Environmental Audit

Environmental auditing is a systematic, documented, periodic and objective process in assessing an organization's activities and services in relation to environmental status, compliance with relevant statutory and internal requirements, promoting sound environmental management, establishing an Environmental Management System (EMS), etc. 

It plays an essential role in identifying and assessing environmental problems and initiating corrective actions which ensure compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, internal management policies and practices. It is also being used to assess the quality of the existing environmental management systems and to add initiatives or corrective measures to improve the environmental performance of the organization/industry.

• Environmental compliance audit:- It reviews the company’s environmental performance and environmental responsibility practices to see whether the company has complied with legal requirements, and is being done annually or quarterly by industries/organizations as per the requirements {such as the conditions mentioned in EC (Environment Clearance) letter}. 
• Environmental management audit:- It verifies whether the company has met the environmental objectives, policies, and performance set by management.
• Functional environmental audit:- It focuses on one element or impact of a particular activity, such as wastewater management audits, materials, and air quality monitoring.

Topics Applicable for Environmental Auditing

Environmental Auditing basically cover the following topics that generate pollution and cause depletion of natural resources (but are not limited to)

• Air quality
• Carbon dioxide and other emissions
• Water Quality 
• Energy Use
• Waste Management

1. Solid Waste 
2. E-Waste
3. Plastic Waste
4. Hazardous Waste
5. Bio-Medical Waste

• Pharmaceutical
• Automobile
• Composting
• Conditions under EC letter

• To assess the company’s compliance with laws, regulations and other relevant requirements such EC letter. 
• To encourage the companies in developing an environmental management system and effective implementation of the same in case, it is already existing. 
• To raise awareness and enforce the company’s internal commitment to environmental policies.
• To minimize risk exposure from environmental issues in the company. 
• To avoid financial penalties. 

An environmental audit is an important part of a company’s environmental policy and performance. It checks whether the company has complied with the environmental regulations and requirements, and achieved the environmental goals set by them. It aims to avoid or minimize the risks of business activities to the environment and human safety and health. 

Build Good Company Reputation: Environmental audits can strengthen the company’s image. It helps businesses become more sustainable by creating new marketing opportunities.

Comply with Environment Regulations: Government has poses certain regulations that have to be complied with by the company or businesses. The Environment Audit enforces companies to comply with these legal requirements. Moreover, an environmental audit is a mandatory point to comply with, as per the EC letter.

Avoid Penalties: Environment Audits help the company to comply with the regulations which will prevent them from implications such as penalties. 

Risk Identification and Management Measures: The environment Audit identifies the risks related to environmental responsibility and provides the corrective measures to take action to implement them.

What is Certification Audit?

A certification audit occurs when a company undergoes an audit by an ISO Registrar to ensure compliance with all elements of a specific standard (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, etc.). This Certification Audit is completed in two stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2. A Stage-1 audit is typically conducted remotely to determine if the organization is ready for a stage two audit. If the auditor determines the company has met the minimum criteria for the stage one audit, the company will proceed with an onsite Stage 2 audit, which is much more in-depth and includes a document review, interviews, and work observances covering all elements of the standard. 

Stage 1 is a readiness review audit. Its goal is to determine if the organization is able to move on to the Stage 2 Certification Audit. During Stage 1, the registrar will review your management system, document information, evaluate your site-specific conditions, and have discussions with personnel. The auditor will look to see that objectives and key performance indicators, or significant aspects are in place and understood. They will review the scope of the management system and obtain information on your processes and operations, the equipment being used, the levels of control that have been established, as well as any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements. 

The Stage 2 Audit evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of the organization’s management system(s). During the Stage 2 audit, the registrar will determine the degree of compliance with the standard’s requirements and report any non-conformances or potential non-conformances that your organization will have to correct before the certification can be issued. If the Stage 2 audit is successful, the organization’s management system(s) will be certified.

