Companies which comply with ISO 14001 or EMAS are able to gain certification from an independent organisation. In the UK, companies and individuals who wish to carry out these certifications must first be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

UKAS is recognised by the British Government as the UK national body responsible for assessing and accrediting the competence of organisations in the fields of measurement, testing, inspection and certification of systems, products and personnel. Companies and individuals who want to perform third party EMS audits must demonstrate to UKAS that they have the necessary qualifications, training and experience. Many of the accredited organisations or individuals will be accredited to issue certificates of compliance for ISO 14001 and EMAS.

A list of accredited EMAS auditors is also available from the EMAS competent body background="/envENVMAN5/course/images/back/back.jpg's official EU EMAS HelpDesk - www.emas.lu/

A company can select an accredited certification body during the implementation phase. Selecting at this stage gives a company more time to find out what the certification process will involve. Certification bodies are also extremely busy, so booking early means the company can schedule the certification at a time that is more suitable to them. Companies often select the same organisation that certifies their quality system to certify their EMS. This gives companies the option of combining quality and environmental surveillance audits in the future, thereby saving money.

Accredited Certification Bodies for EMS:
Aspects Certification Services Ltd
ASTA Certification Services
BM TRADA Certification Ltd
British Approvals Service for Cables
BSI Quality Assurance
Bureau Veritas Quality International Ltd
Central Certification Service Ltd
CQA Limited
Det Norske Veritas Quality Assurance Ltd
Electricity Association Quality Assurance Ltd
ERM Certification & Verification Svcs Limited
Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Ltd
National Quality Assurance Ltd
SGS Yarsley Int Certification Svcs Ltd
SIRA Certification Service
United Registrar of Systems Ltd
Vehicle Certification Agency

Some of the above companies are also certification bodies for quality management systems. Others have never formally taken a company through the certification process. Selecting a certification body background=/envENVMAN5/course/images/back/back.jpg is done in the same way a company would select any other contractor through research and references from companies who had used their services, and by asking for details about the auditor that would actually undertake the audit does he/she have relevant experience of the industry?, have they performed any previous certifications? and how many?.

Once the external auditor has been selected, it is important to ensure that all the aspects of the EMS are in place before an external audit can begin. All managers and personnel should be told that an external audit will be taking place and that all departmental managers should be available for questioning if required. The Management Representative should act as the host and ensure that a room/office is available for the auditor to use and that arrangements for lunch and refreshments are in place.