Environmental Gap Analysis Audit
Paul Downing
If you are looking to develop an energy or environmental management system to either ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) or ISO 50001 (Energy Management Systems) there are several factors to take into account;
- Why do you want  the system? – is it to instill management discipline or just to get the certificate
- What scope is it going to cover? – your whole business or just part of it
- How are you going to evaluate if it will deliver a return of your investment
- How long can you take to develop the system – is a client asking for it now?
- Where do you start first?
- Can you integrate it with existing practices?
For most organisations looking to implement an energy management system or environmental management system the critical first step is to conduct an environmental gap analysis audit or an initial audit to identify where you are currently against the standard and where the major “gaps” are in terms of energy or environment best practice.
An initial energy audit will review not only benchmark you against the desired standard but should also evaluate energy usage and energy costs (or environmental impact) with a view to identifying where you can potentially make the biggest savings or have the best chance of reducing consumption.
An initial environmental gap analysis audit should only take a couple of days to identify where you need to focus activity in order to progress to a full blown system. Make the sure output of the audit not only identifies areas for improvement but also produces a prioritised action plan so you know which items to tackle first.
If you would like a free energy management system audit checklist please click here
If you need to conduct a gap analysis for either ISO 50001 or ISO 14001, please do not hesitate to contact us for an informal discussion and quotation.