Environmental Officials

The roles and responsibilities of the Environmental Officials were established by the Cornell University Environmental Compliance and Voluntary Environmental Initiatives Policy, finalized in March, 2003. Environmental Officials will be designated in each college and unit and will be responsible for the following:

Responsibilities for policy administration:

• Enforce the policy in all facilities and operations under his or her control.
• Designate and empower a facility manager or equivalent employee as the College or Division Environmental Representative to serve as the primary liaison with ECO for the policy. Environmental Representatives may also be designated at the department level, at the discretion of the College or Division Environmental Official.
• Inform all individuals in the college or division, including but not limited to principal investigators, regular and temporary employees, visiting scholars, and students, of the policy.

Responsibilities for environmental compliance:

• Ensure that environmental compliance requirements for his or her college or division are met, and that necessary training is provided.
• Commit the college or division and the resources necessary to carry out environmental compliance activities.
• Certify all legal reports and submit materials required for environmental compliance, at the college or division level.
• Take all reasonable steps to respond to non-compliance incidents, to prevent recurrences.
• Notify the ECPA immediately of any non-compliance incidents.
• Establish and implement an appropriate college or division-specific management system in conformance with university requirements for the CMS. Exceptions to this are possible, at the discretion of the director of the CMS.
• Incorporate environmental compliance requirements and responsibilities into each appropriate job description.
• Ensure compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations for operations conducted outside of the United States.

Responsibilities for voluntary environmental initiatives:

• Commit the college or division and the resources necessary to carry out voluntary environmental activities when desired by the college or division or required by the Responsible Executives for this policy.