“Try to leave the earth a better place than when you arrived” – Sidney Sheldon.
Environmental abuse has become a major problem worldwide. India alone faces a range of environmental problems, such as global warming, deforestation, forest fires, and industrialization, quite frequently.
We all know how industrialization and the rise in the number of business ventures have made air and noise pollution an everyday problem. Even though there runs an assumption that industries and business units are operating 100% pollution-free, this is far from true. In fact, it is unbelievable that something like this is even remotely possible!
The need of the hour is to keep such activities under check and ensure that business impact on the environment does not cross the pre-decided limits. It is this activity of overseeing business impact on the environment, which is known as environmental auditing.
Environmental auditing works as both a preventive and curative measure. It is because of environmental auditing that businesses are fearful about crossing environmental limits. Largely, such audits prevent businesses from engaging in activities that can negatively influence the environmental balance.
Having worked extensively in unison with the environment, we, at the Tribhuvan Institute of Environment & Development Sciences, ranked among the leading environmental science colleges in Delhi NCR, understand the ambit of environmental audit and its significance. We believe that the youth, who are our future and are likely to join business units in the future or kick-start their own enterprises, need to be educated about this environmental protection wing. This is something we are trying to deliver through our environmental management programs.
So today, in this article below, let us discuss what exactly an environmental audit is and why it is important for the apt management of the environment. Read on.
Overview of Environmental Audit:
- An environmental audit is an environmental management tool. Often confused with environmental review, environmental audit is independent of the former.
- The purpose of environmental audit is to measure the effect of certain activities on the environment.
- Such a measure is drawn in relation to the pre-set standards and overall environmental criteria.
- Environmental audit is best defined as a systematic, documented, and objective process.
- Such audits are carried out at periodic intervals.
- In other words, an environmental audit is an effective compliance tool that helps authorities preserve the environment while keeping anti-environmental activities under check.
Are There Different Types of Environmental Audits?
Yes, environmental audits are distributed across different subheads. Each of these audits is responsible for taking care of an independent area associated with the environment. However, each one of them bears equal importance.
After getting to know the purpose of environmental audits as a whole, we, at the Tribhuvan Institute of Environment & Development Sciences, recognized among the best environmental science colleges in Delhi NCR, found it necessary to pass on this knowledge to our students. This is why we made it a point to introduce our students to this impactful environmental concept through the different environmental education programs that we offer.
Coming back to the types of environmental audits, there are three of them:
- Environmental Compliance Audit:
As the name suggests, an environmental compliance audit has a lot to do with the compliance aspect that impacts the environment. The objective here is to review the company’s legal compliance status.
Such an audit may be conducted for the business venture as a whole or for a particular site, which is a part of the parent business.
Here, an independent evaluation is conducted of the company’s environmental legal requirements. Post evaluation, the company’s compliance with such requirements is measured. In this case, the business venture needs to attain compliance with the environmental laws, regulations, and related requirements.
Taking into consideration the rising environmental concerns, the scope of compliance directives has been strengthened at the global level.
- Environmental Management Audit:
With environmental concerns on the rise, it has become a prerogative for every business unit to define its environmental performance standards.
The purpose of these standards is to ensure that the company in question is able to abide by such standards and by no means surpasses the same. In the absence of such standards, the company will continue to shoot in the dark.
The core of these standards revolves around aligning business activities with the environment so that the latter is not hampered in any way. Let us say, environmental management audits help companies to carry out a comparative study between where they are standing at any given time and where they were expected to stand. It is with the help of such audits that companies are able to work in harmony with the environment.
- Functional Environmental Audit:
Environmental audits, in general, are widespread activities. This is because the environment comprises multiple elements, which means it is impacted at multiple levels. Auditing only one or two areas will not really offer a complete picture of the real impact.
Thus, it is necessary to overview every individual area that may have a lasting effect. However, it is quite possible that a business venture is lagging in one particular area. For instance, one business unit may not be able to comply with the air quality standards while the other might be disobeying the waste management norms. Such individual audits are what we know as functional environmental audits.
In such cases, individual functions are picked and audited. However, this is one of the most uncommon environmental audits. Usually, such an audit is clubbed with the Environmental Compliance or Environmental Management Audit.
Benefits of Environmental Audits:
The very reason behind conducting environmental audits is the many benefits it brings along. Let us take a quick look at some of these benefits below:
- Reduce Environmental Impact:
It is understood that the environment is at the receiving end due to more than just one problem. While industrialization is one of the leading causes behind the same, its impact cannot be completely eliminated. However, what can be done is to reduce its environmental implications.
For any industry or business unit to realize that they are going against the norms, it is necessary that the norms be pre-defined. Once the norms are in place, it is the responsibility of the concerned venture not to engage in any activity that goes against such norms. In the absence of such benchmarks, a business venture cannot do much.
