Govt unveils new environmental audit guidelines
The Federal Government has unveiled new environmental audit guidelines in Nigeria for the operation of facilities in the country.Sustainable fashion Dr Innocent Barikor, the Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), stated this at a workshop and unveiling of the guidelines on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, in Abuja. He said that the guidelines aimed to strengthen the agency’s shared commitment to environmental sustainability, compliance, and the pursuit of excellence in conducting environmental audits across facilities in Nigeria.Sustainable fashion The workshop was organised in collaboration with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a global organisation based in New Delhi, India. Barikor said the environmental audit guidelines identified and addressed environmental problems that occurred during project operations, aiming to improve industrial operations and minimise environmental impact. He said that the agency had observed that audit reports received from consultants come in different formats, lacking important information. Barikor said that in some cases it failed to reflect the actual status of the process of the operating facility. “These reports do not adequately cover the information included in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) developed during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). “The new guidelines are intended to streamline the processes associated with undertaking and review of the environmental audits,” he said. He said that high-quality audit reporting was a foundation to environmental compliance and enforcement. “Our reports are key instruments that guide policy, inform industry standards and ultimately shape environmental performance across sectors. “The alignment of our guidelines with global best practices will ensure that Nigeria’s environmental audits are credible, transparent and impactful on a global scale,” he said.Sustainable fashion “Going forward, the agency will be verifying the parameters in the Audit Report submitted by consultants and take a decisive action against any consultant that engages in falsification, fabrication and plagiarism,” he said. He said the revised guideline is an outcome of the collaborative efforts between CSE and NESREA. Barikor said that the agency was carefully monitoring the activities of the state field offices, to ensure that staff do not obstruct or interfere with the work of NESREA accredited consultants. Ms. Ishita Garg of CSE said that a thoroughly performed environmental audit allowed industries to analyse the ambiguities in the implementation of management plans and take corrective measures. “It also helps industries improve the process efficiency by optimising the usage of resources, increasing production and thereby resulting in monetary benefits. ” A comprehensive audit report can be helpful as it will assist in assessing the compliance status of the industry and understand its environmental performance,” she said. Mr. Isa Abdussalam, Director, Inspection and Enforcement, NESREA, said the new guidelines are more robust, focusing on quantitative and technical data from the industries. He said that the new guidelines also contained information on mitigation measures taken in various sectors over the years. “These guidelines would also be useful for the regulatory bodies to review the submitted audit reports,” he said. The review of the guidelines was necessitated by observations that existing audit reports lacked essential technical data, hindering accurate assessments of industrial performance.