There are three main types of environmental audits that a company may conduct. These are as follows:
Environmental compliance
Environmental Management System (EMS) audits
Functional environmental audits
Environmental Compliance Audits
Environmental compliance audits, as the name suggests, determines whether the business entity is compliant regarding those particular pollution control devices and pollution control measures which were delineated during the issuance of the State/ Central Pollution Control Certificate.
Every manufacturing activity is required to get a certificate from State Pollution Control Board. When a Pollution Certificate is issued, the requirements of pollution control device & other pollution control measures are mentioned in the Pollution Board Certificate. The focus of the environmental compliance audit is to ascertain whether the business entity is following all or most of the parameters as mentioned in the Pollution Board Certificate. Other Pollution Board certificate such as Environment Impact Assessment – Environment Clearance (EIA-EC) also includes the conditions which are required to be fulfil during the operation of a particular manufacturing/infrastructure/mining activity.
Environmental Management System (EMS) audits
The Environmental Management System (EMS) Audits is an audit process in which the EMS of an organization, engaged in manufacturing, infrastructure development or mining, is evaluated to ascertain whether the system is effective enough to maintain the benchmark performance of the pollution control devices and other pollution control measures. The EMS Audit is conducted as per the guidelines of Clause 9 of the ISO 14001:2015. This performance is done to ensure:
That the Environmental Management System is proving effective in monitoring & controlling the air, water & noise pollution.
The EMS is properly inspected in terms of its expected performance standards.
The evaluation of objective of the EMS and its targets is undertaken.
To identify new targets or opportunities.
Ascertaining whether the EMS is fulfilling the organizational, stakeholder and legal requirements.
Periodic Review of the EMS for its perpetual suitability, adequacy and effectiveness.
To ensure continual improvement in a particular EMS.
Functional Environmental Audits
Functional Environmental Audit is a process under which specific compliance conditions are monitored and inspected for adherence to the Pollution Control Board Guidelines. For example, if an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) or a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is installed as a pollution control device to check water pollution, then the functional environmental audit would be focused on whether the treated water from the outlet of the ETP or STP satisfies the limits of concentration of hazardous materials in the treated water, if it is found to be wanting on these parameters, then the functional environmental audit would suggest the measures to be taken to mend this leakage of pollutants in the water body.
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