Any business that has been successful for any length of time will understand the importance of environmental compliance. Over the past 50 years, our country has become more aware and much more careful about protecting the environment. The laws with which corporations need to comply have increased dramatically over the years, and failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations could be disastrous for a business.
Modern businesses face a significant problem with compliance. The complexity and breadth of the regulatory landscape for environmental protection is almost impossible to navigate without specific legal expertise in this area. Even with the best of efforts, a corporation could be exposed to compliance violations without even knowing it because of a simple oversight or lack of legal knowledge.
An environmental audit
An environmental audit by an experienced legal team can be a tremendous benefit to a business. Lawyers with extensive knowledge of environmental laws and regulations can explore your company’s products, processes, policies and facilities to uncover any possible compliance issues.
From initial questionnaires and meeting with the executive team to a full facility tour, examination of processes and best practices and an in-depth report, a skilled legal team can provide you with comprehensive compliance analysis.
It is important to work with a team that will ensure confidentiality. Exploring possible compliance issues so that you can fix them should be a cause for further exposure. You need to be protected from legal problems.
How to handle an audit
When looking for a legal team to perform an environmental audit, you should seek out a team that is:
- Experienced: Helping businesses comply with environmental regulations is no simple matter. You want to be sure your legal team knows this area of law.
- Cost-effective: It should not cost you more to assess your compliance than the fines and penalties for noncompliance. Make sure your legal team keeps their cost-effective.
- Comprehensive: If your legal team misses an important detail, its analysis will not help your business.
- Efficient: Your legal team should provide answers for your business quickly so that you can uncover compliance problems and take immediate steps to remedy the situation.
An environmental audit is not an area to take lightly. The consequences are severe for compliance violations, so make sure your audit team has the knowledge and experience to help you make sure your business is in full compliance.