Environmental Planner

What is an environmental planner? Environmental planners are responsible for developing short- and long-term plans for land use in urban and rural areas while balancing considerations such as social, economic, and environmental issues. They also contribute to environmental impact assessments.

Environmental planners can be involved in a range of fields, including strategic, commercial, and industrial development, as well as heritage, tourism, and integrated resource planning. Environmental planners work on a range of scales, from local planning to regional and national strategies.

At a Glance

Imagine standing at the front of a small boardroom, patiently checking your equipment and glancing through your notes one last time while you wait for everyone to arrive. You are an Environmental Planner and today is a big day for you.

You will present the first draft of your report on a proposed highway to the city council, an environmental advocate, and community representatives.

This proposed highway is supposed to skirt the southern edge of the city limits and alleviate traffic congestion on inner-city roads, but the proposed route also crosses a few environmentally sensitive wetlands.

As one of the city’s chief environmental planners, you’ve been tasked with finding a way to build the highway without threatening the local environment. You need to balance the economic demands of the city’s growth with the environmental concerns associated with urban expansion.

When you first reviewed the preliminary route for the highway, the easiest solution to protecting the wetlands seemed to be moving the route to go around these areas.

In some sections, this idea worked, so you redrew the route a little closer to the city limits. But in other sections, the wetlands were too big to go around, so now you must come up with a plan for constructing the highway through the wetlands with minimal environmental impact.

You start by consulting experts in the field, including wildlife biologists and wetland ecologists, for recommendations on how to move the wetlands. Perhaps by enlarging the wetlands outside of the highway, the birds and other inhabitants will nest and burrow far enough away from the road they won’t be affected by the traffic.

Your plan will also include the construction of barriers to minimize the impact of noise pollution, as well as drainage maps to prevent contamination from vehicles and the road. Your report will address all these considerations and outline how the new highway can be built without threatening the sensitive environment.

Job Duties

Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as an environmental planner:

Create designs and maps using computer programs
Meet with various groups, including other planners, public stakeholders, industrial proponents, developers, city councils, special interest groups, and the general public
Review proposals regarding development and amendments to bylaws
Research and review legislation and policies from other jurisdictions
Strategize, develop, and manage planning processes
Develop and implement plans at various levels, including ensuring legal compliance
Present project ideas to individuals and groups
Review and interpret maps, aerial photos, data, and field investigation reports.
Participate in public inquiries on land or resource development
Conceptualize, develop, update, and evaluate service programs based on community priorities
Analyze, summarize, and provide expert planning advice for urban and regional planning projects, applicable policy and legislation
Provide planning information and advice to members of the public and assist in general planning administration.
Complete planning assignments related to development permits, variances, temporary use applications, official community plans, zoning and special projects
Assist with updating community demographic/development information, recommending changes to department land and demographic information base and performing statistical analyses

Work Environment

Environmental planners work in a variety of locations, including:

The office:

Doing paperwork, analyzing data, and preparing reports
Communicating on the phone and in meetings with clients, stakeholders, government departments, colleagues, and experts in the field
Participating on committees for land and resource development

The field:

Travelling to and conducting field inspections of sites for proposed development and sites under construction, including taking measurements and photographing features
Monitoring environmental reclamation projects
Making presentations to stakeholders, clients, contractors, and the general public
Responding to requests from clients

Where to Work

There are several places environmental planners can find employment. They include:

Federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal government departments
Private consulting firms
Universities, colleges, and research institutes
Not-for-profit organizations
Industrial, commercial, and residential development firms

Career profiles
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Boad

Education and Skills

If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental planner, you should have strong marks or an interest in:

Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Geography
Computer Science
Legal Studies

In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental planner is a university undergraduate degree, with a graduate degree preferred by many employers.

