Environmental Audits for Supply Chain Sustainability

Ensure your suppliers comply with environmental standards to protect your reputation and lower costs through sustainable practices

QIS's environmental audit services are an effective way for businesses to assess and verify suppliers' adherence to sustainability standards. By conducting an environmental audit, you can pinpoint areas for improvement within your supply network and drive tangible, impactful change.

Why Conduct an Environmental Audit?

Companies are driven to conduct environmental audits by a combination of regulatory pressure, risk management, stakeholder expectations, and strategic benefits. Environmental audits help you:

• Identify environmental risks in your supply chain, particularly in vulnerable sourcing regions
• Comply with increasing sustainability regulations
• Identify areas of inefficiency and waste
• Demonstrate responsibility to stakeholders
• Build your reputation with consumers as a responsible brand
• Contribute to a more sustainable future

Our Audit Protocol

QIS offers an environmental auditing service based on GSCP level 1 and the ISO 14001 family of standards for evaluating performance in environmental management. Our environmental audit assesses factory compliance with local laws and regulations for environmental protection, as well as certain best practices derived from the ISO 14000 family of standards:

• Environmental management systems
• Energy use, transport, and greenhouse gas emissions
• Water use
• Wastewater effluent
• Emissions to air
• Pollution and hazardous substances prevention
• Waste management
• Major incident prevention and management
• Contaminated land/soil and groundwater pollution prevention
• Land use and biodiversity
• Environmental nuisance control (odor, noise, dust, and light)

Enhance Your Audit with Higg FEM and amfori BEPI

In addition to our standard protocols, we offer audits aligned with the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) and the amfori Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI).

• Higg FEM: As an approved verifying body, QIS provides benchmarks for sustainability, particularly in the apparel and footwear industries
• amfori BEPI: QIS is accredited to carry out BEPI audits designed to improve environmental performance across diverse supply chains, offering insights and best practices applicable to all industries

What You Will Receive Following an Audit

At the end of every environmental audit, we provide a corrective action plan (CAP), which is agreed upon with the factory management staff. The CAP outlines remediations the facility must take to improve its environmental performance, with timelines and clear actions prioritized according to their beneficial impact.

Environmental Risk Management

Our comprehensive environmental audits help you proactively manage environmental risks across your supply chain. By identifying potential issues before they become costly problems, you can protect your brand reputation, ensure regulatory compliance, and demonstrate your commitment to sustainable business practices.

Sustainability Reporting and Transparency

Our detailed audit reports provide the documentation you need for sustainability reporting, stakeholder communications, and regulatory compliance. With clear metrics and actionable recommendations, you can track progress and demonstrate continuous improvement in your environmental performance.

QIS Benefits

• In-depth local knowledge with auditors attuned to the culture, laws and practices of their region
• CSR experts receive regular training on regulations and best practice
• Global coverage across 100 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America
• Continuous improvement approach drives long-term change and empowers suppliers to act
• Online program management book audits, make payments, and download detailed reports
• Custom compliance dashboard to assess supplier performance, track progress and visualize your supply network
• Ranked #1 in the industry for customer satisfaction based on independent NPS measurement