Environmental Audit

More about Environmental Audit

Environmental Audit Training

The ISO 14000 family provides businesses with an international standard of environmental audit practices, which benefits the sustainability of their projects and consolidates environmental best practice.

Business around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the need for environmental management and corporate social responsibility. In order to fulfill these needs, there is an environmental audit framework that helps businesses achieve their environmental goals through operational control. The requirements of an effective EMS are specified in the ISO 14001 standard and state that the system should allow any organisation to:

• pinpoint and control the environmental consequences of its activities, products or services
• continuously improve its environmental performance
• take a systematic approach to setting and achieving environmental targets

The goal of performing internal audits against this standard is to assess whether the desired goals are being met and, if not, to implement appropriate corrective action. It is important to note that environmental goals, as interpreted in the ISO 14000 family, also include issues related to occupational health and safety.

Environmental Audit: Internal Auditors and Lead Internal Auditors

Though organisations looking to implement ISO 14001 or similar standards will aim to achieve certification by an independent certification body, most large publicly limited companies (PLCs) will also have an internal auditing department that will regularly perform audits against current standards. These will generally be headed by an executive-level senior auditor, sometimes referred to as Chief Audit Executive (CAE), and comprise a number of lead internal auditors managing small teams of more junior internal auditors. As a result, professional development courses in environmental compliance and environmental audit will target either internal auditors or lead internal auditors, with programmes for the latter covering topics at a more advanced level.

Industry Focus of Environmental Audit

The entire energy sector is under the spotlight when it comes to verifying environmental compliance, with the oil and gas sector being of particular interest. Starting from resource exploration and production to downstream operations, industry activities need to be supervised and aligned with the corresponding ISO standards. Many environmental audit courses developed specifically for oil and gas professionals will therefore include one or more modules dedicated entirely to the particular environmental concerns encountered in an oil and gas context.

By adopting the international standards for quality assurance and environmental protection, important corporate entities and national actors involved in the oil and gas industry contribute to building and consolidating an environmentally considerate framework of drilling operations.

Environmental Audit Course Format

Environmental audit courses can be found all over the UK in the form of classroom, online, or in-house training to suit the needs of every professional.

Classroom

A classroom course will take place at a designed time and location. This is a great option for the individual who wants to take training into their own hands or a small business who just needs to have a few employees trained.

In-house

If you are an organization with a large number of employees who need training, in-house training might be for you. Search through courses for a trainer who can bring expert in-house training to you and your employees.

Online

Online training is an option for those who favor flexibility. Individuals can participate in the course at their own pace and on their own time.