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Environmental Planner skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted Experts
Kartik Venkataraman Ph.D.,
Will Pluer Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical environmental planner skills. We ranked the top skills for environmental planners based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 21.0% of environmental planner resumes contained federal regulations as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an environmental planner needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 environmental planner skills for your resume and career

1. Federal Regulations

Federal regulations refer to the set of rules, both general and permanent that are published in the Federal Register by the agencies of the federal government and the executive departments. Federal regulations are the large body of rules that govern federal practice. Examples of these laws include taxes and financial regulation, discrimination law, wages law, and so on.

Here's how environmental planners use federal regulations:
  • Implemented and managed environmental permit regulations for large mine sites to ensure compliance with Local, State, and Federal regulations.
  • Created database of federal regulations applicable to shale gas exploration in the U.S.

2. Water Quality

Here's how environmental planners use water quality:
  • Coordinated and documented a six-year Water Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Project involving federal, state and local agencies and universities.
  • Planned and managed environmental projects related to Texas Clean Rivers water quality program in support of local agency mission.

3. Wetland Delineations

Here's how environmental planners use wetland delineations:
  • Presented environmental data at public meetings including vegetation surveys, mammal surveys, and wetland delineations.
  • Prepare and process biological environmental documents, including Biological Assessments and Wetland Delineations.

4. FEMA

Here's how environmental planners use fema:
  • Created a debris management guidance document for FEMA for an emergency management plan related to Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina.
  • Assisted in ensuring all FEMA's actions comply with Federal EHP statutes and Executive orders.

5. Environmental Assessments

An environmental assessment identifies, predicts, and evaluates all potential effects on the environment of a proposed project. It estimates, identifies, and evaluates the results a project might cause by conducting environmental studies, to alleviate the pertinent negative effects before making commitments and decisions.

Here's how environmental planners use environmental assessments:
  • Performed feasibility studies, environmental assessments, permit preparation and processing, public agency representation, community meetings and workshops.
  • Performed environmental assessments of hazardous, non-hazardous, universal waste and recycling for potential legal risks.

6. Private Client

Here's how environmental planners use private client:
  • Provided environmental consulting services to local governments and private clients in areas of environmental protection, solid waste and recycling.
  • Provided technical expertise in data management and analysis relative to compliance reporting to the U.S. EPA and private clients.

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7. Environmental Planning

Any development project or construction can have adverse effects on the environment. Environment planning is making strategies and designs to keep environmental damage to a minimum and integrate steps that ensure sustainable development. During any construction, emphasis must be placed on the effects it will have on the environment. Some harmful effects include cutting down of forests, causing pollution and destroying natural habitats. Regulations regarding environmental planning must be strictly adhered to avoid any hazardous actions and damage to the environment.

Here's how environmental planners use environmental planning:
  • Led environmental planning and review for major state-funded disaster-recovery projects; reviewed applications and ensured all requests met federal NEPA standards.
  • Worked in the environmental planning field to define regulatory requirements for various development projects specifically relating to air quality.
Select Skills To Add To Your Resume

8. Environmental Policy

Environmental policy refers to the practice of analyzing how humans affect the environment and the laws and regulations that attempt to reduce the harmful effects. These policies and practices are typically enforced by government agencies or larger corporations, which may focus on cleaner water sources, less air pollution, or other areas.

Here's how environmental planners use environmental policy:
  • Draft environmental policy for review and adoption by the Transportation Commission.
  • Ensured compliance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

9. Project Management

Here's how environmental planners use project management:
  • Project Management/NEPA/Wetland Delineation/Permitting Business Development & Marketing
  • Project management training for local and state government transportation projects with federal funding.

10. GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is a tool for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, managing and presenting various forms of geographic data.

Here's how environmental planners use gis:
  • Established and maintained comprehensive and current record keeping system of activities including extensive GIS mapping.
  • Applied GIS analysis of development proposals to identify and verify design conflicts.

11. Environmental Compliance

Environmental compliance means to fulfill official environmental requirements. It comprises environmental rules, laws, and regulations, and permits regarding which sites to operate. Environmental concerns have raised compliances across the globe. Environmental compliance includes managing and monitoring the required permits for correct parameters, performing and processing calculations, generate daily compliance reports, and record data with compliance to any risk alert

Here's how environmental planners use environmental compliance:
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff and with representatives of other organizations involved in environmental compliance efforts.
  • Tabulated, compiled and reviewed engineering, chemical and policy data for CUC environmental compliance and project development.

