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.     

Using EH&S management systems to improve corporate profits

An environmental management system (EMS) approach can improve overall corporate performance and demonstrate this improvement to top management in “dollars and cents” language. This article illustrates the importance of a financial management approach to justify investments in environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) excellence. It also describes in detail the elements of the EH&S management assessment and improvement process.     

Systems vs. metasystems: EMIS at the crossroads

As environmental management responsibilities expand beyond regulations to address business issues such as design for the environment, total cost accounting, and strategic planning, it is tempting to plan for expanded information systems (EMIS) to handle new responsibilities. The author argues that we should pursue exactly the opposite course: shrink the EMIS to the minimum size possible. It would be impossible to feed the self-standing EMIS with all the data it needs—replicas of almost any data tracked by the organization. The EMS and EMIS should be “meta-systems” that store the organization's knowledge about how EH&S relates to various business processes, and what should be measured and reported to assure that EH&S objectives are met. The author provides examples of how companies are creating these EMS “metasystems” by leveraging enterprise systems implemented for accounting, business planning, groupware, maintenance, and process control.     

Investor attitudes toward the value of corporate environmentalism: New survey findings

During the past several years, an increasing body of evidence and opinion has formed concerning the relationships between advancements in environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) management and the financial performance of the organization. In recent work,¹ we have described a new theoretical model linking improvements in environmental management systems and environmental performance to corporate risk, stock volatility, and market value, as well as an empirical evaluation that validated our model. A number of other studies² have documented changes in the market value of corporate equity as a function of environmental accidents, incidents, and (conversely) accomplishments. These are in addition to the numerous examples presented in the literature and at EH&S conferences and symposia that suggest that concerted efforts to reduce the organization's environmental “footprint” can yield cost savings, increased market share, reduced time to market, and perhaps other financial benefits. Some have gone so far as to proclaim that a new era has begun, in which environment-friendly corporations will increasingly be recognized and rewarded by financial market participants, and organizations that lag behind will be severely penalized.³ This article documents a new survey undertaken to identify important environmental factors, if any, investors employ in evaluating the quality and worth of equity and debt financing instruments.     

The environmental auditing privilege debate: Disclosure,compliance, and legislative issues

This article discusses the primary arguments advanced in the debate in favor of and against the adoption of a qualified privilege to protect audit findings and explores various alternative incentives for promoting the practice of environmental health and safety auditing and for encouraging voluntary disclosure of audit findings to the regulators. This article also examines whether establishing a privilege provides the greatest motivation to auditing and disclosure, particularly in the context of EPA's recent reevaluation of its policy on auditing.     

Using groupware to improve the EH&S audit documentation and reporting process

According to Fortune, as of early 1995, some 4,000 companies have purchased Lotus Notes®, the premier entry in an emerging field of software known as groupware. For many companies making the commitment, installation of the software has meant significant capital expenditures as wide area and local area networks and client-server hardware had to be installed to make effective use of Notes' capabilities nationwide and worldwide. A few companies are in the early stages of developing environmental, health, and safety management capabilities. At first blush, the EH&S audit document management process appears to be an ideal application for groupware. It is vitally important that audit tracking systems are put in place and operate effectively. This article shows how groupware can help to achieve this objective.     

ANSI X12: Data standards for TQEM

One key development in environmental software is the adoption of a common electronic language for exchanging EH&S data. The ANSIX12-based data management tools offer compatibility across platforms within the company as well as between different companies. The X12 syntax makes it easy for environmental managers to integrate functions more closely with either materials management or quality management systems.     

Challenges of meeting ISO 14000 auditing guidelines: Audit program gaps

At long last, the ISO 14000 environmental auditing guidelines have been issued in final form and have been accepted in the United States and elsewhere as official national standards. The auditing guidelines consist of: Guidelines for environmental auditing—General principles (ISO 14010: 1996(E)) Guidelines for environmental auditing—Audit procedures—Auditing of environmental management systems (ISO 14011: 1996(E)) Guidelines for environmental auditing—Qualification criteria for environmental auditors (ISO 14012: 1996(E)) Unlike the environmental management system (EMS) standard (ISO 14001), the auditing guidelines are just that, guidelines. The ISO 14000 auditing guidelines are not long documents: ISO 14010 is three pages, ISO 14011 is five pages and ISO 14012 is three pages.     

Using a Balanced Scorecard to Implement Sustainability

Developing social and environmental balanced scorecard measures helps EH&S managers identify the key performance factors that link their department's work to the company's strategic objectives. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kodak's safety performance indexing—a tool for environmental improvement

Safety performance has a direct effect on employees' productivity and quality of work life, and on company profits and image in the community. Enormous human and financial losses can result from poor safety performance, and all such losses are preventable. To prevent these potential losses, safety performance must be continually improved across all levels of the organization. Effective safety programs are the key to improved safety performance. But how do we know when a safety program is effective? How can we measure safety performance and set goals for improvements? How can we track progress toward these goals? This article demonstrates how a powerful performance management tool —performance indexing— can be used to help improve safety performance throughout your company. This tool can also be used to measure, track, and improve environmental and occupational health performance.     

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.     

Continuous improvement through environmental auditing

Environmental auditing evolved as a means of providing assurance to top management that its health, safety, and environmental responsibilities were being adequately discharged and that no significant noncompliances existed. The author takes an in-depth look at the HSE audit program developed at Allied-Signal to permit continuous improvement of environmental management systems.     

