Our internal environmental auditors – here is how they work!

A government authority like Uppsala University is required to perform internal environmental audits annually. An audit must check that the authority is following applicable environmental legislation and other governance documents for the authority’s environmental management and environmental work. In 2015, Uppsala University began to have its own environmental auditors.

The organisation that performs the audit work consists of the head of environment, environmental coordinator and three environmental auditors, each of whom has different responsibilities. The internal environmental auditors work on behalf of the Buildings Divisions of the University.

“After these five years, the organisation has developed a lot. This has enabled us to be able to delve deeper in our audits. Among other things, communication within the divisions and departments has developed with regard to environmental issues as well as knowledge of the University's environmental work and awareness of how we work. This is superb development that we hope continues,” comments Environmental Coordinator Anna Sandström.

 

But what does an environmental auditor do?

We asked a few questions of two of the University’s environmental auditors, who are the ones with the most contact with the departments and divisions undergoing an audit.

Set Lonnert has a half-time position at the University Library, and has had the role of environmental auditor since the end of 2019. At the time, he had been working as an environmental representative for a few years and was given the opportunity to take a course on internal environmental audits.

“It felt exciting and extremely motivating to be able to supplement my environmental work with auditing. I now work 20 percent as an environmental auditor and 30 percent as an assistant librarian,” he says. 

Being an environmental auditor at the University is an assignment that takes up 10 to 20 percent of regular working hours.

Gunilla Petersson, procurement officer at the Financial Administration and Procurement Division, has been an internal environmental auditor since September of last year.

“I am very interested in environmental issues. Among other things, I have been the environmental representative of our division for a couple of years, so it felt natural to apply for this assignment. But I have not undergone any training, so I am not responsible for the audits myself. I am instead an assistant,” she explains.
 

They work together
 

The environmental auditors work together. Each audit assignment has a head auditor and an assistant auditor, with the auditors generally taking turns in the different roles. There must be a balance between the audit assignment and regular work duties. In addition, you cannot serve as head auditor for your own division or department. It is the head auditor who asks questions during an audit, communicates with those being audited, and writes the report. The assistant auditor takes notes and provides support.
 

How do you decide which departments/divisions should be audited?

“This is generally a matter for the environmental coordinator, but at present we follow a three-year plan, which means that we return to the same department or division after about three years. Here at Uppsala University, we have organised it all according to departments and divisions, while other universities may work according to faculty level,” says Set Lonnert.
 

What do you look at in an environmental audit? 

In principle, it is governed by the environmental management system, which means that we audit in relation to many different laws as well as internal governance documents that the University has. Questions can include: Are you aware of this law? How do you ensure that everyone is aware of purchasing procedures for environmentally-adapted products?

The environmental aspect traditionally concerns matters related to purchasing, procurement, travel, premises, energy, recycling, waste, digitisation, transports and machinery.

“For example, there may be questions about how the department handles environmentally hazardous chemicals: Do all employees know how this should be stored and handled? Is it properly labelled? Do you have procedures for accidents? In this area, there are a number of laws and ordinances to stay abreast of: the Environmental Code, the Waste Ordinance, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's regulations, and more,” states Set Lonnert. Gunilla Petersson then adds:

“Here, you can also raise questions about sustainable development, such as: What is your biggest opportunity to contribute to a positive impact on sustainable development? – and make reference to the University's Action plan for Sustainable Development  2019-2021 and  Environmental Objectives and Action Plan 2019-2021.

Before the corona pandemic, the audits were conducted on site, but now everything is done digitally via Zoom. 

The work can be organised in many different ways, but questionnaires made up of a number of questions is the most common form. These are sent beforehand to those responsible at the department being audited. 

And the questions vary, since a natural science department generally has different activities than an administrative division. For instance, a question about radiation protection is hardly something relevant to ask the Communications Division.

At the time when audits could take place on site, the environmental auditors also walked around the premises; looked in refuse rooms, fume cabinets, clean rooms, kitchens (for waste), etc. and asked staff or students random environment-related questions. They would really like to resume the physical visits.

“I have only been involved in interviews with the administrative divisions via Zoom,” says Gunilla Petersson. “But since I work in the Segerstedt Building, I know the environment there in terms of sorting for recycling, refuse rooms, the restaurant, etc.” 

“When it comes to the departments, we are also considering asking for photos of different parts of the premises, as a complement to the Zoom meeting, until we can visit the departments again.”  
 

Deviation and notation
 

The actual follow-up of an environmental audit is handled by the environmental coordinator. The auditors assess whether there is a deviation or a notation. If the problem is minor, we just make a notation in the report. A third category is recommendation, with a suggestion of what the department or division can do themselves. 

“The best part about this work is, of course, getting unique insight into the University’s very broad range of activities, as we visit many different places. Admittedly, our questions are based on an environmental aspect – but we also ask questions about sustainability and perhaps soon also about the climate,” say Set Lonnert and Gunilla Petersson.
 

And what is most difficult? 

Well, the corona pandemic makes communication more difficult since you are not physically present. In such case, there are questions that easily arise, such as: Are we being fair? Have they understood – and have we understood? The conversations become short and body language is lost – which is something that applies to all communication online.