The new year is a great time to evaluate your own professional development needs and those of your team, and make sure you are getting the most out of your membership. Here are some suggestions for things to do at the start of the year.
Review your grade & qualifications
1. Are you in the right grade?
Do you hold the IES membership grade that reflects your experience and skills? If you have recently reached one of our work experience thresholds, or have achieved an academic qualification since your initial application, you may now qualify for a different grade. Click on one of the descriptions that best describes you to see your next steps.
2. Is it time to apply for Chartership?
The IES is firmly established as the place for environmental professionals to become Chartered, with over 750 candidates successfully gaining Chartership through our CEnv in a Day and CSci in a Day workshops. With our unique 'Support-Speed-Rigour' approach to Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Chartered Scientist (CSci), you can confidently and quickly achieve a higher level of professional standing in 2025. Our 2023 salary survey showed on average that holding CSci and CEnv status is associated with a higher median salary (24% higher) when compared to members without Chartership. These results, as well as the continued positive feedback we receive from candidates, have strengthened our determination in 2025 to support as many members as possible to become Chartered. Learn more about the workshops and mentoring schemes we offer for our Charterships.
Reviewing your learning & the learning of your team
1. Create a plan for this year's Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Forward planning is an essential part of the IES CPD cycle. Having reviewed last year's learning, it is time to create an action plan for the coming year to ensure that you continue to develop as a professional.
The IES CPD cycle
2. Book your place on an IES event
2024 was another great year for IES events, both in-person and online. The Dispersion Modelling User Group conference took place in London in April and the inaugural Dialogue Between Disciplines conference took place in London in May; a collaboration between the different IES communities. The event brought the different specialisms together, working to develop multi-functional solutions to the interlinked environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Our final conference of 2024 was the 2-day Routes to Clean Air that took place in Birmingham in October, with a very thought-provoking keynote speech from Prof. Stephen Holgate.
Our next in-person conference will be the Land Condition Symposium taking place in Wolverhampton on 11th March – bookings are now open! We will then see the return of Dialogue Between Disciplines in June and Routes to Clean Air in October, both taking place in London.
Be sure to visit our events page to sign up for any of our events and to keep up to date with our 2025 calendar.
Deepening your relationship with the IES
1. Join one of our Communities
Join one of our member-led Communities, bringing members together around a shared environmental specialism, professional interest, or challenge that you're working towards addressing. You will hear updates on activities relevant to your work, network with like-minded professionals, and develop new skills and experience to help you achieve your career goals.
We have 7 Communities at the IES: Air Quality (through the Institute of Air Quality Management); Climate Action; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); Environmental Policy Implementation (EPIC); Land Condition; Marine and Coastal Science; and Water (through the Foundation for Water Research (FWR) Community).
The IAQM and Land Condition Communities also offer dedicated support for professionals in the first ten years of their career through our Early Careers Networks. We deliver targeted events for members to gain professional development and opportunities to network with peers, so do join in or encourage those you know to get involved!
At the IES we know that you, our members, are the experts. Communities are a key tool for directly engaging with our members, channelling your expertise into a unified voice, and informing the development of tailored resources. Being member-led, they provide members with the agency to set their own priorities and develop associated workplans aligned with their needs and interests.
Join today and take a leading role in the sector!
2. Become a mentor
Do you want to develop your coaching and leadership skills? Could your expertise or career experience help change the life of a recent graduate or someone working towards Chartership? Becoming a mentor with the IES will give you this opportunity.
Our mentoring platform allows users to build bespoke profiles outlining mentors' expertise. These profiles are then used to algorithmically match mentors and mentees, ensuring that you are matched with the right mentee.
We welcome volunteers who could share their experience of gaining Chartership and those in their early career who can support graduates looking for their first role within the sector.
Volunteers need to be Full Members or Fellows, and be able to give a small amount of their time to help develop the skills of aspiring environmental scientists while they prepare for the workplace. Tempted? Learn more about the scheme on our careers page.
"It was deeply satisfying to support an IES member to become a Chartered Scientist. I would encourage those seeking to become chartered to use the platform to find a mentor, as well as those recently chartered to support their peers." (IES Member)
3. Advertise your jobs with the IES
The IES jobs page is frequently checked by our members and, with our website receiving thousands of unique visitors each month, we can ensure that vacancies posted here will be seen by some of the most experienced and qualified environmental professionals in the field. Next time there is a recruitment need in your office, why not advertise with the IES?
4. Hold your meetings at IES HQ
Our new office hosts two stunning meeting rooms: The Fjord and The Fjell, which can be booked out by the hour or the day. Professional members of the IES are eligible for 50% off booking fees.
5. Tell a colleague, friend or client about the IES
We know that our members gain a lot from being part of the Institution. A larger Institution can provide more membership services and have a stronger voice within society, government and education.
Ask yourself this New Year: would some of your team members benefit from the support and resources that come with IES membership? Do you have a colleague that has had their application on their to-do list for a long time and needs a little encouragement? If so, now is the time to spread the word!
6. Stay connected
You can follow the IES on LinkedIn to get the latest news about the IES. Make sure to interact with us, as each like, reshare or comment helps introduce our work to new audiences. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to be alerted when new webinars are added each month. When you achieve a new milestone with the IES, such as moving up the membership grades or becoming Chartered, why not post about it on social media? Your network should know about your fantastic achievements and it spreads the word about opportunities with the IES.
7. Contribute your knowledge
Don't forget that as an IES member, you get the first look of the newest issues of the quarterly IES journal, environmental SCIENTIST. If you're working on something that you think would make a good contribution to the journal, take a look at the upcoming issue themes for 2025 on the journal homepage and get in touch with Bea Gilbert, Publications Lead on bea@the-ies.org to discuss further. There are other ways to contribute your expertise and writing skills too: we are looking to increase the output of our analysis and opinion pieces across the field of environmental science for the attention of our members and beyond. Our blog will give you the platform to showcase your research and writing skills! For more information on writing for our blog, please contact publications@the-ies.org.
Finally...
Don't forget to renew your membership promptly through the Members' Area. By renewing on time, you free up our administrative team, enabling them to concentrate on delivering our membership services to you.