Our Approaches

Planning and Designing an Audit Approach: When businesses/organizations consider conducting an audit or implementing an audit program, Corpseed will first understand the client’s business and the industry it belongs to the regulatory, possible emission, and other factors. This necessary background information gives businesses a better understanding of the scope of auditing. The team will prepare the scope of the Audit and ask the client for the necessary documents for review. It basically includes 

• Permits or permit applications
• Plans/Policy
• Production Records
• Reports
• Previous Audits including corrective actions and status of prior audit items
• Air/Water/Waste/Noise controls, monitoring and records
• Emergency Response Procedures, etc. 

Review of Documents: The team will review all the documents received from the client carefully. In case of not receiving the complete documents, the team will follow up with the company for the same. The team will note down the gaps, or non-conformities if any from the review of the documents. Additionally, the team will review applicable policies relevant to your organisation with respect to its environment. 

Site Inspection and Interviews: After receiving the whole documents and completions of reviewing them, the team will plan for a site inspection. The site inspection will be for a day or two. During the site inspection, the team will discuss with the managers, labours etc. including top management. The discussion will be on the organization chart, general activities on the site and precaution measures, waste management, etc. 

Evaluate overall performance: The team will identify the gaps/areas requiring improvement based on the document review and site inspections. After analysing the overall performance, the report will be drafted. 

Report findings to management: The audit report will be shared with the company. It will include the following points Environment management system, Environment policy, Leadership, Compliance obligations, Resources, competency, emergency preparedness plan, Monitoring measurements, performance evaluation process, corrective measures taken from previous audits etc. 

The documents that will need to begin an environmental audit are as follows but not limited to: 

• Maps and floor plans for the facility will help you define the scope of an audit. 
• 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 (SOPs) and written emergency response programs, if applicable.
• Environmental permits/licenses, Annual returns
• Monitoring Results/Reports 
• An inventory of all chemicals and other raw materials used, their locations, and amounts help determine which environmental regulations are applied to the facility.
• Employee training records, tests, and certificates show that employees have been trained in the knowledge and skills needed to perform their duties.

The Audit report will be structured as follows

1. Executive summary
2. Project Overview
3. Audit Team
4. Audit Objectives and Scope
5. Audit protocol, criteria and methodology 
6. Finding and observations
7. Description of key issues including the discovered project strengths and weakness
8. Recommendation actions
9. Conclusion
10. References
11. Appendices. 

Apart from Environment Audits, Corpseed can assist you in other Audits such as Food Safety Audits, Factory Audits, Financial audits etc. 

• Food Safety Audit

A food safety audit is a comprehensive inspection of a food processing facility to examine compliance with food hygiene and safety standards, along with the company’s hygiene plan and policies.  There are many stages when the product could become contaminated, this audit examines the process involved in each step to ensure the quality. 

• Factory Audit

A factory audit is a process of examining the facility’s quality systems, workplace environment and capabilities as per the standards set by the company. Some of the coverages areas of the audit are p-Capacity of vendors and suppliers towards production, etc., and the capacity of the company to deliver quality products, operations and improvements efficiently. 

• Financial Audit

A financial audit examines and evaluates the financial statements of an organization to make sure that the financial records are fair and accurate as claimed. 

There are many environmental rules and regulations that applicable are to businesses/companies. It is mandatory for any company or business to comply with Government regulations and also requires to be updated with the regulations. In order to comply with the legislation and protect from the penalties as well as maintain the reputation of the business, Environmental Auditing is important.

Our qualified Environment Auditors (Certified under ISO 14001:2015) can help you and your business in conducting the environmental Audit. Our expert team will examine the company’s environmental policies/procedures, analyse the legal requirements, and also help to prepare protocols to implement better environmental policies and standards in case of requirements. 

We will be inspecting your current operation methods for energy use/conservation measures, pollution control measures, solid waste management process, water consumption/conservation, transportation, procurements (raw materials, packaging, food/catering and office consumables), etc. Based on the examination, our team can suggest measures to improve your organisation’s existing environmental management procedures. Also, we can guide you in preparing Legal Compliance Register listing all regulations applicable to your organisation’s significant environmental impacts.

Additionally, we can provide you with a single-window solution to assist you in preparing the Environment, Social and Governance report (ESG), Environmental and social management system (ESMS), Environmental and social due diligence (ESDD) along with other services such as EPR authorizations/compliances, CTO/CTE, waste management, etc.