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Auditing the Environmental Management System (CP8:V12:16/10/2007)

  • The Communications & Research Assistant will be responsible for initiating detailed audits of the EMS. The frequency that activities are audited will be based on their environmental importance. The whole EMS will be audited during a three year audit cycle.
  • Audits will be carried out by the Internal Auditor and the Communications and Research Assistant. See Appendix 1 for details of the audit process.

  • The Green Team will confirm the scope of each Audit, in terms of the sections and activities to be covered. A three year programme (running from 2007-2010) has been drafted to ensure that all procedures are reviewed within this time. Progress towards this programme will be monitored after every internal audit and any proposed changes will be agreed through the Green Team. The success of the programme will also be reviewed in the annual Management Review.

  • The audit team will check that the Procedures are being followed, that the Policy and Programme is being implemented and that information included in the Public Statement is accurate.

  • The Green Team shall assess the results of each audit and include any improvement proposals in a report to the Board at least once a year.

  • Any significant outcomes from audits will be made available to staff and tenants through the relevant newsletters once a year.

  • The Directors will be responsible for ensuring that any discrepancies within their own Directorates are rectified. In conjunction with section managers, the Communications & Research Assistant will prepare a plan on how the Audit recommendations will be implemented and report back to the Green Team after these measures have been carried out.

  • If a section of the Association fails to meet satisfactory standards, it will be audited again at a time agreed with the auditee.


Appendix 1 - Process for Internal Environmental Audits

Introduction

The Vale Housing Association is accredited with the ISO14001 standard for our Environmental Management System (EMS). This standard requires the association to carry out regular internal audits to ensure that the EMS is working as it should. The internal audit reports are reviewed by the external assessor from the accrediting body during their 6-monthly visits.

Aim of Procedure

The aim of this procedure is to clarify the process for carrying out internal environmental audits, who is responsible and how the audit reports will be used.

Who Carries out Internal Environmental Audits?

Bentley Jennison (BJ), the association’s internal auditor, has overall responsibility for carrying out the Internal Environmental Audits. However if the Communications & Research Assistant (CRA) has received sufficient training, he/she will undertake the majority of the audit work.

Audit Plan

A rolling three year audit plan exists to ensure that each procedure is audited as often as necessary. At the beginning of the financial year BJ and the CRA split down the procedures to be audited that year into 3 audits which are spread throughout the year. When the CRA has been trained to carry out audits, they will agree with BJ who will carry out which audits. All procedures that the CRA is responsible for need to be audited by BJ.

Process When Audit Is Carried Out by Bentley Jennison

Before the Audit

  1. BJ agrees date for visit with the CRA allowing plenty of time for the report to be agreed before the next Green Team (GT) meeting.

  2. The CRA makes sure people are aware of visit and checks staff availability by e-mailing relevant staff and discussing at GT prior to visit.

During the Audit

  1. BJ will have a short opening meeting with the Managing Director, if available.

  2. The CRA spends day with BJ as required and provides necessary paperwork.

  3. If CRA has carried out any audits since BJ’s last visit, BJ looks through the reports to ensure they have been done correctly.

  4. Any outstanding action points from previous internal and external audits should be followed-up.

  5. A wash-up meeting will be held between BJ and the Managing Director if required.

After the Audit

  1. BJ will send the CRA their draft report.

  2. The CRA will circulate this report to the members of the GT and any other managers involved in that audit. 

  3. Managers should respond to the CRA with any Management Comments they have.

  4. If anything on the report is disputed, the Manager should discuss this initially with the CRA. If the CRA is unable to explain the reason behind the comment satisfactorily or it is a detailed or complex problem, the Manager will be asked to contact BJ direct.

  5. BJ may amend or remove a disputed item from the report however if they do not feel that the reasoning behind the dispute is justified, they can refuse to remove it.

  6. If there is still a dispute the manager has the opportunity to make a Management Comment on the final report. This should be done either before or during the GT meeting which will receive the audit report.

Process When Audit Is Carried Out by the Communications and Research Assistant

Before the Audit

  1. The CRA will set a date for the audit allowing plenty of time for the report to be agreed before the next GT meeting.

  2. The CRA makes sure people are aware of visit and checks staff availability by e-mailing relevant staff and discussing at GT prior to visit

During the Audit

  1. The CRA will visit the relevant people to carry out the audit. This should be treated in the same way a visit from BJ would be.

  2. Any outstanding action points from previous internal and external audits should be followed up.

After the Audit

  1. The CRA will circulate their draft report to the members of the GT and any other managers involved in that audit

  2. Managers should respond to the CRA with any Management Comments they have

  3. If anything on the report is disputed, the relevant manager should discuss this with the CRA.

  4. If the CRA is unable to explain the reason behind the comment satisfactorily, the manager can ask for the disputed item to be amended or removed from the report. However if the CRA does not feel that the reasoning behind the dispute is justified, they can refuse to remove it.

  5. If there is still a dispute the manager has the opportunity to make a Management Comment on the final report. This should be done either before or during the GT meeting which will receive the audit report.

Follow-Up and Monitoring

  1. GT will discuss potential responsive measures to deal with any action points raised in the report. This discussion will be recorded in the minutes.

  2. Outstanding action points will be monitored through GT as well as being followed up during subsequent audits.

  3. The CRA will keep electronic copies of internal audit reports and GT minutes in the Environmental folder of the Communication & Research shared (W) drive.