02/03/2021
The Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) 2014 recognized the environmental audit (EA) as an incentive instrument for the implementation of environmental management (in Clause 7, Article 6). However, to date, there has been no guiding document regarding this content for implementation. In fact, the EA has been implemented in a number of projects and enterprises, but mainly integrated in financial statement audits, compliance audits, energy audits without a proper EA.
From the results of implementation in some units as well as the correct assessment of the role and significance of the EA, also from the study of experiences in some countries around the world, the research team has proposed to develop a separate article on the EA. On 17th November 2020, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam passed the LEP2020 with 171 Articles of which Article 74 has provided more specific and detailed EA content for production, business and service establishments and assigned the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment to provide technical guidance on environmental self-audit activities of production, business and service establishments. In addition, the LEP 2020 also stipulates the role of the State Audit Office of Việt Nam in the implementation of environmental management audit (specified in Article 160).
The EA institution in the LEP 2020 includes the following contents:
Firstly, the LEP has provided an overview and complete EA concept for production, business and service establishments. The EA is a systematic and comprehensive review and assessment of the efficiency of environmental management and pollution control of production, business and service establishments. Comparing with the EA concepts that some countries and international organizations are using today, it shows that the above concept is appropriate, fully covers the main content and purpose of EA.
Production, business and service establishments have to implemente the EA on pollution control and waste management
Secondly, the EA implementation at production, business and service establishments includes 2 contents: First is the use of energy, chemicals, raw materials, scraps imported from abroad as raw production materials and second is pollution control and waste management. With the above mentioned content, it can be understood that EA implementation at production, business and service establishments includes: thematic audit (energy, chemicals, fuels, raw materials, wastes), transport audit (imported scraps) and audit of compliance with policies and legal provisions on environmental protection.
Thematic audit, also known as technical audit: will help each production, business and service establishment improve the efficiency of environmental management, and increase efficiency in the use of energy, water and raw materials, and have suitable solutions to treat wastes generated in the production process. Requirements for input information such as energy, chemicals, raw materials and output information such as products and generated wastes are very important and necessary for thematic audit implementation through physical balance calculation method.
Transport audit: the implementation will help production, business and service establishments identify the causes of loss of raw materials, scraps and environmental pollution during transportation from warehouses, ports... to factories. The implementation of this content also requires full information about the transport means, distance, plan, equipment, and technical equipment…
Audit of compliance with policies and legal provisions on environmental protection: information on the operation situation, the environmental record are the necessary input sources. The experience of some countries shows that in order to implement audit of compliance with policies and legal provisions on environmental protection, it is necessary to have full information about the environment of enterprises through access to records or through surveys, collecting information by questionnaires and actual observations in enterprises.
Thirdly, the State’s incentive policies for production, business and service establishments to implement environmental self-audit are issued without mandatory requirements. Such provisions aim to create favourable conditions for production, business and service establishments to actively implement. Each production, business and service establishment can choose by itself: Implement environmental self-audit if there are sufficient conditions of human resources, technical equipment; or hire a consulting unit with full functions, duties and other conditions to advise and prepare the establishment’s EA report. The above provisions are intended to encourage enterprises to implement EA and choose the optimal implementation plan, in accordance with their own conditions and capabilities. The ultimate goal is to realize by themselves the importance and role of the EA in environmental management and production and business plan.
Because the EA is a new institution, so to ensure the guidance on implementation of enterprises, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is tasked with developing the EA guidelines for production, business and service establishments. If this guiding document is issued, it will be the basis for establishments to make EA reports in accordance with features and characteristics of each production sector and area. The content of the guiding document includes the orders, procedures, steps and methods necessary for EA implementation at the enterprises as well as the general forms in the EA report.
The provisions on EA in the LEP 2020 is a major step for better environmental management at the enterprises, helping enterprises have more options with more solid legal basis in the implementation of environmental management at the enterprises.
MSc. Hàn Trần Việt
Environmental Science Institute, Vietnam Environment Administration
