Meet Paul Soler-Sala, Certified Professional Environmental Auditor at Antea Group, located in the Boston office.
Name:
Paul Soler-Sala
Office:
Practice Area:
Areas of Expertise:
EHS Auditing and Compliance, Product Stewardship, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), International Project Management
About Me:
I spent most of my childhood living in developing countries – India, Colombia and Indonesia – where my father worked for UNICEF and my mother taught middle school. I have spent the last 25+ years in the environmental field, including long stints living overseas in Russia and Germany, and have consulted in over 20 countries. I have travelled and/or visited over 60 countries and speak Spanish and Russian. I studied physical Geography at Clark University (Worcester, MA) and received a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy from Tufts University (Medford, MA) while working full-time (as a consultant!). I live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (founded in 1623!) and am married and have 3 children.
What is your favorite thing about being an EHS Auditing and Compliance practitioner:
My favorite part is working the interface between science, psychology, and law. I enjoy showing up at a site you’ve never been to before, learning how things are made, and then hopefully adding value to management. This doesn’t always happen, but sometimes those are the best learning experiences!
Is there something unique that people might not know about you?
I spent 15 months in Russia in 1990-1991 traveling throughout the former USSR hanging out with Russian environmentalists.
What is the most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?
I conducted a peer review evaluation of a corporate environmental audit program of a US-based global power company. Field audit observations were conducted at facilities located in Kazakhstan, Argentina, and Texas (US). I was able to travel around the globe in 3 weeks, use all my languages, and see places I’d never seen before. It was pretty much the perfect combination of my skill sets and interests dovetailed into one project. Traveling to the Russian far east for 2 weeks to asses a US State Department biodiversity project was a close second.
If you had one month off, where would you go, or what would you do?
I would go to the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia (week 1), then Isle De La Reunion (France – week 2), and finally for the last two weeks, somewhere on remote Pacific island with beaches, lagoons, mountains, forests, mangroves, and a well-equipped lodge.
What is the key ingredient for success as a EHS auditing and compliance practitioner?
Prepare, prepare, prepare! You have to listen, be humble, yet confident. You have to ask a combination of pointed and open-ended questions, understand the end game and what the client needs before you start. Don’t hesitate to deviate from the scope when justified and/or offer alternative approaches if you think it might add value.
If someone at a party asks what you do, how do you respond?
I help clients do what they can’t do, don’t want to do, or never thought of doing.
What was your first job?
My first job was a swim teacher in 9th grade. My first professional job was as a hazardous waste receiving chemist sampling fuming drums.
