Environmental Audits

An Environmental Audit is a systematic, documented, periodic, and objective process to assess an organization’s environmental performance. It evaluates how well environmental responsibilities are being met and helps ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Environmental audits are essential tools for sustainable management. They help organizations move beyond compliance toward environmental excellence by identifying areas of improvement, reducing resource consumption, and ensuring a proactive approach to environmental responsibility.

Objectives of Environmental Audits, Types of Environmental Audits, Environmental Management Audit, Key Components of, an Environmental Audit, Benefits of Environmental Audits.

Standards and Guidelines

ISO 14010/14011/14012: Guidelines for environmental auditing.

ISO 19011: Guidelines for auditing management systems.

ISO 14001: Environmental Management System standard (often audited against).

National regulations: Such as India’s EIA Notification (2006), EPA requirements, etc.