Environmental Audits and Why to Conduct Them?

An environmental audit systematically assesses an organization’s environmental practices and procedures. The audit helps determine their environmental performance and compliance with essential environmental regulations. It is also necessary to comply with ISO 14001 certification if an Environmental Management System (EMS) is implemented according to ISO 14001 requirements.

6 Benefits of Conducting Environmental Audit

While maintaining compliance with environmental regulations is the first benefit of performing environmental audits, there are many more, including:

Audits help avoid fines or penalties by regulatory agencies after finding any noncompliance in your business.
They increase the awareness about environmental management across the organization’s employees and encourage them to follow environmental practices.
They help the management team of your business to identify any new regulations or reforms regarding environmental management.
Environmental audits help improve the relationship with stakeholders by demonstrating that your business complies with necessary regulations and is socially responsible.
They also help identify the areas/activities in the business that can be modified to improve further environmental performance, such as the use of renewable resources, conservation of water, etc.
They reduce the operating costs of your business by identifying areas for reducing waste, minimizing the use of electricity or fuels, and reusing resources.

Key Takeaway

Environmental audits must be an elementary part of your organization’s environmental management program, especially after achieving the ISO certification. They must be performed frequently to uncover your EMS’s weak points, issues, and non-conformities.

Hence, you can take the necessary fixations and improve your environmental performance. For this reason, audits are considered a valuable improvement tool for a business.