Christopher J. Noll, Cherry Hill township resident and president and CEO of Environmental Resolutions, Inc., was chosen as one of NJBIZ’s ICON Honors Award Recipients for 2021. Noll joins a select group of New Jersey business leaders over the age of 60 who are being recognized for their contribution to the community, their success and their leadership. Chris and his fellow honorees were recognized during a virtual awards ceremony on June 22.
Thirty-one years ago, Chris and four other individuals embarked on a journey to start a consulting company that focused on civil engineering, environmental services and planning. In 2005, Chris became president and CEO of that company, known as Environmental Resolutions, Inc., and today ERI has grown to fifty-seven employees and doubled its revenue since he has been in charge.
“I believe that success like that doesn’t just happen,” Noll said. “It stems from commitment to your clients, loyalty to a company’s purpose, exceptional business practices, dedication to the well-being of your employees and providing support to local communities. That’s how we’ve continued to be successful despite some obstacles that we’ve faced over the years.”
Throughout his professional career, Noll has fostered relationships with clients, business leaders and his employees. These very relationships are the foundation for which ERI has continued to survive and thrive over the years, regardless of economic and political changes. Under his leadership, the company continues to grow and gain new clients as a result of its positive reputation, however, many of ERI’s original clients are also still with the company since it began. In addition, Noll maintains the company philosophy of supporting the communities in which its employees live and work, and he contributes to organizations that enhance the positive welfare of individuals, children and families.
Noll is a graduate of Lafayette College with a bachelor of science in civil engineering. He completed course work and a second draft of his master’s thesis and obtained a master of science in ocean engineering at the University of Rhode Island (URI). He is a licensed professional engineer, a certified municipal engineer and a professional planner in the state of New Jersey.
While civil engineering is a way of life for Noll, like his father before him and one of his sons after him, environmental engineering was his true passion in the early years of his career. Working in Newfoundland, Canada for both private firms and governmental agencies gave Noll the opportunity to be involved with various ocean engineering and environmental projects and studies.
In 1978, Noll was recognized as an expert in his field when he was asked to be a presenter during the International Oil-Pollution Prevention Exhibition and Conference (IOPPEC) in Hamburg, Germany. He spoke on the “Application of an Oil Spill Computer Model to Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.” In addition, Noll has authored/co-authored nine other publications relating to oil spill modeling and the environmental effects of offshore drilling. Many of these publications were written in 1977 while he was a graduate research assistant at URI, while others were written between 1978 and 1983.
Noll eventually became director of the Ocean Engineering Division for the government of Newfoundland & Labrador, managing the agency’s operations with regard to safety, planning and regulatory approvals and processes. In keeping with his professional roots, he continues to be a registered professional engineer in Newfoundland, Canada to this day.
In 1986, Chris returned to South Jersey with his wife, Debra, and their two sons, Jeremy and Craig, to become part of his father’s civil engineering firm, Taylor Wiseman & Taylor (TWT) in Mount Laurel. After working for TWT for four years, Chris went on to be one of the founding partners of ERI in 1990.
In 2009, Noll received recognition as “Distinguished Civil Engineer” from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and ERI was recognized in 2019 as one of the NJBIZ Business of the Year Finalists. Noll also served as president of the Haddon Field Club for an unprecedented 16 years, from 2004 to 2020.
