The problem of environmental management in our high-tech era is very acute. It is primarily due to factors of continuous increase in production capacity and the rapid pace of economic growth.
The essence of this complex problem is to permanently increase the cost of satisfying the ever-increasing needs for elements of the natural ecological system, which are essential for industrial production; in large losses of social labor, which are caused by the irrational use of raw materials, various materials and fuel and lubricants, which are important components of the natural ecological complex; and, as a result, the emerging need to allocate significant public resources and labor to eliminate the effects of large-scale industrial production on the integrity and balance of the ecosystem.
All this led to the emergence of an economic environmental mechanism. This mechanism of regulation and control of technogenic activities is called "environmental audit". The most important principle of this environmental control system is the conduct of an environmental audit by a group of independent experts, which will ensure the objectivity of the study.
An environmental audit is a systematically conducted and documented expert analysis and assessment of the economic activity of a subject of the economy with a view to fulfilling the requirements of environmental legislation and relevant regulatory acts by this enterprise, as well as its compliance with standards, certificates and resolutions of state environmental authorities, the purpose of which is to ensure environmental and technological security at this facility. The environmental audit also provides for consultations and the issuance of necessary recommendations to improve the effectiveness of environmental measures carried out at this facility.
The environmental audit of the enterprise contributes to the improvement of management and is considered as an organizational and legal mechanism for regulating its economic and environmental activities. Such an environmental audit can be both integrated and professionally oriented or highly specialized. Being a voluntary procedure, an environmental audit does not have regulatory, prohibitive or punitive functions.
During its implementation, factors such as sources of pollution, treatment, disposal and safe disposal of waste, as well as the cost of measures taken, are analyzed. An environmental audit is considered completed after the preparation of an expert report, which includes a detailed description of the goals and objectives of the environmental protection measures, as well as the results of the analysis obtained during the audit of the data. This report is sent to the initiator of the audit and is used to develop and implement planned measures and programs aimed at minimizing the detrimental effects on the natural ecosystem and optimizing the environmental characteristics of this industrial facility.