What is the Process for an Environmental Audit?

An environmental Audit provides an assessment of the environmental performance of a business or organization. The audit reveals details about the activities of a company and its compliance with environmental regulations. Audit information is presented to the management team and employees.

An environmental audit evaluates and quantifies the environmental performance. It identifies compliance problems or management system implementation issues.

Different Types of Environmental Audits

There are three main types of environmental audits:

• Environmental compliance audits
• Environmental management audits
• Functional environmental audits

The environmental compliance audit reviews the company’s or site’s legal compliance status.

The environmental management audit helps the organization or company understand how it is performing on its own environmental performance standards.

A functional environmental audit measures the effects of a particular issue or activity. It investigates specific areas of concern such as air quality monitoring, materials management, or wastewater management. The functional environmental audit is less common and may be included in an environmental compliance audit or an environmental management audit.

Environmental Audit Steps

The environmental audit process includes the following steps as a minimum:

1. Planning the audit, including activities to be conducted and responsibilities for each activity
2. Review the company’s environmental protection policy and the applicable requirements, federal, state, and local requirements.
3. Assessment of the organization, it’s management, and equipment
4. Gather data and relevant information
5. Evaluate overall performance
6. Identify areas needing improvement
7. Report findings to management

When an Environmental Audit is Necessary?

Environmental audits are an important part of a company’s environmental policy and performance. However, many companies either don’t do them or do them improperly.

There are many, many environmental rules and regulations that apply to every business. Is your business in compliance with all of them? Do you have all the permits you need and are you fully compliant with all the details of each? You don’t know unless you have done an audit done by an independent environmental auditor.

If you are not an expert on environmental compliance and regulations, you need an environmental audit. When an inspector arrives at your work site, you’ll know that you are in compliance and be able to provide documentation that outlines everything you are doing to stay in compliance.

How to Conduct an Environmental Audit

There are three main Environmental Audit Stages or Phases:

• Pre-Audit
• Audit
• Post-Audit

Phase 1: The Pre-Audit

• Create the Audit Team, including a mixture of skills, talents and perspectives
• Create an Audit Plan
• Request and review documents, including:
  • Permits or permit applications
  • Production Records
  • Reports
  • Previous Audits including corrective actions and status of prior audit items
• Prepare a list of questions that regulators would ask, follow-up questions on prior audits, and requests for additional materials needed
• Begin to fill-in the Disclosure of Violation Table as issues are identified

Phase 2: The Audit

• Set the ground rules
• Determine what happens which issues are identified
• Conduct daily meetings to keep every informed
• Perform a document review:
  • Policies
  • Compliance
  • Training
  • Air/Water/Waste/Noise controls, monitoring and records
  • Emergency Response Procedures
  • Response to Complaints
  • Check documents for completeness, consistency, legal compliance, and whether it’s up to date
• Conduct a Site Inspection
• Evaluate Operations for Compliance
• Take samples if needed
• Interview EHS personnel, operations, management, maintenance, to see if policies are understood and consistently handled.
• Discover issues of concern
• Conduct a Closing Meeting listing and discussing of all issues, develop corrective actions for each issue

Phase 3: Post-Audit

• Preparing the Environmental Audit Report and Disclosure of Violations form
• List confirmed issues and Areas of Concern
• List Action Items and required follow-up

What Documents do I Need to Conduct an Environmental Audit?

Before beginning an environmental audit, you should gather and review all the required documents. Here are the six types of documents you will need to begin an environmental audit:

1. Maps and floor plans for the facility will help you define the scope of an audit. They’ll clue you into changes that have been made and procedures that might have changed and need a thorough review.
2. Gather copies of all environmental permits. These permits are the first step to verifying that the facility is in compliance with the permit terms.
3. Gather environmental inspection reports and checklists that prove that inspections have been completed as required. Hazardous waste manifests, sampling data, and other inspection reports help show that recordkeeping is up-to-date and in compliance. Likewise, they can help identify compliance issues.
4. An inventory of all chemicals and other raw materials used, their locations, and amounts helps determine which environmental regulations are applied to the facility.
5. Environmental Plans and procedures, best management practices and other applicable documents show how the facility is managing environmental issues and preventing problems. Include the EPA Risk Management Plan, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and written emergency response programs, if applicable.
6. Employee training records, tests, and certificates show that employees have been trained in the knowledge and skills needed to perform their duties. These records also demonstrate the company’s efforts to develop and maintain the facilities environmental standards.

An audit can be a valuable tool to determine a facilities compliance with current environmental regulations and record progress being made. It provides additional benefits to the business:

• An environmental audit can help you avoid fines by regulatory agencies by identifying non-compliance issues and allowing time for corrective actions before an inspection.
• Audits increase awareness of environmental standards and employee responsibilities. Increased compliance leads to fewer enforcement actions and penalties.
• Regular environmental audits identify and informs management of the newest regulations that apply to the business.
• Environmental audits improve employee relations and improve the company’s image in the community.
• Companies with environmental stewardship programs are desirable to investors and employees.
• Environmental audits reduce operating costs by identifying issues sooner, minimizing waste, and allowing the company to plan corrective actions.