants.
- Used ESRI ArcMap platform to perform basic analysis and complete GIS projects.
- Develop a program that digitize area school districts for use in GIS platforms.
Environmental compliance manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Environmental Compliance Managers are proficient in Regulatory Agencies, Oversight, and Hazardous Waste. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Environmental Compliance Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Regulatory Agencies, 10%
Provided corporate representation to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies and external organizations.
- Oversight, 5%
Supervised demolition and abatement of asbestos and lead containing materials; coordinated selection of contractors and third party oversight consultants.
- Hazardous Waste, 5%
Performed hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal reporting and permitting of solid waste profiles.
- OSHA, 5%
Developed strategies for Environmental compliance including OSHA and waste management.
- Hazardous Materials, 5%
Trained several hundred personnel on proper handling of hazardous materials.
- EPA, 5%
Coordinated and executed field meetings with NJ and PA DEP, NYDEC, and EPA as a representative for LNA.
Common skills that an environmental compliance manager uses to do their job include "regulatory agencies," "oversight," and "hazardous waste." You can find details on the most important environmental compliance manager responsibilities below.
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an environmental compliance manager to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." Environmental compliance managers often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "brief base senior leadership on issues related to waste management and pollution prevention. "
Time-management skills. Another essential skill to perform environmental compliance manager duties is time-management skills. Environmental compliance managers responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." Environmental compliance managers also use time-management skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "managed environmental project resources, progress, and completion timeframes within federal, state and local regulatory compliance standards. "
Communication skills. environmental compliance managers are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to environmental compliance manager responsibilities, because "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." An environmental compliance manager resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "conducted seminars statewide on osha compliance with special emphasis on the hazard communication standard. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what environmental compliance managers do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to environmental compliance manager responsibilities because "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical environmental compliance manager tasks: "conducted compliance evaluations and resolved issues under the texas ehs audit privilege act. "
The three companies that hire the most environmental compliance managers are:
- Ryder System51 environmental compliance managers jobs
- Indiana State Police3 environmental compliance managers jobs
- ITW2 environmental compliance managers jobs
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Environmental compliance manager vs. Pesticide control inspector
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between environmental compliance managers and pesticide control inspector. For instance, environmental compliance manager responsibilities require skills such as "regulatory agencies," "oversight," "hazardous waste," and "osha." Whereas a pesticide control inspector is skilled in "pest control," "federal laws," "powerpoint," and "operate microsoft." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that pesticide control inspectors earn slightly differ from environmental compliance managers. In particular, pesticide control inspectors are 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an environmental compliance manager. Additionally, they're 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental compliance manager vs. Air pollution inspector
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that environmental compliance manager responsibilities requires skills like "regulatory agencies," "oversight," "hazardous waste," and "osha." But an air pollution inspector might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "inspection reports," "air pollution control," "state regulations," and "federal regulations."
Air pollution inspectors earn lower levels of education than environmental compliance managers in general. They're 6.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental compliance manager vs. Sanitation inspector
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, environmental compliance managers are more likely to have skills like "regulatory agencies," "oversight," "osha," and "epa." But a sanitation inspector is more likely to have skills like "food safety," "usda," "food preparation," and "investigation findings."
Sanitation inspectors typically earn lower educational levels compared to environmental compliance managers. Specifically, they're 5.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental compliance manager vs. Industrial waste inspector
Even though a few skill sets overlap between environmental compliance managers and industrial waste inspectors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an environmental compliance manager might have more use for skills like "oversight," "hazardous waste," "osha," and "hazardous materials." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of industrial waste inspectors require skills like "compliance inspections," "enforcement actions," "pollution prevention," and "destructive testing. "
In general, industrial waste inspectors hold similar degree levels compared to environmental compliance managers. Industrial waste inspectors are 2.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of environmental compliance manager
Updated January 8, 2025











