Environmental Audits, Guidelines for Implementation (MOE Decree No. 42, 1994)

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DECREE REGARDING
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
Minister of State for Environment
Decree Number Kep-42/Menlh/11/1994

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT

1. that any person who is responsible for an organization or activity is obligated to maintain and preserve a harmonious balance between the ability of the environment to support activities and sustainable development,
2. that an environmental audit is an effective management tool which when intentionally undertaken, has been recognized as a highly benefical method for operations and activities to manage their environmental impacts;
3. that an environmental audit is a systematic, documented. periodic and objective assessment of the procedures and practices for managing environmental impacts;
4. that an environmental audit enhances the search for effective solutions to environmental problems being faced by organizations and activities, and facilitates management control of environmental practices;
5. that therefore it is necessary to promulgate a general guideline regarding the implementation of environmental auditing with a Decree of the Minister of State for the Environment.

1. Act No. 4/1982 pertaining to Basic Provisions for the Management of the Living Environment (State Gazette No. 12/1982, Supplement to the State Gazette No. 3215);
2. Goverment Regulation No. 51/1993 regarding Environmental Impact Assessment (State Gazette No. 84/1993, Supplement to the State Gazette No. 3538);
3. Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia No. 44/1993 regarding the Position, the Main Tasks, the Function, the Organization Chart and the Working Procedures of the State Minister;
4. The Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia No. 96/M/1993 regarding the formation of the Fourth Development Cabinet;

HAS DECIDED TO STIPULATE:

The Decree of the Minister of State for Environment
Regarding
General Guidelines for the Implementation of Environmenntal Audits

The environmental audit constitutes an activity which should be voluntarily implemented by the manager of an organization or activity for which he/she is responsible;

Secondly

The environmental audit can be carried out in accordance with the basic principles stated in the Supplement to this Decree;

Thirdly

The Manager of an operation or activity can release either some or all of the results of an environmental audit to the government, the public or the public or other organizations with the following intentions:

1. to make public environmental management and monitoring efforts. In order to do this, the results of the environmental audit must be approved by an agency responsible for environmental management;
2. to develop a system for management and monitoring of the environment;
3. to increase the environmental performance of an organization or activity;
4. for other purposes as determined by the relevant operation or activity.

This Decree is effective as of the date of promulgation and in case errors are found in the future, this decision can be reviewed.

Promulgated in Jakarta on 22 November l994

The Minister of State for Environment
(signed) Sarwono Kusumaatmadja

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PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL GUIDELINES
REGARDING
IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
Supplement to
Minister of State for Environment
Decree No. Kep-42/Menlh/11/94

A.    FUNCTION AND OBJECTIVE

B.    GENERAL PROVISIONS

The environmental audit is a management tool consisting of a systematic documented, periodic and objective evaluation of environmental performance, management systems and equipment with the aim of firstly, facilitating management control of environmental practices and secondly, assessing compliance with an operations or activity's environmental policies, including meeting regulatory requirements. Environmental auditing is an internal management tool for use by an organization or activity in carrying out its environmental management responsibilities. Environmental auditing is not a legal requirements under any specific law or regulation. Rather, it is a proactive management tool which is used to consciously identify environmental problems before they occur in order to take preventative measures.

2.    Function

The functions of an environmental audit are;

1. To improve an organization or activity's compliance with environmental legislation and regulations such as air emission standards, effluent standards, waste management standards, waste management standards and standard operating procedures;
2. To document an operation or activity's current environmental standards of operation and environmental management procedures, including emergency response planning, monitoring and reporting system and planning for future chances in Processes or regulations;
3. To prevent damage and the tendency for environmental damage;
4. To confirm predicted impacts and implementation of AMDAL recommendations, as a basis for improving the AMDAL process;
5. To improve resource use through reduction in material use, to minimize wastes and to identify recycling opportunities;
6. To increase actions undertaken or needing to be undertaken by an organization or activity to meet environmental goals such as sustainable development, recycling and efficient use of resources.

