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Environmental Auditing

Environmental auditing is essentially an environmental management tool for measuring the effects of certain activities on the environment against set criteria or standards. Depending on the types of standards and the focus of the audit, there are different types of environmental audit. Organisations of all kinds now recognise the importance of environmental matters and accept that their environmental performance will be scrutinised by a wide range of interested parties. Environmental auditing is used to

  • investigate
  • understand
  • identify

These are used to help improve existing human activities, with the aim of reducing the adverse effects of these activities on the environment. An environmental auditor will study an organisation's environmental effects in a systematic and documented manner and will produce an environmental audit report. There are many reasons for undertaking an environmental audit, which include issues such as environmental legislation and pressure from customers.

Different types of environmental audits:

There are three main types of audits which are environmental compliance audits, environmental management audits to verify whether an organisation meets its stated objectives, and, functional environmental audits such as for water and electricity.

What are their benefits?

  • Organisations understand how to meet their legal requirements;
  • Meeting specific statutory reporting requirements;
  • Organisations can demonstrate they are environmentally responsible;
  • Organisations can demonstrate their environmental policy is implemented;
  • Understanding environmental interactions of products, services & activities
  • Knowing their environmental risks are managed appropriately;
  • Understanding how to develop and implement an ISO 14001 EMS;
  • Improving environmental performance and saving money.

Who should complete an environmental audit?

ISO 19011:2012 Guidelines for auditing management systems provides information regarding the choice of Environmental Auditor. Environmental Auditors should have personal attributes, such as ethics, open-mindedness, perceptiveness and tact. They should understand audit principles, procedures and techniques, as well as having gained experience through conducting audits. They should know the subject matter they are auditing against and how this applies to different organisations.

Audit Team Leaders should be able to plan and resource effectively, have good communication and leadership skills. Preferably Environmental Auditors should complete training and have attained an appropriate level of education. A good Auditor should have adequate skills and experience.

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