At the heart of IEMA is a community of professional experts working to make the future better.
Practitioner membership makes you part of this community. It recognises everything you’re doing to help make business future-proof while giving you the practical support you need. We can help you deliver on your sustainability goals, with information, best practice and tools to put you ahead on ideas and innovation. You can also get the training you need to increase your knowledge and skills in the field. You can expect to build your influence and connect with others like you across IEMA, as part of the Practitioner community.
A number of command words are used to help applicants understand the level of detail required. These include:
Identify/Recognise: Stating the name or identifying the characteristics/main point of something. Normally a name, word or phrase will be sufficient, provided the reference is clear.
Outline: Stating the most important features of something. Equivalent to a thin description but involves more than simply listing.
Describe: Providing a thorough description and enough detail about an item for a learner to have a clear picture of it.
Explain: Providing a detailed response (definition and explanation). ‘Explain’ may involve giving reasons for something, linking causes and effects, drawing parallels, pointing to relationships or showing how theory can be applied.
Assess/Analyse: Subject something to critical analysis in order to make a judgement about its value, use, suitability, integrity or accuracy.
Interpret: Interpret a set of data by describing the main trends, highlighting any anomalies, then providing an explanation of the data based on knowledge and understanding of the particular subject area.
Monitor: Observe and check the progress or quality of (something) over a period of time; keep under systematic review.
Demonstrate/Show: Provide a practical exhibition and explanation of how a skill, task, tool, technique or system is performed.
Apply/Implement: Carry out or put into practice a specific skill, task, tool, technique or system.
Deliver: Produce the promised, desired, or expected results.
Challenge: To question the validity of something e.g. a practice, behaviour, system or rule.
1. Explain the implications of global trends for the environment, for society, for the economy and for organisations and the role of an Environment/Sustainability practitioner in overcoming these challenges.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
2. Explain sustainable business/governance models, their underlying principles and their relationship with organisations, products and services.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
Corporate Responsibility, Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Business: IEMA-GACSO lexicon definition
Resolving: Finding a complete solution, rather than accepting impacts in one area are offset by benefits elsewhere
Safe Operating Space: Rockstrom, Raworth
Sustainable Business Models: Doughnut economics, green economy, blue economy, circular economy
The technical knowledge section is split into environment and socio-economic. Those who wish to take the environment exam related to this standard will be assessed on only the environment-related learning outcomes but those who wish to take the sustainability exam will be assessed on the environment and socio-economic related learning outcomes.
3. Explain environmental or socio-economic principles and their relationship with organisations, products and services
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge in their field by:
Environment
Socio-economic
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
Environment:
Socio-economic:
4. Explain major policy and legislation and their implications for organisations, products and services
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge in their field by:
Environment
Socio-economic
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
Environment
Socio-economic
5. Explain major and relevant tools, techniques, systems and practices, their application and how they can be used to develop sustainable products and services and improve sustainability performance.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge in their field by:
Environment
Socio-economic
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
Environment
Socio-economic
6. Explain the role of innovation and other leading practices in developing sustainable products and services and providing sustainable solutions.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge in their field by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
It is expected that a variety of case studies are provided from different sectors e.g. energy, transport, manufacturing, the built environment and agriculture.
7. Collect and critically analyse data, and report information that informs decision making.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
8. Identify problems and assess opportunities that deliver innovative and sustainable products and services.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
9. Determine, implement and measure methods of effective communication.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
10. Identify and engage in two way communication with stakeholders.
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
11. Apply or implement tools, techniques, systems and practices that identify opportunities and risks
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The Practitioner applicant will be familiar with:
12. Deliver projects and programmes that achieve performance improvement
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
13. Implement change and transformation
The Practitioner applicant will be able to show knowledge in this area by:
The benchmark for environment and sustainability professionals with sleeves rolled up; membership for the working experts who are driving change.
Professionals who are working across organisations at an operational level, and pursuing a career path in environment and sustainability.
Practitioner membership is open to anyone with the right competencies. It makes a natural step from Graduate or Associate membership and is a recognised route towards Full IEMA membership.
Show us what you’ve achieved in the workplace and what you’ve learnt in your role, through an online professional assessment, which we’ll guide you through.
The confidence that your employees are equipped, connected, fully up to date and in touch with learning opportunities that will help them.
Practitioner membership makes you part of this community. It recognises everything you’re doing to help make business future-proof while giving you the practical support you need. Join now or upgrade your Graduate or Associate membership.
