diary/24.10.91
Automated Group Learning
AGL 21 - BASICS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING
FOR THE BUSINESS MANAGER
Unit 1 -Introduction to environmental auditing
Unit 2 -Establishing an environmental auditing programme
Unit 3 -Conducting the environmental audit
Unit 4 -Introducing environmental auditing into the organization
PARTICIPANT MANUAL
"A pre-audit training experience to ensure
that environmental auditing is both efficient and effective"
Further information may be obtained from:
Dr. R.G.A. Boland
Chemin Garenne
Moens 01280, France
Tele: 33-50-40-74-70
Fax: (Suisse) (41) 22-791-0746
(addressed to Dr. C. d'Arcangues)
Mr. Colin Sutherland,
76 Allee Graviers de la Salmouille,
91190, Gif-Sur-Yvette (Near Paris), France.
Tel. 33-1-60-12-23-37
Fax. 33-1-46-24-87-14
Copyright - AGL Int. Est 1991/2
CONTENTS
ItemPage No.
Introduction 3
Learner background data 7
Summary - Unit 1 9
Summary - Unit 2 20
Summary - Unit 3 29
Summary - Unit 4 38
Quiz answer sheets 48
Feedback summary 52
Action plan ideas 55
Glossary 56
Exercises 78
1. - INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAMME
Summary Issues:
a.Annual external environmental auditing (EA) is a necessary step to achieve ESID (Ecologically sustainable industrial development) which has become an international political priority for the 1990's.
b.EA can be gently introduced into a company, both as a cost effective management tool and to achieve public/market recognition as an "ERC" (Environmentally Responsible Company). The need for EA may also apply to non-industrial companies, agricultural, government and military organizations.
c.There are many alternative conceptions and misconceptions of EA, in relation to environment, management and professional auditing. There are definite advantages for EA but many barriers to it's introduction.
d.A step by step approach to EA is suggested, involving:
Base -Sign the "Business Charter", improve internal environmental controls and start EA training for managers as an ERC.
Step 1 -Publish the major environmental emissions and impacts (quarterly, with careful positive PR).
Step 2 - Motivate cost-effective waste audits
Step 3 - Introduce environmental management audit.
Step 4 -Introduce annual external environmental audit (EA) with published reporting.
Make all steps consistent with corporate objectives of profitability, growth and survival in the highly competitive and increasingly regulated markets.
e.The whole process of introducing EA may take up to three years and will necessarily require management training of a critical mass of managers on the basics of EA. Such awareness training needs to be practical and participative (learning by doing), covering new knowledge, skills and attitudes.
f.EA is justified as a critical management tool for many reasons including: market access and protection, pollution prevention rather than control, legal compliance, competitive eco-products and processes, improved management and organization, reduction of insurance risk profile and overall a better quality of data for senior management. It is suggested that in industry, the environmental leaders are usually more competitive than the followers.
g.In 1991 the EEC will establish a body (The European Federation of Environmental Auditing) which will be responsible for the rules certifying environmental auditors, harmonising the codes of practice for environmental auditors, and organising courses in environmental auditing.
h.EA provides an opportunity to achieve a quality of environmental management concern that is profitable both for Industry and for Society as a whole.
1.Objectives of the Programme
The learning objectives for the four units are:
a.To introduce and use the language and concepts of environmental auditing.
b.To demonstrate environmental auditing as a new management tool for the profitability, growth and survival of the business.
c.To assess the influence of the External Environmental Audit on the business enterprise in terms of: marketing, production, purchasing, R&D, finance, organisation and strategic planning.
d.To relate business objectives to current environmental issues at local, national and international level.
e.To plan the stages for gently introducing EA into an organization efficiently and effectively.
f.To motivate further study in the future.
2.General Timetable for Each Unit
AssignmentActivityMinutes
Introduction MG/SG 20
Quiz/Minicase/Exercise IND 30
Study SG/MG 60
Case IND/SG 30
Case CSG 30
Case MG/CSG 30
Minicase/Exercise SG 20
Review/quiz IND/SG 20
TOTAL TIME (minutes) 240
Note:
IND (individual work)
SG (small group)
CSG (combined small group)
MG (main group)
3.Recommended Readings:
Text:Environmental Auditing (Guidlines for South African Managers or ICC Paris, France).
Article:The Case for EA (Boland & Sutherland).
Booklet:Transforming Technology - An Agenda for Environmentally Sustainable Growth in the 21st Century, Heaton, George et alia. 1990. World Resources Institute, 1709, New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA.
