Questão 1229151

Text for items from 16 to 20

1 ____ Environmental auditing is essentially an environmental

management tool for measuring the effects of certain activities

on the environment against set criteria or standards. The

4 relevance of this tool is growing because organisations of all

kinds now recognise the importance of environmental matters

and accept that their environmental performance will be

7 scrutinised by a wide range of interested parties. These parties

will use environmental auditing to investigate, understand and

identify actions which help improve existing human activities,

10 with the aim of reducing their adverse effects on the

environment. An environmental auditor is the professional

who will, on behalf of these parties, study an organisation’s

13 environmental effects in a systematic and documented manner

and will produce an environmental audit report based on the

data provided. There are many reasons for undertaking an

16 environmental audit, which include issues such as

environmental legislation and pressure from customers.

As a matter of definition, the term “audit” has its

19 origins in the financial sector. Auditing, in general, is a

methodical examination of procedures and practices aimed at

verifying whether they comply with legal requirements, internal

22 policies and accepted practices. The expression “environmental

auditing” is often used as a generic term covering a variety of

management practices used to evaluate a company’s

25 environmental performance. Strictly, it refers to checking

systems and procedures against standards or regulations, as said

before, but it is often used to cover the gathering and evaluation

28 of any data with environmental relevance.

Considering the terminology used in the area,

environmental auditing should not be confused with

31 environmental impact assessment, although both are

environmental management tools and the difference between

them has become blurred. The former is carried out when a

34 development is already in place, and is used to check on

existing practices, assessing the environmental effects of current

activities. It is correct to say that it provides a “snap-shot” of

37 looking at what is happening at that point in time in an

organisation. The latter is an anticipatory tool, that is, it takes

place before an action is carried out. It is therefore an attempt

40 to predict the impact on the environment of a future action, and

to provide this information to those who make the decision on

whether the project should be authorised.

Internet: <www.soas.ac.uk> (adapted).

Judge the following items concerning the facts and ideas presented in the text.

The work of an environmental auditor is stopping procedures which do not conform to standards and regulations, an aim which he tries to reach by preparing reproachful reports based on facts and data.