Environmental auditing is a process of evaluating the creation and use of proficient environmental policies to minimize the damaging effects of an organizations activities on the environment in a resourceful and cost-efficient manner (Court of Audit, 2013).
The attainment of full environmental compliance certification such as ISO 14001: 2004 by an organization is dependent on its adoption and implementation of an environmental policy that reflects its willingness to improve its environmental performance through evaluation of the effects caused by its operations, developing strategies to achieve its target of environmental sustainability, integration of an environmental management system that guarantees execution of set objectives coupled with intermittent internal audit to evaluate performance against set goals and finally verification by an independent auditor.
COMPANY PROFILE
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A was established from a merger of Coca-Cola Beverages and Hellenic Bottling Company in 2000. The company has over 75 plants in 28 countries of the world with head office in Athens Greece. Among its major brands produced are Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprit. The organisation's current environmental policy, which was put forward in March 2012, was developed to demonstrate the organisations commitment to sustainable management and protection of the environment, its stakeholders and provision of healthy and safe working environment for its staff. In achieving this, independent audit of the company's environmental policy compliance with the ISO 14001: 2004 has been structured and is given in the table below.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
ISO 14001: 2004 STANDARDS
ASSESSMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
Does Coca-Cola Hellenic have an environmental management system (EMS) that is reflective of ISO 14001 requirements?
Yes
Policy statement 2: Confirms the presence and application in all its operation of an environmental management system that is compliant with the ISO 14001:2004 standard.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Was the policy defined by the top management?
Yes
The policy incorporates both the endorsement of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the board of directors' commitment to ensure implementation. However, there was no input or endorsement from the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department of the organisation and it was also observed that the CEO did not append his signature to the policy downloaded from the company's website.
The endorsement by the organisations HSE department should be incorporated within the policy statement to reflect that the policy was well thought of and the CEO's signature should be appended to the policy statement found on the company's website.
Is the policy appropriate for the nature of the company's business?
Yes
Policy statement 3: addresses the organisations commitment to manage the environmental impact associated with the environmental aspect identified in policy statement 4.
Policy Statement 5, 6&7: addresses the scope and nature of the environmental impacts caused by the company's activities and how it hopes to combat them. The environmental aspects include; water consumption, wastewater, material and resource use, energy use and coolant emissions while the environmental impacts are pollution and climate change
The method the company hopes to incorporate to allow for efficient use of resources should be stated in the policy (e.g. either better technology or use of more environmentally friendly produce)
Does the Policy include a commitment to continuous improvement and pollution prevention?
Yes
Policy statement 2: highlights the organisations integration of an environmental management system that will guarantee constant improvement.
Policy statement 5: applies to the organisations commitment to develop and implement schemes that will enable it achieve environmental sustainability through the efficient use of resources, application of waste reduction, pollution prevention and emission reduction mechanisms.
Policy Statement 6, 7&8: applies to the commitment to minimize coolant release into the atmosphere, wastewater production and recycling of packages
Policy Statement 10: addresses the organisation's collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to find a lasting solution to major environmental problems that the company can help in solving.
The organisation should encourage its suppliers and stakeholders to imbibe sound environmental practice in their day-to-day activities (e.g ..................................
Is the policy compliant with pertinent environmental legislations?
Yes
Policy Statement 1: addresses the organisation's commitment to abide by all relevant environmental regulations related to its activities.
It is recommended that at least one of the legislation to which the organisation subscribes to and its measure or approach to compliance be communicated in the policy.
Is an outline for establishing and reviewing aims and goals incorporated into the policy?
Yes
Policy statement 4: addresses the process by which the organisation recognises the environmental effects associated with its activities and tries to reduce these effects through a process of target setting, outcome monitoring and auditing of process and performance (tying Policy to mission).
An independent environmental audits of the policy against set standards should be communicated within the policy.
Is the policy documented,
implemented and maintained
Yes
The policy is documented and available on the internet
http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/sustainability/ourapproach/sustainabilitypolicy/
The responsibility for implementation lies with the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board of Directors.
It is recommended that a periodic review and interval between reviews of the policy be stated in the environmental policy document
Is the environmental policy communicated to all the staff and stakeholders?
Yes
Policy Statement 9: notes the trainings given to staff to enhance their incorporation of world's best environmental practices in their day-to-day activities.
Policy Statement 11: applies to the communication of environmental concerns and achievement to stakeholders.
