Community Stewardship ||
By: Isreal Hodges, Jr.
October 3, 2017
When we think about the communities in which we live, we all have that set of people, leaders and businesses that act as the pillars that are representative of what we consider as respectable or successful. Environmental professionals are one of few roles that have the potential to act as the focal point that brings together these various aspects of what composes a community: people, businesses, and the overall environment of our ecosystem.
Unfortunately, many in the environmental realm do not take time to foster relationships within the community they live and work because the return on this investment seems negligible. Meeting with a family that lives 2 miles from your facility does not help with completing that emissions inventory that’s due next week. Giving local students a plant tour for an hour does not increase your bottom line directly. This is understandable, but this field requires a level of service not just to your employer but to your community to ensure that they not only minimize any negative impacts environmentally to the community and its residents, but that these citizens understand who you are and how you plan to be a pillar within the community. This attitude builds trust within the community that shows you are dedicated to it and its residents, and this allows the environmental professional to better understand their environmental concerns and how you can better forecast whether those concerns can be mitigated.
Fortunately, I feel that many environmental engineers and managers I network with understand the value in this, but they do not know how to do this or understand some practical steps they can take to begin building trust within the community. Below are 3 practical steps you can take this week to start building valuable community relationship:
Unfortunately, many in the environmental realm do not take time to foster relationships within the community they live and work because the return on this investment seems negligible. Meeting with a family that lives 2 miles from your facility does not help with completing that emissions inventory that’s due next week. Giving local students a plant tour for an hour does not increase your bottom line directly. This is understandable, but this field requires a level of service not just to your employer but to your community to ensure that they not only minimize any negative impacts environmentally to the community and its residents, but that these citizens understand who you are and how you plan to be a pillar within the community. This attitude builds trust within the community that shows you are dedicated to it and its residents, and this allows the environmental professional to better understand their environmental concerns and how you can better forecast whether those concerns can be mitigated.
Fortunately, I feel that many environmental engineers and managers I network with understand the value in this, but they do not know how to do this or understand some practical steps they can take to begin building trust within the community. Below are 3 practical steps you can take this week to start building valuable community relationship:
1) Meet 3 people that live within 3 miles of your facility/operations.
Simply introduce yourself to three individuals in your area and give them a 15-second introduction of who you are, what you do, and how it impacts them. This should give you an easy transition to Step 2.
2) Meet with 2 public/private entities that do not directly provide services to you and/or your employer.
Meet with 2 entities, preferably another company that is similar to yours along with another entity part of your municipality that is not directly related to your industry at all. I strongly you prefer you meet with representatives of entities that do not provide your company services, i.e. commissioner of wastewater district, VP of power company, etc. Again, this is simply introducing yourself as a member of the community and informing them of how your job functions may impact them.
3) Meet with a community association/group that is prevalent in your area.
Find a community group that is respected in your area, and set up some time to either informally meet with them, or ask to be placed on the agenda at the next meeting. Again, this will simply be an introduction of you and your company to the group, and they will have an opportunity to ask you questions or pose comments regarding your presentation. I enjoy doing this because this allow external stakeholders to state what their concerns are about your operations’ impact on the residents or discuss what the overall direction is of the town or municipality. This is vital information to know as you continue to form relationships with those of the community.
These 3 steps are not difficult to implement, but realize that this is the first step in what should be a lasting relationship as a member of your community. The value may not seem evident initially, but trust that you are planting seeds that will eventually yield fruits of trust and ultimately the standing of respect as a pillar in your community.
Take care, and the best is yet to come!
Take care, and the best is yet to come!