Environmental Auditing: Concepts, Methods and Developments

Abstract:     
Environmental auditing is most frequently thought of as an environmental management tool employed by businesses to facilitate better management of their environmental performance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the origins and development of environmental auditing as a key management technique and as a self regulatory tool thought to have emerged in response to greater public and business awareness of environmental issues. Although environmental auditing is not precisely defined, a growing consensus around a broad group of criteria suggests that a number of audit types fall under the umbrella term. Conversely some activities exist which are inappropriately referred to as environmental audits. Some voluntary environmental codes specifically mention environmental auditing but these codes appear to be undersupported by businesses and seem to lack credibility. Ensuring the credibility of environmental audits with interested stakeholders may be assisted by external independent assessment of the process. Environmental auditing uniqueness appears to arise from the breadth of subjects covered in the process, the range of measurements and different types of data collected and the skills required to undertake an environmental audit, rather than the techniques employed.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 15

Keywords: environmental auditing, environmental management systems, environmental issues, environmental codes, standards, business, ISO 14001, EMAS, stakeholders, financial auditors

Accepted Paper Series