Environmental auditing is an evaluation technique often used in the private sector to increase compliance with environmental laws, identify operational liabilities, reduce costs, and review environmental management systems.
US EPA defined and environmental audit as “a systematic, documented, periodic and objective review by a regulated entity of facility operations and practices related to meeting environmental requirements”.
BENEFITS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING
Environmental auditing I snow a common practice. Improved compliance with environmental laws is cited at the most important benefit of environmental audits. Similarly, environmental audits allow companies to identify their environmental progress and show steps made toward a cleaner environment that exceed what is required by law, and thus to promote a company’s image as good environmental actor.
The audit process requires communication and interaction within the organization on environmental issues. These interactions increase workers’ education level on environmental priorities both as required by law and as set by the company itself., environmental auditing can lead to significant cost savings within an organization, which identify the liability problems that can be addresses before an accident occurs or a claim is filed. The process of bringing a company into compliance reduces potential costs of non-compliance. Often, changes in process operation can be developed that avoid producing emissions at all, thus reducing the need for expensive pollution control equipment.