For more than a century, New Jersey built an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse to produce chemicals, medical equipment, textiles and many more products.

For about 50 years, New Jersey has been reclaiming land, cleaning old industries and repurposing properties for the betterment of the people and the environment.

The business of cleaning up pollution, called environmental remediation, is a robust and active industry employing thousands of people. But it faces challenges. As the president of the New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association, representing the majority of the approximately 700 Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs), one of the most important issues I see facing the environment in general and LSRPs in particular is one few people think of at all — diversity.

Differences in thought. Differences in point of view. Differences in experience. Ideas are what the environmental industry needs to build on.

At a time when the idea of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has become a political hot button, diversity is one of the things the environmental industry needs the most. It’s best to start by explaining what DEI is, and what it is not.

At its base level, DEI is about fairness. But it is also about challenging our preconceptions and it goes hand in hand with environmental justice. DEI is actually about getting more people into the mix so they can contribute their perspective. New perspectives lead to more fully thought-out ideas and plans that will benefit all New Jersey citizens.

To use an extreme example, if you are colorblind and you surround yourself with people who have the same form of color blindness, your group will only see a fraction of the colors around you. You may never understand red or orange. The world may seem like shades of green or gray.

Licensed Site Remediation Professionals need to see the full spectrum.

As a profession built around projects that take us into diverse neighborhoods, we must consider the varied cultures in those communities and how our projects impact their lives. Remediation means cleaning up the contamination left by our industrial past, but it also has impacts on the lives of people right now.

As LSRPs working within these communities, we need to listen with compassion, with sensitivity and open minds to ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people.

Some people may equate DEI with giving an opportunity to someone who is less qualified to perform the work. But this is not true. You can’t be unqualified and be a Licensed Site Remediation Professional. A rigorous testing program is required before any LSRP receives a license and at least eight years of experience in environmental remediation, five of which must be in New Jersey, is required before you are allowed to take the test. Active continuing education requirements ensure the expertise of LSRPs remains high, and LSRPs answer to a licensing board that holds them to a high professional and ethical standard.

LSRPs are accomplished engineers, geologists and scientists who oversee remediation and guide responsible parties through the state’s complex rules and regulations for environmental cleanups. More than 17,000 cases have been closed under the LSRP program through 2024.

The LSRPs are getting older. When we last surveyed LSRPs about four years ago, more than half (56%) expected to retire within 10 years. Nearly a third (31%) expected to retire within five years.

So, we are reaching out to the next generation to encourage more people to pursue environmental careers. The Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association is awarding scholarships to students at community colleges, technical colleges and universities. We are working with various youth and community organizations to highlight potential career opportunities within the environmental field. We are working to educate future LSRPs through our Aspiring Professional initiative.

We are making diversity, equity and inclusion something our entire association thinks about and lives. We promote it through every internal committee and our outreach to smaller businesses.

The reason is simple. We know what we know. We know from our own experience and study. But we do not have every answer to every situation, and we all have blind spots. And we cannot see what we don’t know to look for.

We need diversity to show us what we missed and to open our eyes.