Botagoz Torgaeva

Editor-in-chief of office of the rector

AN INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY

Keys: thermal pollution, nutrients, turbidity, role of oxygen, biocides, ground and surface interaction pathogen land management practices: sedimentation, historical industrial activity (mining).

Introduction

Ecological audit is a documentary registered system independent process of evaluation of object of ecological audit, which includes collection and objective evaluation of proofs for establishment of conformity of determined types of activity, measures, conditions, systems of environment management and information.

The objects of ecological audit are:

- enterprises, institutions and organizations, their branches and representations or associations, separate manufactures, other economic objects;

- systems of environment management;

- other objects.

The subjects of ecological audit are:

- customers (interested central and local bodies of executive power, bodies of local self-government other legal entities, as well as natural persons);

- agents (legal entity or natural person (ecological auditor) qualified for conducting of ecological audit).

Ecological audit is performed in the process of state property privatization, other change of ownership form, change of particular owners of objects, as well as for needs of ecological insurance.

Ecological audit in may be:

· voluntary (carried out as regards to any objects of ecological audit on order of the subject concerned with consent of the head or owner of the object of ecological audit);

· obligatory (carried out on order of interested bodies of executive power or bodies of local self-government as regards to objects or types of activity, which make increased ecological danger in cases of bankruptcy, privatization, transfer in concession of objects of state and communal ownership, transfer in long-term lease of objects of state or communal ownership, termination of production-sharing agreements, etc.).

Ecological audit is divided into:

· internal (conducted on order of the owner of object for personal needs);

· external (conducted on order of other subjects concerned).

Ecological audit shall be conducted on the basis of agreement between the customer and the agent.

The results of ecological audit shall be presented in the form of report on ecological audit.

Environmental objectives are increasingly important in engineering and design. You may wish to limit the carbon footprint of your product, reduce its energy usage, limit wastes and emissions, or specify the manner of its disposal.

Materials have a lifecycle (below). They are produced, manufactured into a product, used and—at the end of their life—recycled or discarded.

Figer 1 - The product lifecycle

Environmental damage occurs at all four phases of the cycle. Eco design demands consideration of this full lifecycle impact. Before product designers can minimize this damage, they need a quick and effective means to estimate it and to focus their design efforts on the most significant life phases. But most approaches to such quantitative assessment are not designed for use as quick and practical design tools.

Figer 2 -Inputs and outputs for the Eco Audit Tool

The Eco Audit Tool provides this capability. The process is illustrated above. Via a simple input form within the CES Selector user interface, the user enters information about product composition, processing, usage, transportation, and disposal. The tool then combines this with eco property data on the materials and processes used in the design. It estimates the energy usage and CO₂ output resulting from each stage in the product lifecycle.

Figer 3 - Eco Audit Tool results

Results are reported as graphs (above) and in tabular form, enabling further quantitative analysis. Generating this information early in the product design process helps to guide materials and process decisions when those decisions cost least and have the most impact.

In CES Selector 2012, this analysis has been extended, based on user feedback, to include the effects of manufacturing waste and secondary processing (such as machining, joining, and finishing). Options have also been added to better account for common electronic components. Variations in materials recovery at the end of the product's life. These changes make the tool better-aligned with real-world manufacturing scenarios and the PAS 2050 carbon footprinting standard, without sacrificing its speed and ease-of-use.

Knowing which phases in the lifecycle of a product design will make the most significant contribution to its environmental impact helps to guide the design strategy by which that impact is minimized.

Figer 4 -Guiding materials selection and substitution strategies with eco audit results

The diagram illustrates this process. For example, if the materials production phase dominates, you might seek to identify materials that fulfil the same engineering function but have a lower embodied energy.

Table 2 - A selection study using CES Selector—studying a panel and comparing the embodied energy per unit of bending stiffness with the mass per unit of bending stiffness.

Background

Environmental auditing originated in the United States in the 1970s. At first reactive in focus, environmental considerations were dealt with by 'end of pipe' solutions. Control measures were heavily influenced by the need to reduce remediation costs and fines which might stem from industrial accidents, and from the need to manage environmental liabilities.

Historically, environmental auditing has been developed for industrial (chemical and manufacturing) applications. Interest has also occurred in the public sector, resulting from the various Charter initiatives to open up activities to greater public scrutiny. Local authorities now apply auditing in their work.

Definitions

The term 'environmental auditing' is broad. Many definitions cover auditing in the private and public sector.

Private sector environmental auditing has been variously defined as:
'a management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of the performance of the organization, management system and processes designed to protect the environment with the aim of:

· compliance audit - the most common type of audit consisting of checks against environmental legislation and company policy;

· issues audit - an evaluation of how a company's activities relate to an environmental issue or (e.g. global pollution, energy use) or an evaluation of a specific issue (e.g. buildings, supplies);

· health and safety audit - an assessment of risks and contingency planning (sometimes merged with environmental auditing because of the interconnected impacts of industrial processes and hazards);

· site audit - an audit of a particular site to examine actual or potential environmental problems;

· corporate audit - an audit of the whole company and its polices, structures, procedures and practices;

· due diligence audit - an assessment of potential environmental and financial risks and liabilities carried out before a company merger or site acquisition or divestiture (e.g. contaminated land remediation costs);

· activity or operational audit - an assessment of activities that may cross company departments or units (e.g. energy or waste management);

· product or life cycle audit - an analysis of environmental impacts of a product throughout all stages of its design, production, use and disposal, including its reuse and recycling (cradle to grave) ;

· 'Policy Impact Assessment - a review of the activities (objectives, services, practices and policies) of the authority';

· 'Management Audit - a review of the procedures and structures by which environmental policies are managed by the authority.'

