What is Five Star Environmental Sustainability Audit?
The Five Star Environmental Sustainability Audit offers a comprehensive evaluation of your organisation’s sustainability policies, procedures, and practices. It goes beyond traditional systems like ISO 14001:2015, providing tailored recommendations to help you improve your sustainability performance and demonstrate your environmental sustainability credentials to your stakeholders.
2022 specification.
DOWNLOAD: Five Star Environmental Sustainability Audit 2022 Specification
Want to know more about the changes? Download our summary of change document.
The audit at a glance
- Five Best Practice Indicators: Assesses your organisation against five key sustainability benchmarks.
- Four Key Sections: Covers all critical aspects of your environmental sustainability.
- Forty-nine (49) Elements: A comprehensive analysis of 49 elements to evaluate your performance.
Who is it Suitable For?
The Five Star Environmental Sustainability Audit is suitable for organisations of any size, across all sectors, that:
- Need a status assessment of their environmental sustainability practices against best practice standards.
- Seek a structured path for implementing or improving sustainability efforts.
- Are looking to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance sustainability performance.
Whether you’re starting your environmental sustainability journey or are already established, the audit supports your organisation’s growth and commitment to environmental responsibility.
How does it work?
- On-Site Review: We assess relevant documentation.
- Interviews & Discussions: Engage with stakeholders, including top management.
- Operational Sampling: Evaluate how your policies are implemented in practice.
What your organisation will receive from the audit
- Detailed Report: Insights on strengths and areas for improvement.
- Detailed recommendations and action planning
- Quantified Outcome: Measurable results for each of the 49 elements.
- Benchmarking across different aspects of the specification
- Globe of Honour Eligibility: Achieve Five Star status and become eligible for this prestigious award.
- Certification of Achievement: Recognise your commitment to sustainability.
Keith Whitehead, Senior Consultant, talks about recent changes to the audit.
Why choose us?
Our internationally recognised audit services ensure your environmental management systems meet best practice standards, promote continual improvement, and effectively support your business goals.
As part of our own quality control processes, we ensure:
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Our audit and consultancy products are regularly reviewed to meet customer needs, expectations and sector best practice
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Consistently high standards of service are achieved through a robust quality assurance process including auditor standardisation, training and performance monitoring
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Our technical specialists serve on strategic committees for occupational health, safety and environmental standards
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We have a unique internationally recognised best practice (five star) audit process
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Industry recognition from awards such as the prestigious Sword or Globe of Honour
Eligibility for 'Best of the best' Awards
Achieving a five star rating gives you the opportunity to apply for the prestigious Sword or Globe of Honour award and be recognised as the ‘best of the best’.
FAQs
Here is a list of common questions that people ask us. If you can’t find what you’re looking for please email [email protected] or call us on +44 (0)20 8741 1231.
What consultancy services do you offer?
Our health and safety and environmental consultancy services are based entirely on customer needs and involve one of our experts helping to support improvements in performance in general or more specific areas (for example: risk assessments, training needs analysis, legionella surveys, asbestos management, permit to work processes, strategic planning, culture surveys, etc.).
What audits does the British Safety Council offer?
We currently offer a range of audit products and services including our best practice Five Star Wellbeing, Five Star Occupational Health and Safety, Five Star Environmental and Sustainability and Five Star Integrated audits. We also offer certification audits to the ISO 14001 (2015) standards and the ISO 45001 standard (when issued). A bespoke sector-specific systems review service (safety and environmental) is also available and provides a baseline indication of how effectively your safety, health and/or environmental systems are being implemented across multiple sites or within specific departments.
Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit - what is it?
Our Five Star Audit is an internationally recognised, quantified and comprehensive audit process used by organisations to compare their health and safety management system against best practice technique and current trends.
Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit - what is changing?
The current specification continues to offer you the opportunity to progress toward a best practice occupational health and safety management system(s) and the business benefits this can produce. The specification aligns best practice safety management indicators (including leadership and stakeholder engagement) against a Plan - Do - Check - Act management model.
As part of the British Safety Council’s commitment to the continual product-improvement, together with a recognition of recent developments in legislative and safety management trends, our five-star audit specification(s) are reviewed on an annual basis.
Five Star Environmental Audit - what is it?
Our Five Star Environmental Audit is an internationally recognised audit process used by leading organisations to compare their environmental performance against best practice and current trends.
What is the Sword of Honour?
The Sword of Honour is an award scheme available to organisations that have achieved a five-star rating in our Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit. A separate award process is independently adjudicated and only those submissions from five star organisations, which meet defined criteria, are awarded the sword of honour status. A true recognition of excellence in health and safety management.
What is the Globe of Honour?
The Globe of Honour is an award scheme available to organisations that have achieved a five-star rating in our Five Star Environmental Audit. A separate award process is independently adjudicated and only those submissions from five star organisations, which meet defined criteria, are awarded the globe of honour status. A true recognition of excellence in environmental management.
ISO 45001 - What is it?
A new international health and safety standard management system standard that is expected to eventually replace BS OHSAS 18001. ISO 45001 reflects contemporary health and safety management requirements.
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Five Star Occupation Health and Safety Audit
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