Environmental Engineer

Engineers for environmental protection and environmental technology, for example, create remediation concepts for contaminated water and soil and are involved in the development of systems to protect or remediate them. Or they work out concepts for how environmental pollution can be avoided and costs reduced by reducing energy and water consumption as well as problematic substances. They also work in operational and plant monitoring, pay attention to immission control, ensure the correct disposal of waste and create technical documents such as process descriptions.

To record the actual state, they carry out measurements. You measure e.g. Sound level, take soil and water samples and have them examined in special laboratories. The engineers interpret the results and use this as a basis to develop proposals, for example, for water purification or to reduce noise pollution.

Engineers for environmental protection and environmental technology find employment e.g.

• in supply and disposal (e.g. in the wastewater, recycling or energy industry)
• with (environmental) authorities or associations
• in companies in almost all economic sectors with environmentally relevant areas (e.g. mechanical engineering, chemical industry)
• in healthcare (e.g. nuclear medicine departments)

The salary level for Environmental Engineer in Germany is: from 4410 up to 6141 EUR per month

Why is?

Engineers for environmental protection and environmental technology plan, develop and monitor technical processes and measures to protect the environment and human beings from pollutants, noise and other negative influences.

Specialists for the environment

Engineers for environmental protection and environmental technology design the use of resources in such a way that nature is not sustainably damaged and the resources are not exhausted. On the other hand, the economic competitiveness of companies - also in the global environment - must be guaranteed. The engineers find compromises here and ensure compliance with legal regulations, e.g. in the Federal Immission Control Act, in the Waste Management, Water Resources and Water Tax Act as well as in the Radiation Protection and X-Ray Ordinance. They recognize and assess potential and existing environmental damage, choose or develop methods for avoiding and remedying them. For this purpose, they design technical systems and equipment that they build, use or operate and control if necessary.

Measure and judge

One focus of the work of engineers for environmental protection and environmental technology is the measurement and assessment of pollutants and radioactivity in the air, in sewage sludge, in waste water and soil. To do this, they measure the values ​​on site or take samples, which are then analyzed in the laboratory. You design measurement programs, evaluate measurements of environmentally relevant parameters (e.g. noise level, radiation dose), assess them in compliance with legal regulations and ecological relationships and develop concepts for minimizing these loads.

Environmental compatibility in all areas

For example, the engineers develop measures in the areas of water protection or fire and explosion protection in power plants and coordinate the implementation of the measures. They can also be responsible for the development, planning, production and operational monitoring of facilities for radiation protection or air pollution control. In clinics, they take care of the monitoring of hygiene measures and the operation of the corresponding systems. They implement environmental management systems in companies and carry out environmental audits, participate in environmental impact assessments and prepare life cycle assessments and life cycle assessments. In doing so, they examine the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire life cycle, from manufacture to use and disposal. In this way, they determine whether changes in the production process can reduce the environmental impact and identify opportunities for improvement. In addition, they perform inspection tasks for authorities or the applicant during approval procedures or advise companies, for example on environmental audits.

From mechanical engineering to public service

Due to the great importance of the environmental market for industry, the engineers are also employed in the design and manufacturing departments of larger companies in the plant and mechanical engineering industry, so that environmentally relevant aspects are already taken into account during the development and manufacture of plants. The focus here can be on waste avoidance, disposal and recycling of residues or the introduction of low-waste and low-emission production processes. Other fields of activity open up in the field of renewable energies, e.g. in the development of biogas plants or in the energetic optimization of buildings. In the public sector, engineers carry out waste law, draw up opinions on approval procedures under building law and immission control, or advise businesses on waste treatment and recycling issues. In addition, they take on landscape planning tasks, e.g. the planning of compensation areas, which are intended to create equal compensation or replacement when interfering with nature and landscape. If they work in association and public relations work, they create information materials and provide information in the form of lectures and speeches, e.g. about techniques for saving energy or about environmentally friendly production processes.