The benefits of environmental auditing are:

1. Identification of environmental risks;
2. Use as a basis for the development of environmental management policies or efforts to improve existing plans;
3. Prevention of financial losses through the closure of an organization or activity, government restrictions or negative publicity caused by bad management or monitoring of the environment;
4. Avoidance of legal sanctions againts an organization or activity or its management under prevailing laws and regulations;
5. Provision of evidence of the implementation of environmental management in court if requested;
6. Increase in the awareness of the management and staff of an organization regarding environmental policies and responsibilities;
7. Identification of possible cost savings from energy conservation and waste reduction, reuse and recycling;
8. Provision of an environmental audit report for use by an organization, or activity in dealings with environmental groups, government and the mass media;
9. Provision of information required by insurance companies, financial institutions and shareholders.

C.    SCOPE

1. The history of an organization or activity, including information on the setting, previous environmental damage at the site, environmental practices, monitoring records and known environmental issues;
2. Any changes in the environmental setting that have occurred since the establishment of the organization or activity up to the time of the last audit;
3. The natural resources used as input, processing of materials and all finished products and wastes including hazardous and toxic wastes;
4. The handling and storage of chemicals, hazardous and toxic materials and any potential environmental hazards;
5. Environmental risk assessment;
6. Waste management control systems, transportation route for materials and waste disposal, including facilities to minimize waste disposal impacts and accidents;
7. Measure of the effectiveness of pollution control equipment as indicated in inspection reports, maintenance logs, emission test results and routine analytical reports;
8. Records regarding waste disposal licenses and compliance with laws, regulations and environmental quality standards;
9. Compliance with AMDAL recommendations (Environmental Management Plan and Environmental Monitoring Plan);
10. Emergency response plans and procedures;
11. Waste minimization and environmental pollution control plans;
12. The utilization of energy, water and other natural resources;
13. Recycling, programs and product life cycle considerations;
14. Plans to increase environmental awareness.

D.    BASIC PRINCIPLES

An environmental audit has the following characteristics;

1. Comprehensive Methods. An environmental audit requires the use of detailed procedures and methodology. The environmental audit must be conducted using comprehensive protocols and fixed procedures, to ensure the collection of the required data end the documentation and verification of that information. The methodology must be flexible enough for the audit team to apply the most appropriate techniques. Environmental audits must be based on the use systematic plans and procedures for guidance in field work and reporting.

 
2. Evidence and Verification. The concept of evidence and verification of environmental deficiencies is a main element in an environmental audit. The audit team must verify all collected data and information through direct field inspection.

 
3. Relevant Measures and Standards. The standards and measures of environmental performance must be adjusted to be relevant to the organization or activity and the production process being audited. An audit is meaningless unless there are accepted standard against which performance can be compared.

 
4. Written Reports. Reportrs should contain factual observations and reasoning, and the documentation of the processs. All findings should be presented clearly and accurately, based on valid and documented evidence.

a.    Supports from Management. The first step in implementing an environmental audit is obtaining management commitment. Implementation can be ineffective without the strong support of management. Moreover, the audit team should have the freedom to study potentially sensitive environmental problems.

b.    Participation by All Parties. A successful audit requires the commitment and cooperation of all members of the organization, since the assessment of environmental performance will cover all aspects of a wide variety of jobs.

c.    Auditor Independence and Objectivity. The environmental audit team should be independent of the organization or activities being audited. Without this independence. the objectivity and the credibility of the audit would be cast in doubt. Generally, this means that the audit team should consists of persons external to the audited organization or activity.

 d.    Agreement on Procedures and Scope. There must be prior agreement between management and the audit team on the scope of the environmental audit to be carried out.

E.    GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMENT AUDITING

Environmental audits should be conducted in accordance with a set procedure The procedure consist of defined steps which must be followed by the auditor to ensure that there is consistency in the implementation of the audit and the reporting of results. There is a wide variety of protocols depending upon the type of organization and environmental characteristics. Some common protocols used for an audit are;

1. Fill-In Forms. The simplest form of an audit uses fill-in forms based on reports which will be produced as an audit guide.

 
2. Check List. This type of protocol is commently used, providing a detailed listing of all issues to be covered.

 
3. Questionnaires. Questionnaires are frequently used as an auditing protocol and the list of questionnaires shall be completely replied by the auditor. In general an auditor prepares a standarlized format for conducting an audit compiling the final report.