Booklet:The Challenge of the Nineties: Integrated Environmental Management Applied to Business and Government (Winter, George et alia), Winter, George et alia, 1991 INEM (International Network for Environmental Management), Helgrund 92 D-2000, Wedel/Holstein, Hamburg, Germany.
Booklet:Integrated Environmental Management in South Africa, 1990. Council for the Environment.
4.Other Relevant Readings
Environmental Auditing in Cleaner Production Strategies - Invitational Expert seminar, Sweden, 1991. UNEP/IEO, Tour Mirabeau, 39 Quai Andre Citroen, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Audit Reduction Manual for Industrial Emissions and Wastes - Technical Report Series No. 7 1990. UNEP/IEO, Tour Mirabeau, 39 Quai Andre Citroen, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Environmental Auditing - Technical Report Series No. 2 1990. UNEP/IEO, Tour Mirabeau, 39 Quai Andre Citroen, 75739 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Coles, Tim. Emerging Standards in Environmental Auditing, 1990, Institute of Environmental Auditing, Holbeck Manor, Horncastle, Lincs. LN9 6PU, UK.
Environmental Audits (Government Institutes, Maryland, USA).
Environmental Auditing (Arthur D. Little, Mass., USA).
Your Business and the Environment (Bus. Envt, London, UK)
Narrowing the Gap - Environmental Auditing Guidelines for Business. (CBI, London, UK)
LEARNER BACKGROUND DATA
PART I - BASIC DATA:
Date and location:
Name:
Organization:
PART II - PREVIOUS BACKGROUND:
Please write 1-4 lines on your relevant training and experience in EA.
PART III - OBJECTIVES
Please complete the attached sheet: "Learner Objective Setting".
List below the AGL objectives (1-5), taken from the Introduction; add one more personal objective (6). Then set them in the order (1-6) of your priorities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. To motivate further study in the future.
6. (add)
PART IV - LEARNING CONTRACT
Do you now feel able to make a firm commitment to achieve these objectives by following completely all the steps and activities required for the programme? If so, would you please sign this formal learning contract:
______
managerdatetraining adviser
LEARNER OBJECTIVE SETTING
(Part III)
1.How do you really feel about environmental issues? How does your Company feel?
2.Briefly, what is your present working knowledge of EA?
3.Briefly describe a situation you faced in the last six months which involved the subject area. How did it arise? What did you do? What was the result? What did you feel?
4.Can you now list (below) 20 EA technical terms, that you want to learn about?
5.Can you now identify two very specific things that you could hope to gain from this programme?
SUMMARY - UNIT - 1
Subject: Introduction to environmental auditing (EA)
Key points learned:
Key questions arising:
Key ideas for action plan:
Learning reactions:
UNIT 1 - STUDY
Introduction to Environment Auditing
The following notes have been prepared to assist in presenting and discussing the aspects in unit 1.
1.Background
a.Environmental audit can be seen as a one of society's reactions to general issues of:
-greater awareness of:pollution prevention/control
product safety
occupational health
protection of natural resources
environmental surveillance
resource limitations
-greater emphasis on accountability for actions and resources
b.Reaction to the demands have been
-introduction by the authorities of new regulations and laws
-greater business attention to environmental issues exemplified by changes in product design, materials, production process, content and packaging
-greater effort in work safety, health and welfare
-more interest generally by public in green issues
c.Environmental issues have moved on from mere pollution control of air, water and land, towards cleaner production, no-waste technology and above all the management of resources for sustainable development (so far as we can forecast at this time!!).
d.With increasing publicity for environmental issues at local, national and international levels, corporate environmental policies need priority for waste "prevention" rather than "cure".
e.The old PPP slogan ("Pollution Prevention Pays") was not always true. The new PPP slogan ("Polluter Party Pays") is becoming an economic reality.
f.Thus, corporate managements needs assurance that that they are informed on the position and obligations of the organisation, and that operations:
1.are in compliance with laws and policies
2.do achieve commonly accepted environmental standards
3.have the flexibility to adapt quickly to new situations.
2.Environmental Laws and Regulations:
a.Environmental regulations on industry are becoming increasingly complex at a local, national and international level.
b.EEC directives on environment, health and safety have become tougher than national legislation.
c.In 1990/1 the EEC is moving towards mandatory environmental standards for some specific types of industry and business.
