The Institute for Environmental Management reopens its doors

The Institute for Environmental Management (IEM) – an energy and environmental industry led organization aimed at researching and disseminating sound scientific information and research to industry leaders, policymakers and the broader public – reopened its doors earlier this month after a structural reorganization of the former Environmental Management Association (EMA).

Established in 1993, the EMA has provided technical, legal, and regulatory research and support to assist with a balanced environmental policy in South Carolina. The new IEM is expanding on EMA’s approach, having already completed comprehensive studies on a broad range of environmental issues.

Why IEM? “It’s simple,” says environmental attorney Tom Mullikin, managing partner of the South Carolina-based Mullikin Law Firm and founding President of IEM. “We are fully equipped to research these very complex and inextricably connected energy and environmental issues: Everything from nuclear to natural gas – and all things in between – with studied, meticulously researched facts (sans politics) to support both IEM’s members, lawmakers and even the broader public to create a more balanced environmental policy going forward.”

IEM’s strengths are in its white papers, group and individual presentations, focused issue-specific research projects, proposed legislative amendments and other proposed legislation some of which already has been submitted to legislators; as well as legal briefs which have been submitted to the Judiciary, Amicus Curiae, as “friends of the Court” to explain complicated environmental matters.

Recent environmental issues arising in the South Carolina legislature have only increased the need for solid technical expertise and direction. To this end, IEM has established a scientific, fact-based voice to maintain an active information-exchange between government and industry professionals. IEM seeks solutions that consider both short-term and long-range environmental, social, and economic impacts. Also, the Institute supports the development of environmental standards that are protective, practical, and based on sound science.

“We will meet these goals through the development of technical and regulatory assessments, public and member education programs, legal initiatives and public advocacy,” says Mullikin, whose environmental research efforts have led him to every continent on earth, including multiple trips to the Arctic and Antarctic.

Mullikin has brought context to his work as a senior environmental attorney wherein he has studied water-related concerns in certified SCUBA dives in all oceans on earth. But it’s not simply the oceans and seas. Mullikin has ventured to many of the most remote and environmentally-fragile regions on the planet. And on some of his expeditions, he has climbed to the summits of the highest mountains on four continents, including Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Kosciusko (Australia), Mt. Aconcagua (South America), and peaks across North America, Antarctica, and Ecuador.

Mullikin, who also serves as a university professor and a senior military officer, is a “National Geographic Expert,” having helped lead a NatGeo expedition in Alaska from Denali to the Prince William Sound in September 2016.

His environmental work around the globe – and now through the new IEM – has enabled him to develop sophisticated strategies on issues such as climate change, nuclear technology, environmental sustainability, disaster relief, crisis management, healthcare, and unconventional energy production. His work has been documented in his books and articles as well as two acclaimed documentary films, one of which earned two Telly Award Bronze Medals.

“It is my opinion that Tom Mullikin, a senior environmental attorney … is one of the most persuasive and well cited researchers in this policy area,” said President and CEO Brett A. Vassey, Virginia Manufacturers Association, in testimony before the U.S. Senate.

Mullikin was selected by the vice president of the United States to serve as a private sector representative at the 2016 U.S.–Caribbean–Central American Energy Summit. He assisted with the response to the Prestige Oil Tanker Crisis, and he addressed international waste issues in Europe and Asia. He has helped draft chemical laws for Republic of Moldova, reviewed and drafted recommendations for Sierra Leone’s proposed Constitutional chapter on local government, and assessed pro bono and legal assistance program best practices for the Maldives.

Moreover, Mullikin was recently recognized by the Fijian Permanent Secretary of Lands and Mineral Resources Tevita Boseiwaqa for leading a team of experts on behalf of the UNDP-ABA (The United Nations Development Programme and the American Bar Association) and serving as a liaison to the Fijian government in drafting expansive comments and recommendations for legislation aimed at protecting the Pacific island nation’s rich mineral resources.

“Tom Mullikin has a huge heart for Fiji, the Pacific Rim nations, and the world,” said Secretary Boseiwaqa, “What Mullikin and his team have done is strengthening the foundation of Fiji’s economy so that we as a nation may thrive in the global marketplace, while protecting both the Fijian people and our rich natural resources for many years to come.”

This is what Mullikin, his team of attorneys and research experts, bring to the world through IEM.

For more information about IEM contact the Mullikin Law Firm at 803-425-7771.