Environmental auditing is essentially an environmental management tool for measuring the effects of certain activities on the environment against set criteria or standards. Depending on the types of standards and the focus of the audit, there are different types of environmental audit. Environmental auditing is carried out when a development is already in place, and is used to check on existing practices, assessing the environmental effects of current activities. Environmental auditing therefore provides a 'snap-shot' of the current scenario of the site/organization.
