Environmental Auditing

Environmental auditing is a systematic, documented, and objective assessment of an organisation’s processes and operations, designed to evaluate performance against environmental laws, internal policies, and recognised standards like ISO 14001. It is India's mandated tool since the early 1990s for industries and institutions to reinforce regulatory compliance and environmental accountability.

These audits help businesses proactively identify operational gaps, minimise regulatory risk, and contribute to environmentally responsible growth.

Objectives

Verify compliance with environmental laws, permits, and CPCB/TNPCB standards
Benchmark performance using internal and national best-practice norms
Identify inefficiencies, waste, or pollution risk and recommend corrective action
Strengthen environmental governance and stakeholder confidence
Prepare groundwork for EMS/ISO 14001 certification or ESG reporting initiatives

Types of Environmental Audits

Compliance Audit

Most comprehensive; evaluates conformity with environmental laws across air, water, waste, and noise regulations.

Management Audit

Assesses environmental management systems and policy implementation, as per ISO 14001.

Functional Audit

Focuses on specific areas such as wastewater, air emissions or solid waste management.

Documents Required

Site layout/floor plans
Environmental permits and mandatory returns
SOPs for waste, spill management, pollution control, and emergency response
Environmental policy and operational metrics
Training & competency records
Incident and compliance history logs
Utility and resource consumption data

Audit Procedure & Phases

Pre-Audit Phase

Assemble a multidisciplinary audit team.
Develop an audit plan and scope.
Review documents: permits, prior audit findings, incident registers, SOPs.
Identify likely violation clusters and information requirements.

Audit Phase

Field inspection of infrastructure, processes, and pollution control systems.
Review monitoring data, training records, and emergency protocols.
Interviews with EHS, operations, and maintenance personnel.
Collect samples or conduct noise/stack testing if needed.
Hold a closing meeting to discuss findings.

Post-Audit Phase

Prepare Environmental Audit Report & Violation Disclosure Table.
Highlight non-conformities with corrective action plan.
Support tracking & verification of remediation progress.

Additional Information

Indian law mandates audit for key industries since the 1990s; it forms part of legal compliance under the EPA, 1986, and CPCB/SPCB requirements
Environmental audits underpin ISO 14001 certifications, using Plan–Do–Check–Act cycles
It supports ESG and sustainability goals, reinforces stakeholder trust, and can generate operational cost savings

How Neeyal EnviroSolutions Assists You

End-to-End Audit Management

Scope definition, scheduling, and team assignment.

Pre-Audit Planning & Documentation

Gather permits, SOPs, and pollution monitoring data.

On-Site Field Assessment

Infrastructure audit, policy review, stakeholder interviews.

Audit Reporting & Violation Matrix

Detailed audit report, disclosure register, and corrective action matrix.

Follow-Up & Remediation Support

Assist in compliance updates, retrofitting, and certification readiness.

Training & SOP Development

Staff awareness, EHS training, and internal compliance SOP drafting.

ISO 14001 Readiness & ESG Support

Gap assessment, EMS alignment, stakeholder impact reporting.