我国环境审计面临的问题及解决对策

环境审计是规范企业环境行为、提高企业环境意识的重要手段。由于我国环境审计刚刚起步,在审计理论与实践中还存在参与主体不够全面,缺少法规、制度的支持,审计范围狭窄等不足之处。从环境审计的基本问题入手,通过分析和总结我国环境审计存在的问题,提出扩大环境审计主体、完善环境保护法规体系、拓宽环境审计的范围、建立环境审计后续跟踪制度等适合中国国情的环境审计策略。     

Environmental auditing at the crossroads: The environmental auditing roundtable's response to ISO 14000

The Environmental Auditing Roundtable (EAR) is the single largest professional organization in the world, representing over 900 members. Built on a tradition of promoting environmental auditing through openly sharing experiences in the field of safety, health, and environmental auditing, the organization in recent years has significantly expanded its influence on auditing practices both nationally and internationally by monitoring audit activities and participating in the development of audit policy, regulation, standardization, and the certification of environmental auditors. This article describes the origin and evolution of the organization from meeting the needs of the membership to addressing the needs of external national and international stakeholders.     

The potential effect of ISO 14000 standards on environmental audit training in the United States

Training has been an important component of the environmental audit profession since its outset some 15–20 years ago. Training and education have taken on a variety of forms—from audit texts and articles, to formal courses, to videotapes, to on-the-job training programs. These efforts have helped to advance the sophistication of environmental auditing over the past few years. Now, with the advent of the international ISO 14012 Environmental Auditor Qualification Guidelines,¹ the auditing profession in the United States and around the world likely will be transformed in the near future. In fact, many organizations are now reengineering their programs in anticipation of the emerging Guidelines. The expected transformation holds for training and education programs as well. This article suggests some of the ways in which environmental audit training is likely to be reshaped as a result of ISO 14012. Offerors of training courses and seminars would be wise to anticipate the changes and modify their programs accordingly. A quick response could provide a competitive advantage. Moreover, corporate audit program managers should conduct critical evaluations of commercial offerings to assure that the programs' contents are consistent with ISO 14012 “auditor certification” expectations.     

Registrars,Accreditation, and ISO 14001

The International Standardization Organization (ISO) will be publishing the first international environmental management system standard: ISO 14001. The ultimate impact of this standard is subject to heated debate throughout the industrial and environmental communities. This article focuses on one aspect of the standard: the process of certification/registration. ISO 14001 is a voluntary initiative. Companies will need to decide for themselves whether or not to pursue certification. As indicated in Section 1 of ISO 14001, ?This International Standard is applicable to any organization that wishes to

• a) implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system;
• b) assure itself of its conformance with its stated environmental policy;
• c) demonstrate such conformance to others;
• d) seek certification/registration of its environmental management system by an external organization;
• e) make a self determination and declaration of conformance with the standard.”?

As the introduction to ISO 14001 makes clear, ?the specification contains only those requirements that may be objectively audited for certification/registration and/or self declaration purposes.”? Any additional ?guidance…will be contained in other international standards.”? To avoid confusion, these other international standards tend to be called ?guidelines”?. Of particular interest to those associated with the certification and registration of systems to ISO 14001 are the three guidelines for environmental auditing. Officially these are referred to as:

• ISO 14010 - Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - General Principles,
• ISO 14011 - Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Audit Procedures - Auditing of Environmental Management Systems, and
• ISO 14012 - Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Qualification Criteria for Environmental Auditors.

     

“十四五”生态环境保护国际合作思路与实施路径探讨

生态环境国际合作是构建人类命运共同体建设的重要内容。"十三五"时期,我国在推动生态文明建设取得显著成效的同时,生态环境保护国际合作取得积极进展。本文在分析生态环境保护国际合作现状、不足以及面临新形势的基础上,提出坚持底线思维,突出重点,精准对接,以我为主、以外促内等合作原则,建议"十四五"时期加强战略规划和引领,提升生态环境国际合作的地位和作用,以建设性姿态参与全球环境治理,努力实现国内环境治理、全球环境治理以及全球治理良性互动,提升生态环境国际合作在服务国家总体发展战略中的地位和水平。并为此提出五大重点举措:即打造绿色"一带一路"成为区域环境合作的平台高地;更具建设性加强我与周边国家双边及多边环境合作;坚决维护多边主义的立场,主动参与全球环境治理体系变革;助力擦亮绿色底色,全力支撑服务打赢污染防治攻坚战;加快能力建设形成生态环境国际合作与交流的大格局。     

Better environmental future in Europe through environmental auditing?

environmental auditing must be rejected if the aim is to make companies introduce a specific management concept. Rather, it is preferable to leave the search for effective environmental protection strategies to the competitive system, especially since the criteria for environment-oriented management in the European Community audit proposal are without substance. Environmental auditing can, however, assume a complementary function in the framework of an overall environmental policy if it is designed as an information tool with which companies provide information on the development of environmental problems deriving from their manufacturing processes and products. However, the model required to establish a framework of quantity and evaluation criteria is not available. Further, auditing does not cover products. Similarly, there are no proposals defining the evaluation procedure for ecological resource scarcity. Thus, the attempt of the Commission of the European Communities to create the elementary prerequisites for consistent and verifiable environmental auditing in the corporate sector has failed.     

国际环境法对我国环境保护的启示

介绍了国际环境法的内涵、基本原则和发展过程,报告了我国环境保护法律体系立法趋于逐渐完善但滞后性明显的现状,从立法和执法的角度分析了我国现阶段环境保护法存在执行不利的问题,建议以推进国际环境法的实施和完善为契机,制定明细的配套法规,强化执法力度;加强各行政机关间的交流与合作,统筹应对复杂的环保形势;发达地区扶持不发达地区发展环保事业,推进我国环保事业的进步。     

Sub-national level of participation in international environmental cooperation: the role of Shiga Prefecture for Lake Biwa environment in Japan

From a state-centric view, sub-national level of participation at the international level can be only feasible if it is an active part of national policy. In the case of Shiga prefectural government's initiative for international lake-environmental cooperation, however, sub-national actors came to see themselves as direct players in the absence of national policy. This study examines under what conditions and in what ways such sub-national level of participation takes place by conducting a case study of Shiga's collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) over lake-environment risk reduction. The article finds that the process of Shiga's participation in transnational governance will have less chance of being duplicated effectively in other Japanese sub-national governments. Shiga's cooperation with the UNEP was primarily driven by the ad hoc bottom-up political mobilisation of the sub-national actors. In general, without institutionalised channels for sub-national governments to participate in the regional/international level, sub-national governments need to mobilise resources on such an ad hoc basis and only pioneering sub-national actors are capable of effectively engaged on unfamiliar territory with the formation process of transnational governance.     

高质量绿色发展形势下环境统计的问题与建议

环境统计是环境保护的一项重要基础性工作。推动我国经济实现高质量绿色发展,更需要调整和建立新的环境统计指标体系,科学衡量中国经济增长的质量,评判中国经济增长的短板。本文在回顾国内外环境统计发展历程的基础上,针对当前高质量绿色发展形势,分析了环境统计工作中存在的统筹制度缺乏、统计指标不完善、统计数据质量不高、统计体系法律法规不健全等问题。最后从完善环境统计方法体系、建立监测统计数据收集和审核机制、建立和完善环境投资统计体系三方面提出有针对性的对策与建议。本文可为完善我国环境统计制度和政策、提高环境统计科学准确性提供决策支持,为推动我国经济向高质量绿色化发展奠定坚实基础。