Summary

As the estimated cost of cleaning up contamination on federal lands rises to hundreds of billions of dollars, environmental auditing is increasingly viewed as a way to foster better environmental practices in operating federal facilities. Environmental audits are comprehensive and systematic reviews of environmental performance are used to improve compliance with environmental laws and minimize future environmental damage and cleanup costs. This report (1) examines the experiences of organizations that are leaders in environmental auditing and identifies characteristics that distinguish their programs, (2) determines the extent to which federal agencies use environmental auditing and the benefits that could accrue from its wider use, and (3) identifies obstacles and disincentives to the more-effective use of environmental auditing by these agencies.

GAO found that: (1) effective environmental audit programs have strong support from top management and the resources necessary to hire and train audit personnel, are independent from external or internal pressures, and employ quality assurance procedures to ensure accuracy and thoroughness; (2) private and public organizations with effective environmental auditing programs have reported improved compliance, reduced exposure to civil and criminal liability, operational cost savings, and reduced environmental hazards; (3) most federal agencies do not conduct environmental auditing programs; (4) although the Bureau of Land Management and Federal Aviation Administration have implemented preliminary environmental auditing programs, improvements to these programs are still needed to fully address these agencies' significant environmental liabilities; (5) most other federal agencies are beginning to develop environmental auditing programs; and (6) the obstacles to further development and implementation of environmental auditing in federal agencies include the inconsistent application of audit report and enforcement policies and the lack of commitment from senior agency management, incentives from federal agencies, and agency technical expertise.