A new link in the confidence chain: Accreditation provides more support for ISO 14000 audits and registration

1999-10-14

Organizations that register their ISO 14000 environmental management systems (EMS) do so because of an invisible "chain of confidence" linking them to some of the most respected standards institutions, documents and management systems experts in the world.

Since we looked at the confidence chain in the March/April 1999 issue of CONSENSUS, a new link has been added. In July, the Standards Council of Canada accredited the Canadian Environmental Auditing Association (CEAA) as a certification organization for EMS auditors and lead auditors.

Auditors play a central role in ISO 14000 registration. They’re the people who assess an organization’s EMS to ensure that it conforms to the requirements of ISO 14001, both as part of the registration process and on an ongoing basis afterwards. They do that by interviewing personnel, reviewing documents and verifying the organization’s compliance with its stated policies and procedures.

An EMS auditor has to be part private investigator, part legal expert, part scientist and part diplomat. Certification organizations such as CEAA ensure that would-be auditors have the necessary experience and credentials to do the job. CEAA is a non-profit association dedicated to furthering the development and professional practice of environmental auditing.

Its EMS auditor and EMS lead auditor certification programs are based on ISO 14012, an international standard that provides requirements for education, work experience and training. To earn their CEAA certificate, candidates have to demonstrate that they have taken part in the required number of audits, have completed an environmental auditing training course, and have on-thejob experience in the environmental field.

CEAA is the first EMS auditor and lead auditor certifier to be accredited by the Standards Council. Auditor certification is an important link in the confidence chain.

The Standards Council’s accreditation criteria for EMS registrars require  registrars’ audit teams to include auditors who are certified to ISO 14012 by an accredited or recognized certification organization. That requirement helps to ensure that Canadian registrations will be recognized outside Canada.

CEAA’s activities aren’t limited to EMS auditor certification, however. Since 1995, the association has operated a Certified Environmental Auditor (CEA) certification program. Intended for environmental auditors working in industry, government or environmental consulting firms, the CEA program has more demanding criteria than the EMS program: CEA applicants must have more audit experience than EMS applicants, for example.

A related program certifies sustainable forest management (SFM) auditors who carry out the audits required by SFM standards such as those developed by CSA International.

For more information on CEAA’s certification programs, including a registry of certified auditors, please contact CEAA at (905) 814-1160, fax (905) 814-1158, e-mail [email protected] or visit their Web site at http://www.ceaa-acve.ca.

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This article first appeared in Volume 26 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 1999.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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