3.Environmental Management
a.Business is often unfairly blamed for poor environmental management when environmental damage which may well be caused by: agriculture, population, poverty or natural forces.
b.Environmental management has many conflicting definitions and it is used by many parties with hidden agendas to achieve quite diverse objectives.
c.For the manager, the parties concerned with environmental management include: shareholders, financial agencies, business staff and workers, insurers, community, government, EEC, NGO's, international organizations etc.
d.Corporate efficiency is now highly dependent upon being informed about it's activities that affect all such parties. This can best be achieved with AEEA (annual external environmental audit).
4.Environmental Auditing (EA)
a.Some forms of EA (Exhibit A) have been practised in USA/Canada since the 1970's, under a variety of names: environmental assessment, health and safety audit, risk assessment, management audit, compliance audit, supplier audit, energy audit, etc.
b.EA is a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well the enterprises's environmental organisation, management and technology are safeguarding the environment by:
1.Management controls and MIS
2.Compliance with corporate policy and external regulations
3.Reducing the risk of environmental damage
c.Like internal management auditing, EA seeks to be a service to Top Management that is: positive, creative and profitable for the enterprise by increased efficiency of operations at all levels and reduction of financial risk. Thus, mere "compliance" is not enough.
d.The key performance criteria for EA are: management control, compliance improvement, efficiency and risk deduction.
e.An EMA (environmental management audit) is a limited first audit covering management control and MIS for environmental management (Exhibit B). It deals with environmental policies, standard setting, accountability, organization, communication, disaster planning etc. It does not attempt to test the activity/records to assess compliance of the systems to standards.
f.By contrast a full EA (environmental audit) covers both EMA and compliance. Thus a business may decide to initiate EMA in 1991 and full EA from 1992 onwards.
5.EA Background Factors
a.Initial justification for EA may be for such diverse reasons as: understanding new complex environmental regulations, planning for new pollution control investment, reviewing previous EIA's responding to public or customer pressures, need to reducing management conflicts, assessing or minimizing major new risks, fear of new "green (PPP) taxes", need for top management to be "fully informed on environmental risks", improving disaster planning, becoming a member of BAUM type organisation, etc.
b.EA can be effective with the following pre-requisites: commitment of senior management, objective environmental standards, positive environmental attitudes of "openness" within the organisation and the community, professional audit teams, clear corporate environmental policies, on-going environmental monitoring by the enterprise, commitment to follow-up and systematic EA routines. Objective environmental standards are most critical.
6.EA Routines
a.EA Routines must ensure EA is a "cost-effective" activity which gives positive help to operating management, not a negative "policing function".
b.For small enterprises EA routines must be simple; for larger complex enterprises EA routines (like internal auditing) must be adapted to achieve objectives and yet be "cost effective".
c.Four levels of EA routines are: pre-audit, field work, reporting and follow up (Exhibit A).
d.Pre-audit key issues are: research into the corporate background, community reactions, setting of relevant standards and legislation, review of previous audit work papers, design of an appropriate audit programme to cover the "material" risk areas in a positive way.
e.Field work key issues are: presenting the work as positive contribution to operating managers; independent testing, development of alternatives for both improved compliance and efficiency; identification of current and future major risks.
f.Reporting work key issues are: working with operating management for a useful "action plan"; emphasising "materiality" not minor defaults; creative ideas for improved efficiency.
g.Follow up work key issues are: showing concern that the action plan is achieved; further site visits as appropriate.
6.EA Results
a.Top management becomes well informed on "material" environmental management issues as they effect enterprise performance.
b.Operating managers become involved at every level in the organisation, managers and staff develop a positive and creative approach to environmental issues which become "acceptable" rather than "un-acceptable" information.
c.Environmental performance is part of the normal reward and punishment systems of the enterprise.
d.The movement towards "no-waste production" is perceived as a criteria for operating efficiency and profitability.
e.Environmental auditing adds value to the core business activity.
7.EA Benefits
a.Benefits can include:
-Facilitating comparisons between operations or plants
-Increasing employees awareness of environmental policies and responsibilities
-Identifying potential cost-savings from waste
-Providing and information base for emergencies
-Enabling management to give credit for good environmental performance, and
-Improved trade union relations through better employee welfare.
b.EA in merger situations provides awareness of critical environment issues which may effect value e.g. polluted land
8.EA Problems
a.Some enterprises perceive EA as a highly technical and costly activity with little positive benefit to the efficiency of the business. In reality it can be highly cost-effective.
b.Some enterprises fear EA because much environmental impact data is traditionally kept confidential; "open-ness" is not perceived as good business policy and in the organisation environmental secrecy is rewarded more than environmental creativity.