12. Biological Assessments

Here's how environmental planners use biological assessments:
  • Created large scale reports; Natural Environmental Studies, USFWS biological assessments, Wetland Delineation Report for USACE Jurisdictional determination.
  • Compose other biological documents, such as Biological Assessments (BA), and Biological Evaluations (BE).

13. Public Outreach

Here's how environmental planners use public outreach:
  • Design marketing presentations for public outreach meetings.
  • Participated in public outreach activities; hired and directed the work of subcontractors; ensured costs met budget requirements.

14. Renewable Energy

Here's how environmental planners use renewable energy:
  • Prepared policy briefs on recommendations for renewable energy adoption in Middle East countries.
  • Prepare reports on energy policies, procedures and programs including the Town'spreparation and adoption of 100% renewable energy goals.

15. Regional Planning

Here's how environmental planners use regional planning:
  • Field Biologist on several federally funded regional-scale sea level rise studies at the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council.
  • Provided technical assistance to municipalities/regional planning commissions on Maine's land use laws.
top-skills

What skills help Environmental Planners find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on Environmental Planner resumes?

K

Kartik Venkataraman Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Tarleton State University

As far as the skills are concerned, the most striking would be proficiency with programs such as AutoCAD and ArcGIS as well as with technical report-writing or preparation. There are numerous industry-standard programs that are discipline-specific, such as HEC-HMS for hydrologic modeling; familiarity with these programs can make resumes stand out. Other items on the resume, such as assuming leadership roles in student and professional societies, internships with government or private organizations, and having passed the FE exam, are also attractive to recruiters.

What soft skills should all Environmental Planners possess?

W

Will Pluer Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Engineering, Elon University

Within the job, time management is probably the most important. An employer will be impressed if you're finishing work before your deadlines. To get the job in the first place, professionalism is very important. Submit a clean and attractive resume with your application and then show up to an interview dressed for the job.

What Environmental Planner skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

N

Neal O'Reilly Ph.D.Neal O'Reilly Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Director, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Within the federal government agencies, like the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forestry Service, National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey, and many state agencies such as the state's Departments of Natural Resources, there are many people of retirement age that will be leaving in the next few years. These retirements will open a lot of opportunities for qualified graduates. I believe that jobs will be available in all regions of the country. The key will be for graduates to build their resume, through internships and volunteer opportunities, to show they have the skills for these positions.

What hard/technical skills are most important for Environmental Planners?

D

Dr. Dan Ferreira Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Kennesaw State University

I have been told recently that GIS skills are becoming more and more essential. In the past, GIS was one of those things that it used to be nice to have on a resume. A few months ago, I had a potential employer tell me that it's becoming more of a must-have skill for many jobs. Here at KSU, we are in the process of reconfiguring our curriculum to make it easier for students to earn a GIS credential through their regular course of study. We are hopeful that this will help make our graduates more employable. But ultimately, the answer to this question depends on the employment opportunity. Students should look back at their coursework, especially lab courses, and make a list of skills they have learned, analyses they have performed, or instrumentation they were trained on that would be of use to that specific employer. Going back to the syllabi from the courses you've taken can be really helpful in preparing a list like that.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about Environmental Planner

List of environmental planner skills to add to your resume

Environmental Planner Skills

The most important skills for an environmental planner resume and required skills for an environmental planner to have include:

  • Federal Regulations
  • Water Quality
  • Wetland Delineations
  • FEMA
  • Environmental Assessments
  • Private Client
  • Environmental Planning
  • Environmental Policy
  • Project Management
  • GIS
  • Environmental Compliance
  • Biological Assessments
  • Public Outreach
  • Renewable Energy
  • Regional Planning
  • Environmental Regulations
  • Natural Resources
  • Environmental Studies
  • Technical Reports
  • Technical Studies
  • Data Collection
  • ArcGIS
  • Air Quality
  • Water ACT
  • Development Projects
  • Species ACT
  • Transportation Projects
  • Preservation ACT
  • Use Development
  • Environmental Review
  • Federal Agencies
  • Cultural Resources
  • Federal Laws
  • CEQA
  • Nepa
  • Environmental Laws
  • Environmental Projects
  • Environmental Impacts
  • Environmental Issues
  • Caltrans
  • Technical Assistance
  • Technical Support
  • Impact Analysis
  • Federal Highway Administration
  • Local Agencies
  • Analyze Data
  • Public Involvement
  • Autocad
  • Public Hearings

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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