Environmental audits

Environmental audits are intended to quantify environmental performance and environmental position. In this way they perform an analogous function to financial audits. An environmental audit report ideally contains a statement of environmental performance and environmental position, and may also aim to define what needs to be done to sustain or improve on indicators of such performance and position.

Environmental Auditors can get certified through written exam and acceptance of the Environmental Auditor Association code of ethics. Depending on the nature of the audit, there are several different designations to choose from. CECAB administers these designation [ [http://www.cecab.org Cecab/Bcrpse ] ] Fact|date=April 2007

=ISO 14001 and evaluating evidence to determine whether specified environmentalactivities, events, conditions, management systems or information aboutthese matters confirms with audit criteria, and communicating theresults of this process to the client. (Mattsson and Olsson p.177)

Three types

Mattsson and Olsson (p. 178) say that there are three types of audit:

* 1. Liability audit
* 2. A management audit
* 3. A functional audit (sometimes called an activity or issues audit)

Liability audits assess compliance with legal obligations. Management audits verify that an Environmental Management Strategy meets its stated objectives. An activity audit may investigate a specific area such as energy or water use.

References

*Kim, Unhee "Environmental & Safety Auditing: Program Strategies for Legal, Internatinoal, and Financial Issues, CRC Press, Florida (1997)
*Harrison, Lee (Ed) "Environmental, Health and Safety Auditing Handbook", Second Edition, McGraw Hill, New York (1995)
*ISO 14011, Audit Procedures and Auditing of Environmental Management Systems.
*B. Mattsson and P. Olsson 2001. 'Environmental audits and life cycle assessment'. in Dillon, M.; Griffith eds. " Auditing in the Food Industry - From Safety and Quality to Environmental and Other Audits", Woodhead Publishing.
*Nelson, David D. "International Environmental Auditing", Government Institutes Inc., USA (1998)

ee also

*Certified wood
*GREENGUARD Environmental Institute

External links

* [http://epanote2.epa.vic.gov.au/EPA/Publications.nsf/2f1c2625731746aa4a256ce90001cbb5/cf082b94bdd3efa8ca2571d9000373f2/$FILE/865.5.pdf ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITOR GUIDELINES FOR APPOINTMENT AND CONDUCT (Victoria, Australia)]
* [http://www.environmental-auditing.org Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA), under the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)]
* [http://www.riet.org/training/eara.htm Environmental Auditors Registration Association, Regional Institute of Environmental Technology] According to their website, EARA is the leading UK membership organisation dedicated to the promotion of the goal of sustainable development.
* [http://www.iema.net The Institute of Environmental Management And Assessment, UK, now maintains the Environmental Auditors Register of the erstwhile EARA