The view of the IES is that the professional in environmental science is in no different a position to professionals in other areas. In some instances, professionals from other disciplines face serious penalties if they do not undertake a certain amount of CPD. It follows that CPD should be regarded as an integral part of an environmental professional’s career, serving to augment the professional’s ability in the workplace.

There are a number of direct benefits that can be derived from participating in and recording one’s CPD. These include:

• Furthering own knowledge of discipline
• Enhance career prospects and salary
• Demonstrate professional achievements
• Receive professional recognition
• Increase job satisfaction

The IES wishes its members to demonstrate the ability to provide high quality service, achieve greater job satisfaction and improve employability. In this sense, the central aims of CPD are to enhance career prospects and contribute to professional performance.  Since Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) became available to IES members in 2004 and Chartered Scientist (CSci) in 2010, CPD has become an essential element in the winning and maintaining Chartered status.  

It is suggested that as a prerequisite for undertaking CPD, members should review their own personal and professional experience.  In particular, you should analyse where your skills and knowledge may be lacking and define areas in which they need to improve.  You should also spend time considering how your particular career might be changing in the light of new technological developments, the emergence of specialisms, moves towards quality assurance and legislative changes.  They should also determine what their strengths are, as building on existing strengths is as relevant an aim for CPD as improving on areas of weakness.

Once members have a clear idea of their strengths, weaknesses and potential changes within their fields, they should aim for their CPD to address these issues.

Those who are Chartered Environmentalists or Chartered Scientists should review the list of competences for their Chartership.

You may wish to augment the record pages with copy certificates, CVs, syllabi and anything else of relevance to your CPD. The CPD Record is intended to contain your complete CPD history in one place. 

The five IES CPD learning categories are:  

1. Formal learning (e.g. attending conferences, writing papers, higher and further education courses)
2. Work based learning (e.g. reflective practice, developing staff)
3. Professional activity (e.g. involvement in a professional body, mentoring)
4. Self-directed learning (e.g. reading journals, reviewing books/articles)  
5. Other (e.g. voluntary work, public service and CPD that doesn't fit into the above categories) 

CPD should not concentrate on just one or two of these learning categories, but be a combination of them all. The balance among these types would vary from person to person, and will be appropriate for the individual. 

The panel will give you feedback about why your record was considered borderline. You need to take this feedback into consideration when planning and undertaking your CPD for the following year. You will be audited again the next year. You may wish to go back and edit your record to incorporate the panel’s feedback.  

Those members who do not submit a CPD record at all, will be given a timeframe to submit. Those members who do not comply with the request will not be able to renew their membership.  Termination of membership under these conditions will automatically also lead to termination of Chartered status (CEnv and CSci). 

Only IES office staff and the review panel will have access to your records.  There are other parties that wished to have access to your CPD records such as insurance companies (if you are seeking professional indemnity insurance), clients or potential employers.  However, we will not open your records to these parties without your permission. 

Yes, the 30 hours applies to both full and part time workers. Remember that CPD does not need to be paid conferences and events so is unrelated to CPD budgets that may be available to you. 

Continue filling in the form you currently use with the other organisation, but please check our guidance to see if we require any additional information.  You can upload a pdf in the form that you record it through our online system.