Environmental audits – find out where your company is non-compliant and what needs to be put in order

Environmental obligations often cover several areas at the same time. A company may manage waste correctly while still having gaps in its documentation, reporting duties or required permits and decisions. An environmental audit helps bring these elements together and identify which areas require improvement.

This is not a quality audit or an ISO management system audit. The analysis focuses on the obligations resulting from the company’s operations and their impact on the environment. The purpose of the audit is to identify non-compliance, reduce the risk of problems during inspections and indicate actions that can help organise processes and documentation.

We tailor the scope of the audit to the specific nature of the company’s operations. A manufacturing plant has different obligations from a warehouse, a service company or an organisation that generates waste or uses chemical substances. For this reason, the audit should reflect the actual processes carried out within the organisation rather than follow one fixed checklist.

The review may include, among other areas:

• waste management and the way related obligations are fulfilled,
• air emissions,
• water and wastewater management,
• the use and recording of chemical substances,
• noise-related issues,
• compliance of operations with existing decisions and permits,
• maintenance of required documentation,
• record-keeping and reporting obligations.

An audit makes it possible to assess these areas as one interconnected system. This makes it easier to identify situations where documentation does not reflect actual processes, responsibilities are not clearly assigned or some required activities are carried out irregularly.

The greatest value of an audit lies in knowing what requires action. The company receives a structured overview of its situation and can focus on specific areas of non-compliance instead of reacting only when a problem occurs.

An audit can help to:

• identify gaps in environmental documentation,
• identify non-compliance and areas of risk,
• check whether the company’s obligations reflect its actual operations,
• clarify responsibility for individual processes,
• prepare a list of corrective actions,
• better prepare the organisation for a possible inspection.

Simply identifying an error is not enough. After the analysis, it is important to determine what needs to be corrected, in which area and in what order. This makes it easier to plan corrective actions and reduce organisational confusion, especially when environmental responsibilities are divided between several people or departments.

Environmental obligations often cover several areas at the same time. A company may manage waste correctly while still having gaps in its documentation, reporting duties or required permits and decisions. An environmental audit helps bring these elements together and identify which areas require improvement.

This is not a quality audit or an ISO management system audit. The analysis focuses on the obligations resulting from the company’s operations and their impact on the environment. The purpose of the audit is to identify non-compliance, reduce the risk of problems during inspections and indicate actions that can help organise processes and documentation.

We tailor the scope of the audit to the specific nature of the company’s operations. A manufacturing plant has different obligations from a warehouse, a service company or an organisation that generates waste or uses chemical substances. For this reason, the audit should reflect the actual processes carried out within the organisation rather than follow one fixed checklist.

The review may include, among other areas:

• waste management and the way related obligations are fulfilled,
• air emissions,
• water and wastewater management,
• the use and recording of chemical substances,
• noise-related issues,
• compliance of operations with existing decisions and permits,
• maintenance of required documentation,
• record-keeping and reporting obligations.

An audit makes it possible to assess these areas as one interconnected system. This makes it easier to identify situations where documentation does not reflect actual processes, responsibilities are not clearly assigned or some required activities are carried out irregularly.

The greatest value of an audit lies in knowing what requires action. The company receives a structured overview of its situation and can focus on specific areas of non-compliance instead of reacting only when a problem occurs.

An audit can help to:

• identify gaps in environmental documentation,
• identify non-compliance and areas of risk,
• check whether the company’s obligations reflect its actual operations,
• clarify responsibility for individual processes,
• prepare a list of corrective actions,
• better prepare the organisation for a possible inspection.

Simply identifying an error is not enough. After the analysis, it is important to determine what needs to be corrected, in which area and in what order. This makes it easier to plan corrective actions and reduce organisational confusion, especially when environmental responsibilities are divided between several people or departments.