Even though they might want to support the environment, they will not have the answer to the “How?” Thus, it is clear that one of the major benefits of environmental audit is its ability to preserve the environment.
As a renowned environmental science college in Delhi NCR, we, at the Tribhuvan Institute of Environment & Development Sciences, would like to support every initiative that is in favor of the environment, which is why we have made environmental audits a crucial part of our environmental education programs.
- Set Compliance Standards:
Since environmental audits are made a compulsion, no business unit, big or small, can go without being held accountable for its actions. Many a time, it is possible for business ventures to get carried away and place bottom lines over and above environmental impact. This, in turn, would lead to them making some quick bucks at the cost of the environment.
Environmental audits do away with this vital hurdle. Irrespective of what a business unit thinks or wants, it is mandatory for them to define their compliance standards. Once such standards are defined, they need to be communicated to every person who is a part of the venture. Ultimately, it remains with the management, individual teams, and employees to act in sync with these standards.
- Work in Harmony with the Environment:
Business organizations depend on the environment for more than just one reason. In fact, some of the natural resources, which are on the verge of seeing an end, are being used extensively in commercial ventures.
If such ventures are not stopped in time, they will end up exhausting all the natural resources making life on this planet difficult. This is another crucial area where environmental audits are seen leaving a mark. Here the idea is to make necessary resources available to the venture, however, not at the cost of the environment.
Hence, it is safe to state that environmental audits push organizations to fine-tune their business activities and functions so that they can stay true to their compliance norms and avoid causing damage to the environment.
- Build Faith of Stakeholders:
In today’s date, there is cut-throat competition in the market. This only means that if you want your customers and other stakeholders to stand by you throughout, your focus should be on relationships and faith-building.
21st-century has been extensively about green and sustainable living. Every individual is trying to contribute to the environment in some or the other way possible. The idea is to support and preserve the environment.
Amidst this, if you as a business venture are able to showcase yourself as an environmentally-driven entity, the chances of customers and other stakeholders staying back are brighter. This means that environmental audits are a fantastic way of being transparent with your stakeholders and letting them know about your inclination and drive toward the environment.
- Offer Direction:
When businesses are starting out, there is a lot that they need to take care of. Amidst this, it is possible for them to overlook the environmental impact. Moreover, if there is no scale to hold them accountable, they are likely to miss the bus and cause havoc with the surroundings.
This hurdle is taken care of by environmental audits. Environmental audits prevent businesses from going haywire. Like any other guidelines, environmental compliance norms offer a steadfast direction to business units, which then have no option but to stick along.
Thus, we can confidently state that environmental audits offer a much-needed direction to business units, who, in the long run, will become consciously more responsible.
Environmental Audits – A Must in Today’s Times!
Every day in the news, we come across horrifying facts about how our country is experiencing a loss of biodiversity, is prone to ocean acidification, and of course, climate change that keeps hovering over our heads.
Amidst this, we, the mankind, have no option but to begin taking all the environmental concerns seriously. It is high time we stop delaying our stance with respect to taking care of the environment. We have already reached a point wherein our survival has become dependent on the environment.
Now, if you see, at an individual level, there is a lot that most of us are doing. For instance, reducing carbon footprints has become mandatory. As we all know, vehicles are one of the leading causes behind the rising problem of carbon footprints. To prevent the occurrence of the same, most of us have started walking wherever possible or opted for car-pooling to reduce the impact.
However, the question here is – What action is being taken at an industrial level? We all know that industrialization is impacting the environment extensively. It is quite possible that certain industries are pretending to be environmentally conscious, while, in reality, they may be damaging the environment beyond measure. Thus, it is important to oversee the actions of such entities. Moreover, such ventures need to be offered a framework within which they can operate comfortably. This is something environmental audits bring to the table. The idea is to ensure that businesses work in sync with the environment and not against it.
We, at the Tribhuvan Institute of Environment & Development Sciences, one of the leading environmental science colleges in Delhi NCR, firmly believe there is a growing need to make periodic attempts to sensitize the masses about their actions that may be hampering the environment. This is why we make sure to introduce our pupils to all the varied factors associated with the environment so that they can lead a good life and ensure the same for their future generations. We encourage our students to not keep the knowledge to themselves and spread it to as many people as possible. We help them understand that if we, as a nation, want to grow and keep the environment on our side, we have to put in collective efforts.
It is high time we move beyond the household level and address more serious concerns, such as the impact of industrialization on the environment. Keeping the same in mind, we have made concepts like environmental audits a part of our curriculum. We equip our students to pass on such learning to their family and friends, who may be running a business venture. Moreover, we are preparing students for the future so that whenever they decide to own a business or put their first steps in the direction of establishing an industry, they will recollect their responsibility to the environment and make sure that they abide by the environmental audits.
All in all, Environmental Audits are necessary and cannot be overlooked. Period.