ECOPASS Audit Method

 ECOPASS is appreciated due to the pragmatism and realistic vision of the management systems implemented. The complexity of an environmental, quality, and safety security or sustainable development procedure, underpinned by a management system, requires that all the necessary competences be reunited during the audit: knowledge of the activity, the specific environmental and sustainable development problematic, the regulations that apply, and the overall organisational structure of the candidate company, etc.  Within the ECOPASS network, the constitution of audit teams is favoured over a single auditor as this ensures a greater plus-value for the company concerned during the audit. The ECOPASS audit teams bring together the experience and know-how of the different auditors allowing them to make the most of their skills and concert their efforts. It also facilitates the identification of the axes of procedural improvement as well as the strengths of the existing system.  For ECOPASS, the aim of an audit is to ensure, in addition to the conformity to a reference system, that the Management System is efficient, pertinent and that the stakeholders can be confident about their system.

The conclusions drawn from the environmental audits are illustrated in the form of a diagram, as shown by the environmental example below.

The conclusions drawn from the environmental audits are illustrated in the form of a diagram

• 0: the environmental management system is not operating properly or is inefficient.
• 1: the environmental management system is only partially in operation or partly efficient.
• 2: no challenge against the efficiency of the environmental management system but its implementation could allow errors that would result in problems.
• 3: an efficient environmental management system.