 
4. Guidance. Guideline protocols are the most common type of protocol. They provide specific instruction and guidelines to be used by the auditor, and aspects which should be investigated.

An environmental audit involves a numbers of steps including:

1. Introduction. Implementation of an environmental audit will depend on the type of audit being carried out, the type of organization or activity and the practices of the auditor.

 
2. Pre-audit. Pre-audit activity forms an essential part of the environmental auditing procedure. Careful planning at this stage will help to ensure success of both the initial audit and any subsequent audits. Information required at this stage includes detailed information regarding activities carried at the site, the legal status of the facility, management structure and the scope of the organization or activity to be audited. Pr-audit activities also include the selection of the audit protocol team end the financing for the audit program. At this stage the purpose and scope of the audit should have been agreed upon.

1. Preliminary Meeting. The first step in the audit is a meeting between the audit team and the management of the organization or activity to review the purpose of the audit, the procedure and the time schedule.

 
2. Site Inspection. The initial site inspection should follow the prelominary meeting. The audit team will receive an overview of the organization and the operations, and on this basis can then focus on specific areas or processes which require attention. In carrying out the site inspection, the audit team way discover matters which are relevant to the audit but which were not identified at the planning stage.

 
3. Data Collection. Data and information collected during the environmental audit will consist of the audit protocol, documentation provided by the owner of the organization or activity, auditor's notes and observation, the sampling and monitoring results, photos, plans, maps, diagrams, working papers and other related items. This information muts be well documented to facilitate easy retrieval. The prime purpose of data collection is to support the audit findings and provide the basis for verification.

 
4. Verification. A main principle of environmental auding is that the information presented by the audit team shall be verified and validated. Documentation must be produced by the audit team in support of all statement or have been verified under the direct supervision of the audit team. In the verification of the audit findings, the audit team must guarantee that the documents produced are all genuine and valid. The audit protocol should establish the level of verification required or this should be specified by the audit team.

 
5. Evaluation of the Finding. The audit finding should be evaluated against the adjectives estabilished for the audit, and the agreed protocol to ensure that all issues and problems have been covered. The supporting documentation should be carefully reviewed to ensure that proper backup and verification is available for all of the findings.

 
6. Final Meeting. On completion of the site investigations, the audit team should present their preliminary findings in a formal exit meeting. This meeting will discuss any matters which have been resolved or for which information is unavailable. The audit team shall provide a general review of the finding and indicate when the final report will be completed. All documents collected during the audit should be returned to the management of the organization or activity.

The audit team should prepare a comprehensive written report on the results of the audit. The report should include presentation of an action plan for addressing the issues identified.

F.    CONFIDENTIALITY

1. Publicizing their environmental management efforts. The government can verify the audit results;
2. Responding to the requirements for performance rating of the business;
3. Any other purposes as defined by the organization activity.

1. The rights of the governments to carry out routine or special inspections of an organization of activity;
2. The rights of the goverments to carry out investigations of an organizations or activity suspected of violations or non-compliance with laws and regulations;
3. The rights of the governments to request specific information as the basis for any scheme for environmental performance ranking of an organization or activity;
4. The responsibility of the organization or activity to provide environmental management and monitoring data to the government as prescribed under Act No. 4/1982, Government Regulation No. 51/1993 and other regulations.

G.    SUPERVISING THE QUALITY OF THE AUDIT RESULT

The skills needed by environmental auditors include those in the areas of:

• Environmental auditing processes, procedures and thechniques
• Characteristics and analysis of management systems
• Laws, regulations and environmental policies, environment health and safety protection systems and technology
• Operation of facilities to be audited
• Potential environmental impact, and worker health and safety risks.

• Communication skills
• Work sheduling and planing
• Data analysis and finding
• Audit report writing.

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Disclaimer: APCEL has tried to ensure the accuracy, reliability and completeness of the information in this database; however, APCEL does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability or completeness of this information. If you encounter an error, please notify us by e-mail at lawapcel@nus.edu.sg.