Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
Level 5
Internal Audits of an EMS
Unit 6
Auditing the EMS


Once a company has its EMS in place and operational, procedures written and implemented and personnel trained, it can start to undertake internal audits. First party or internal audits are generally carried out by personnel working for the company who have been trained in auditing techniques and ideally also trained in environmental issues.

An internal audit of the EMS involves a systematic inspection and comparison of actual operating methods with the written procedures that make up the EMS. The audits should:

In some cases, companies employ a qualified external auditor to undertake their internal audits. This is generally due to a lack of resources and skills within the company itself.

With an informal or in-house system that has not been implemented to meet any standard requirements, the company can set its own requirements for auditing, or they may elect not to audit system.

An EMS should be operated and have undergone internal auditing for a minimum of three months before the company submits itself to an external audit against the requirements of ISO 14001 or EMAS. This is to enable the company to get used to operating the EMS, for internal auditors to get used to auditing, and for the EMS to start generating records that an external auditor can check. The three months is a guidance and if the organisation does not feel ready for an external certification audit, they should carrying on operating the EMS until they do feel ready. On the other hand, the company should aim to have an external audit as soon as possible after the three month period because if there are any non-conformities with the system, it would be more efficient to put them right sooner rather than later.

Definitions of an audit:

A systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine the reliability of an assertion with regard to environmental aspects of activities, events and conditions as to how they measure to established criteria, and communicating the results to the client. (ISO 14011)

A management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well environmental organisation, management and equipment are performing with the aim of safeguarding the environment by (i) facilitating management control of environmental practices, and (ii) assessing compliance with company policies, which include meeting regulatory requirements. (International Chamber of Commerce)