There is a glaring lack of environmental officers employed in companies in general, noted Sarawak Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) controller Peter Sawal.

He said, during the auditing of the Chief Minister's Environmental Award (CMEA) 2012, the NREB found companies hardly employed environmental officers, as compared to the employment of safety or health officers.

"As they (companies) employ safety or health officers, it is imperative they also employ or maybe, train the same officers to understand the environment.

"Thus, they could execute and implement requirements pertaining to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)," he told a media conference at the State Legislative Assembly building in Petra Jaya here yesterday.

Earlier, Sawal and his delegates paid a courtesy call on Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud in his office at the building.

CMEA is the premier private sector environmental award for business and industry in Sarawak.

The award will also assist enterprises in identifying areas for improvement in their industrial processes and services they provide.