Welcoming Stephanie Brown as Chair

In July 2022, the CEnvP Scheme welcomes a new Chair, Stephanie Brown. Steph has been certified since 2007, and began volunteering for the Scheme in 2012. She has served on the CEnvP Scheme Certification Board since 2017.

As the Scheme moves into its next phase, we also recognise outgoing Chair, Alex Blood. Alex was Chair from February 2019 to June 2022. We thank Alex for her extraordinary leadership in guiding the Scheme through a period of growth and diversification, with the launch of new certifications and increased recognition of certified practitioners. Alex remains on the CEnvP Scheme Certification Board as an ordinary Board Member. Thanks to Alex’s leadership, the Scheme is in a strong position to continue to serve the environmental and social professions. 

To celebrate Steph’s appointment, we asked her to share her reflections on her involvement with the Scheme, and her thoughts on the opportunities that lie ahead.

How long have you been involved with the CEnvP Scheme, and what motivated you to become involved as a Board member? 

Stephanie Brown

I became certified in early 2007 and then in 2012 I took on the role of Convenor for all the panels in Aotearoa New Zealand.  After having spent three years on the Executive of the NZ Chapter of EIANZ the opportunity to apply to be on the CEnvP came up – I’ve always been passionate about the importance of professionals being certified no matter what discipline they work in, so I did not hesitate in applying.  

How has the Scheme changed over the years you’ve been involved?  

The Scheme has seen steady growth, but the key change has been the development of specialist categories – some of these having been in response to regulatory requirements.   It is exciting to see the Social Impact Assessment specialisation close to being launched – it will be the first SIA certification of its kind globally!  

What do you think are some of the key issues for environmental practitioners?  

Change. Like any discipline, there is a need to keep up to date with changes and developments in knowledge and driving positive change. It can feel like a big ask when there is so much happening and a shortage of those working in the industry – it can become harder to find time for yourself and your own development.  For example, here in Aotearoa New Zealand we are about to see significant change after over 30 years with new national environmental legislation due before the end of the year.  

What are the key challenges for the CEnvP Scheme over the next financial year?  

The Board did a review of the 5 year Strategy Plan earlier this year and the Scheme is in a good position but there are always challenges that come your way – a key part of reviewing our progress was to ensure we are responding to the needs of environmental and social practitioners and external influences.   

We have just started a new financial year and there are a series of projects identified in the Annual Plan that are exciting – reviewing the current certifications to see how we can reflect career progression, completing a review of CPD and looking at how we support and recognise our volunteers.  These are big challenges but important ones to address to ensure we are staying current.  

On a day-to-day level, there has been a lot happening ‘behind the scenes’ within the Program Office over the last 12-18 months to improve processes and policies. There is a significant upgrade of the IT system about to start which will result in some improvements that practitioners will see.  

What are your priorities during your term as Board Chair?  

I am interested in ensuring that the Scheme remains relevant and trusted to ensure its integrity and value not only to practitioners but also stakeholders.  In simple terms it is about building on all the good work over recent years.