Environmental Policy

Policy Officer, Policy Advisor, Scientific Officer, Director of Policy, Director of Public Affairs

The Sector
Environmental policy involves and impacts a large number of people, with local level and global scale development. Policy-making is concerned with the formulation of strategies and action plans and it both influences, and is influenced by, legislation. As with environmental law, the main driver for environmental policy in the UK is EU directives.

Sector Profile
The sector employs around 1000 people full time in the UK, mainly in central government, government agencies and regulators, NGOs and consultancies. There are many more people who have environmental policy as part of their job but the number of people working purely in environmental policy is low. Many companies and organisations hire environmental policy specialists to ‘light lobby’ to try to influence policy by consultation, technical report writing and meetings with policy makers. 

Issues and Trends
There are an increasing number of environmental policy positions available, due to new legislation and other policy publications, which require detailed analysis, production and consultation. Allied with this is an increased recognition that specific staff with policy experience are needed.

The move to a more global market, let alone enlargement of the EU, and the globalisation of the world environment sector has increased further opportunity for environmental policy specialists to work overseas. Global environment sector policy experts will become commonplace in the next decade. 

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