Companies are obliged, by law, to have an environmental protection department. The author, an expert in environmental issues, shows why such a department is important, what should be the qualities and duties of a person in charge within it, and what training opportunities exist for such specialists.

Any economic activity has an impact on the environment. In order to limit this impact, companies have the legal obligation to establish a specialized department (according to GEO 195/2005), to administer environmental protection activities.

According to the Emergency Ordinance no. 92/2021 regarding the waste regime, Art. 23, para. 4, in order to fulfill the legal obligations regarding waste management, the owner of an activity, for which the competent authority for environmental protection has issued an environmental authorization/integrated environmental authorization, has the obligation to designate a person from among its own employees or to delegate this obligation to a third party persons.. The designated persons must be trained in the field of waste generation prevention and waste management, including in the field of hazardous substances, as a result of graduating from nationally recognized training and specialization programs according to Government Ordinance no. 129/2000 on the professional training of adults, with subsequent amendments and additions. Failure to comply with Emergency Ordinance no. 92/2021 regarding the waste regime, Art. 23, para. 4, constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine from 5,000 lei to 15,000 lei, for natural persons, and from 20,000 lei to 40,000 lei, for legal entities

According to the regulations of the legislation in force, each company importing packaged products as well as producing packaged products, has the obligation to report separately the quantities of packaging introduced on the market and to pay a fee of 2 lei/Kg in case of failure to meet the recovery and recycling objectives . Failure to complete them or filling them in incorrectly (with unreal data) can lead to substantial fines.

A qualified Environmental Consultant can assess the environmental impact produced by the company and can act to reduce and even eliminate it, by complying with legal norms. It can handle the preparation of documentation for obtaining environmental approvals and the transmission of periodic reports to the Environmental Agency.