Environmental auditing practice and procedures

The more specific type of environmental audit involves the collection, collation, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of information which is used to:

· assess performance against a set of requirements or targets, related to specific issues;

· evaluate compliance with environmental legislation and corporate policies; and measure performance against the requirements of an environmental management system standard.

The systematic, periodic, documented and objective aspects of environmental auditing are fundamental to effectiveness. It is fast developing as an important and powerful tool in the corporate environmental assessment and management toolkit. The scope of repeat audits can also broaden to become more comprehensive as experience and expertise are accrued or as new issues or legislation emerge. Environmental Reviews provide a baseline overview of current environmental effects or impacts, relevant environmental legislation and a statement of existing environmental performance. The Reviews provide a basis for establishing a management action plan. They can become part of an environmental management system to help implement the plan. When they are undertaken as the first of a series of periodic environmental audits they have been referred to as a 'Baseline Environmental Audit'. Environmental audits should be appropriate to the particular circumstances. As environmental auditing draws upon various methodologies, each organization will define its own system depending upon its size, its activities and its corporate culture. The scope and style of audits vary, but common stages and activities include:

Pre-audit stage

· full management commitment;

· setting overall goals, objectives, scope and priorities;

· selecting a team to ensure objectivity and professional competence;
on-site audit, well defined and systematic using protocols or checklists;

· review of documents and records;

· review of policies;

· interviews;

· site inspection;

Post- audit stage

· evaluation of findings;

· reporting with recommendations;

· preparation of an action plan;

· follow-up.

Environmental Auditing and Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

Public sector environmental auditing

· Service effects - environmental impacts that result from the organisations efforts in implementing environmental policies and objectives. They would be covered by the Policy Impact Assessment type of audit.

Typically public sector audits cover a number of target areas such as:

· energy use;

· recycling;

· hardwoods from sustainable sources;

· environmental education;

· habitat conservation and creation;

· green purchasing;

· traffic calming.

While environmental audits are designed to identify environmental problems, there may be widely differing reasons for undertaking them: compliance with legislation, pressure from suppliers and customers, requirements from insurers or for capital projects, or to demonstrate environmental activities to the public. The benefits of environmental auditing include:

· ensuring compliance, not only with laws, regulations and standards, but also with company policies and the requirements of an Environmental Management System (EMS) standard;

· enabling environmental problems and risks to be anticipated and responses planned;

· to demonstrate that an organisation is aware of its impact upon the environment through providing feedback;

· increased awareness amongst stakeholders; and

· more efficient resource use and financial savings.

Trends/future developments

Audit programmers are becoming a standard environmental management tool and pressures for the disclosure of audit results are increasing. Public statements of environmental information with external validation are required by those participating in the European or local authority Eco-Management and Audit Scheme.
The utility of environmental audits vary from organization to organization. It is likely that audits will be used increasingly to:

· provide baseline information to enable organisations to evaluate and manage
environmental change, threat and risk;

· form the basis for initiating and monitoring the performance of Environmental Management Systems;

· contribute to environmental management approaches which become integrated with environmental impact assessment and the management of predicted impacts, mitigation and monitoring measures;

· support the implementation and management of integrated pollution control procedures and assist in the definition of 'best practicable environmental options' (BPEO);

· tackle external off-site impacts which consider the broader environmental footprint of an organization’s activities;

· pass environmentally responsible approaches down the supply chain.

Environmental audits have traditionally dealt with the environmental effects of industrial processes and, to a lesser extent, with resource consumption. Guided by the legislation and compliance procedures, the environment has usually been considered in terms of air land and water. Considerable conservation benefits could be achieved by broadening the focus of auditing to include natural heritage features and objectives.

Conclusion

Environmental audits have traditionally dealt with the environmental effects of industrial processes and, to a lesser extent, with resource consumption. Guided by the legislation and compliance procedures, the environment has usually been considered in terms of air land and water. Considerable conservation benefits could be achieved by broadening the focus of auditing to include natural heritage features and objectives.

Ecological audit shall be conducted on the basis of agreement between the customer and the agent. The results of ecological audit shall be presented in the form of report on ecological audit.

Referense

1. Zhou, J. and R., Elder, 2003. “Audit firm size, industry specialization and earnings management by initial public offering firms”, working paper, Syracuse University, Syracuse.

2. Balsam, S., G.V., Krishnan and J.S., Yang, 2003. “Auditor industry specialization and earnings quality”, Auditing: a Journal of Practice & Theory, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 71-97.

3. Chen, K.Y., K., Lin and J., Zhou, 2005. “Audit quality and earnings management for Taiwan IPO firms”, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 86-104.