Pollution Control
Consultancy and Design

Voluntary Environmental Audits
 

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We adhere to the old, good, simple
and quite often forgotten business philosophy that the most effective form of advertising is to satisfy our clients.
 

Our strength


We not only pinpoint,
we also effectively resolve
engineering problems.
 

An environmental audit, a mechanism for assessing the impact of an existing industrial
or commercial operation on the environment, appeared first in the 1970s and has been widely used by industry in developed countries since the late 1980s.

 

In New South Wales, Chapter 6 - Part 6.3 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 provides for very useful
and convenient Voluntary Environmental Audits.


Under this Act, results of Voluntary Environmental Audits, unlike results of Mandatory Environmental Audits,
are "protected documents" that:

  1. are not admissible in any proceedings connected with the administration or enforcement
    of the environment protection legislation; and

  2. may not be inspected and used by any regulatory authority for any purpose connected
    with the administration or enforcement of the environment protection legislation.


 Consequently, Voluntary Environmental Audits are carried out in New South Wales by independent environmental consultants,
such as Pollution Control Consultancy and Design (PCCD), engaged by the current or future occupier and/or owner of industrial
premises, in order to:

  1. reveal existing and/or potential environmental threats, and if required;
  2. define measures to eliminate these threats;

without a risk of being legally liable for any findings resulting from the audit process.

In other words, unlike Mandatory Environmental Audits that may be imposed and used against you at any time by
government authorities (e.g. EPA, local councils) , Voluntary Environmental Audits are safe (non-incriminatory) tools
for early detection of possible environmental risks - they are initiated by you and they remain strictly confidential
between you and independent consultants, such as Pollution Control Consultancy and Design (PCCD).




Benefits from Voluntary Environmental Audits include:

  1. identification of the environmental risk;
     

  2. development of pollution reduction programs;
     

  3. prevention of financial loss caused by plant closure, clean-ups or restrictions imposed
    by government bodies as a result of environmentally unsafe practices;
     

  4. avoidance of environmental legal actions against a company, its directors, managers and/or staff;
     

  5. reduction of insurance premiums and potential compensation payouts;
     

  6. demonstration of "due diligence" to a court of law; and
     

  7. cost saving from conservation of resources, minimizing waste and maximizing reuse
    and recycling.


An environmental audit report may strengthen the company's position with finance institutions and shareholders.