If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental planner, the following programs are most applicable:

Environmental Planning
Urban and Regional Planning
Sustainable Development
Geography
Land Reclamation
Natural Resource Management
Political Science
Environmental Management
Public Policy

Although it is not necessary to be certified to work as an environmental planner, many employers require practitioners to be eligible to become a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP) and a Registered Professional Planner (RPP) in their respective provincial association. The requirements for membership vary among provincial associations.

General certifications that would be considered an asset includes:

Certified Environmental Professional (EP)
Registered Professional Planner (RPP)
Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP)

Skills

Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with business skills.

Hard/Technical Skills (those obtained through formal education and training programs)

Knowledge and experience working with GIS software
Knowledge and experience working with MS Office (Word, Excel, Project, and PowerPoint)
Proficiency in Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop), Sketchup, and AutoCAD software
Ability to interpret planning and development legislation and regulations
Strong analytical and report writing skills
Knowledge of community consultation and public engagement methods

Soft Skills (personal attributes and characteristics)

Strong leadership skills
Project management skills
Strong organizational skills
Well-developed interpersonal and public relations skills, including the ability to facilitate, negotiate and resolve conflict
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Strong critical thinking, complex problem solving, and teamwork skills

Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.

Role Models

Craig Lawrence

Craig Lawrence’s passion for urban planning began at an early age with Lego—as a child, he spent hours building towns with the colourful building blocks. He never would have dreamed his playtime passion could develop into full-time work. "I didn’t even know there was a field of study called planning until university…and not until my second year of university, when I started urban studies, did I realize you could find a job as a planner.”

Today Craig, who has a B.Sc. in human geography and a B.A. in urban studies, is completing his master’s degree in urban planning while working full time as the director of planning for the Town of Chestermere, Alberta. Despite the demands on his time, Craig enjoys helping Chestermere and its residents "grow smarter,” in a more environmentally conscious way. When at work, Craig spends much of his time revising the hundreds of development applications he receives and meeting with community developers.

He not only considers Chestermere’s current rapid growth, but also creates long-range plans for how it will look in years to come. But, Craig points out, planning is much more than simply having an idea of what a town should look like and carrying it out. "You have to be able to sell your arguments. You have to be technically sound, but your idea won’t go anywhere if you can’t convince people and you can’t sell your idea to either town council or residents.” Working in a burgeoning community has its drawbacks.

When the issue is a town’s development, people become outspoken. As Craig says, "You know you’re doing your job when everyone is angry with you.” According to him, this is bound to happen when you put the town’s development ahead of other needs, as he often must. But Craig thrives on the challenge. "[Environmental planners] have the ability to influence people’s opinions through development plans and public consultation. We are able to introduce new ideas about how we can develop in an environmentally sound way.” Because of being able to introduce new ideas, Craig says he will never outgrow his love of being able to shape and mould his community.

Your Impact

The depletion of natural resources and pressures created by global warming and climate change has become areas of concerns as populations and urban cities continues to grow.

Environmental planners strive to create a balance between healthy and sustainable environments both in natural systems and urban communities.

As an environmental planner, you research and develop innovative and tangible approaches to land use and the impacts on natural resources.

In this role, you strive to protect environmental health, eliminating environmental pollution and providing more green spaces.

Implementing these various initiatives also improves the well-being of civilians when they are in cleaner and more efficient spaces. Some examples of these spaces include green and accessible buildings and housing, walkability, greenways and open spaces, and promoting alternative energy and transportation options.

The knowledge of environmental planners is especially helpful in creating solutions and implement policies that supports businesses and communities to manage their resources, as well as to lower the consumption of natural resources to help minimize the negative impacts on the environment.

Occupational Classification

Individuals employed as environmental planners may be classified in one or more of the following occupational groupings:

NOC Code: 2153- Urban and Land Use Planners

NOC Code: 2131- Civil Engineers

NOC Code: 2154- Land Surveyor

What is a NOC Code?

The National Occupation Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data, describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.

The NOC is developed and updated in partnership with Statistics Canada to coincide with the 5- year census cycles. It is based on in-depth occupational research and consultations conducted across Canada, to reflect changes in the Canadian labour market.