The value of “EHS auditing” in the United States: Making sense out of the current chaos

Conventional wisdom has advocated environmental auditing as a prudent part of an internal control program and one of the key tools in driving proactive efforts. As a part of risk management activities, it is often employed to protect an organization, its employees, and officers from liability. Conscientious use of such audits has undoubtedly protected human health and the environment. Ironically, those who make the most consistent efforts to audit compliance and management systems, according to advocates of audit protection, may be the most vulnerable to enforcement actions and lawsuits. This article places the escalating calls for audit protection in a proper context.     

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。     

Voluntary or mandatory environmental auditing in the european community: The carrot or the stick?

One possible route to responsible environmental management now under active discussion in the European Community (EC) is a European-wide environmental auditing program. The issue currently being debated by the EC's policy body is what form the program should take—mandatory or voluntary. Whatever the final form of the regulation, environmental management is about to gain added significance in boardrooms throughout Europe and the environmental auditing industry is about to experience a dramatic period of growth in the EC.     

The value of EHS auditing in the United States: Solutions for audit protection

Conventional wisdom has advocated environmental auditing as a prudent part of an internal control program and one of the key tools in driving proactive efforts. As a part of risk management activities, it is often employed to protect an organization and its employees and officers from liability. Conscientious use of such audits has undoubtedly protected human health and the environment. Ironically, those who make the most consistent efforts to audit compliance and management systems, according to advocates of audit protection, may be the most vulnerable to enforcement actions and lawsuits. In this, the second part of a two-part article, we turn our attention to the likely solutions for audit protection in the current context.     

Environmental auditing roundtable establishes formal standards for environmental,health, and safety audits

The Environmental Auditing Roundtable recently promulgated the Standards for the Performance of Environmental, Health, and Safety Audits that are featured in this article. With many global initiatives converging in the development of environmental auditing and management standards, this document represents a vital building block, unique from many others in that it was built by a broad-based consensus effort of actual practitioners. Over 95 percent of the Roundtable members who voted on the standard endorsed it.     

The ecohealth system and the community engagement movement in foundations: A case study of mutual benefits from grants funded by the United Nations Foundation

Ecohealth is a process for identifying key environmental determinants causing mortality or morbidity and combating them by mobilizing multiple social sectors. Evolving out of the concept of environmental health, ecohealth provides a framework for long‐term sustainability. The health outcomes anticipated by environmental interventions are part of a long‐term agenda and require fundamental groundwork for the growth of community‐driven development. Building long‐term sustainability requires that two key approaches be developed through ecohealth. The first is the strengthening of local community institutions, whether formal or informal. The second is building financial mechanisms that are more diversified and less reliant on a single donor. As a result, the ecohealth system provides an opportunity for foundations to empower communities, build cross‐cutting cooperation, and gain knowledge through projects. If people's environmental behaviour is to change and be sustained in the long term to produce desired health outcomes, this will require all members of society to be capable of functioning within the existing institutional infrastructure. This means that not only do formal institutions need to become more accessible but also that concepts relating to local informal institutions must be incorporated into ecohealth projects. It is imperative that we identify and understand relevant local institutions and how they can be transformed so that new environmental forms of behaviour can be sustained and result in positive health outcomes. The intersection of environmental and health concerns provides an ideal area in which the gap between government and civil society can be bridged — not only providing solutions to ecohealth concerns, but building government capacity in general and making these positive changes sustainable in the long term. This article is a case study, based on several United Nations Foundation grants. It outlines the significance of traditional community organizations, the breadth of their long‐term relations with communities, their resources, and the adoption of sustained forms of behaviour. In addition, the article highlights the role that international foundations can play in creating innovative financing mechanisms through community‐based foundations.     

Achieving and maximizing ISM code compliance with ISO 14001

This summer, July 1, 1997, to be exact, marks the deadline for compliance with the International Code for the Safe Management of Ships and Pollution Prevention (ISM Code or simply the Code) as set forth in Chapter IX of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). As widely reported, enforcement officials in the United States, Australia, and other major flag and port states are promising stepped-up criminal enforcement of marine pollution laws and “zero tolerance” for non-compliance with the ISM Code. The Department of Justice has highlighted this area in enforcement policy announcements, including a statement by the Assistant Attorney General last autumn.¹ Especially given Justice's recent indictments of vessel owners for modest pollution events and these new admonitions, prudent vessel owners will be striving to meet the SOLAS timetable. For shipping firms discerning enough to have successfully navigated a course to certification, the issue instead will be how to sustain safety and environmental management improvement and build on this excellence to advance a broader range of objectives. This article will show how firms in either position may find inspiration in ISO 14001—the environmental management system (EMS) specification developed by the International Organization for Standardization.     

推行HSE管理体系 提高环境管理水平

健康、安全与环境管理体系（简称HSE管理体系）,是国际石油勘探开发行业健康管理、安全管理、环境管理的一种系统方法,通过实施评价和风险管理,达到保障员工健康,保证安全生产,保护环境的目的。1997年以来,中原油田从建立完善HSE管理体系入手,通过开展HSE宣传教育,实施评价和风险管理,落实HSE管理计划,提高了环境管理水平,促进了环保工作的开展。