Is the policy available to the
Public?
Yes
It is available on the internet
http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/sustainability/ourapproach/sustainabilitypolicy/
The policy should take centre stage on the company's website as it is difficult to access.
COMPANY PROFILE
Schweppes Australia was setup in 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Korean Asanti Group Holding Limited. Schweppes Australia incorporates a culture performance and accountability in its everyday operations; thus, it recognises that as consumers of environmental natural resources it has a responsibility to sustain and manage the environment; hence the creation and integration of its June 2011 environmental policy.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
ISO 14001: 2004 STANDARDS
ASSESSMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
Does Schweppes have an environmental management system (EMS) that is reflective of ISO 14001 requirements?
Yes
There is an existing EMS but its compliance with ISO 14001: 2004 is not communicated within the policy statement.
The existence of an EMS and its compliance with ISO 14001: 2004 should be communicated in the policy statement.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Was the policy defined by top management?
Yes
The Managing Director Mr David Beguely appended his signature to the policy statement.
The policy did not incorporate the endorsement and commitment of the board of directors and the health, safety and environment department of the organisation.
Future environmental policies must reflect the endorsement of the board of directors and the health, safety and environment department of the organisation.
Does the policy suit the organization's environmental profile?
Yes
Policy statement 4: addresses the organisations commitment to identifying and appraising the environmental impact associated with its entire process and seeking ways to reduce or manage these impacts through sustainable use of resources and reduction of environmental effects caused by its activities.
Is the policy incorporated with the pledge to prevent pollution and continuously improve the environment?
Yes
Policy statement 4 a, c, d: refers to the organisation's commitment to minimize greenhouse emission, reduce waste production and prevent pollution through the integration of environmental sustainable best practices in its operations.
Policy statement 5: reflects the organisations commitment to setting measurable target, which are to be constantly reviewed for the sole aim of reducing environmental impacts.
The auditing of the organisations policy against set target should incorporate the findings of independent auditors and a statement of its solid waste generation and disposal technique it hopes to incorporate.
Is the policy compliant with pertinent environmental legislations?
Yes
Policy statement 1: confirms the organisations compliance to relevant environmental standards and regulations.
A mention of at the least one international environmental standard it subscribes to should be made within the policy.
Is an outline for establishing and reviewing aims and goals incorporated in to the policy?
Yes
Policy statement 5: addresses this as stated above.
There is no standard to which the review and appraisal can be evaluated with and no mention of the parties responsible for auditing and reviewing the policy was mentioned within the policy statement.
The standard to which the company bases its appraisal and review on should be stated within the policy and the persons or group of people responsible for reviewing the aims and objectives of the policy should be communicated within the policy statement.
Is the policy documented,
Implemented and maintained?
Yes
The policy is documented and available on the internet http://www.schweppesaustralia.com.au/getattachment/Who-We-Are/The-Schweppes-Way/Environment/Schweppes-Environment-Policy-2011.pdf.aspx
Policy statement 3: addresses the organisation commitment to implement an environmental management system but it doesn't state who in the organisation is responsible for ensuring compliance
The persons or group of people responsible for ensuring the implementation of the policy should be communicated in the policy statement.
Is the environmental policy communicated to all staff and stakeholders?
Policy statement 2: addresses the organisations communication of the existence of the policy to its staff through trainings.
It makes no mention of the communication of the policy to other company stakeholders. The policy is available on the internet http://www.schweppesaustralia.com.au/getattachment/Who-We-Are/The-Schweppes-Way/Environment/Schweppes-Environment-Policy-2011.pdf.aspx
The existence of the policy should be communicated to all relevant stakeholders and such be reported in subsequent policy statement.
Is the environmental policy available to the
Public?
The availability of the policy to the public is not stated in the policy statement but it is made available on the internet
Same as above.
CONCLUSION
It is commendable to note that both organisations have incorporated the key aspects of ISO 14001:2004 in to every aspect of their operations and this is reflected in the presence of an EMS. In additions to the recommendations made above a joint recommendation for the creation a feedback mechanism to track results and ensure that corrective actions on the policy during review are incorporated, a request for environmental conformity by its suppliers and product users, creation of different levels in the auditing process headed by different individuals who in turn report to a single person, the incorporation of periodic reviews and result verification exercises will ensure that the above stated company's environmental policies are effectively implemented and that set goals are achieved.
