How to Prepare for California EHS Audit: Reporting and Compliance Tips

EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) audits are crucial in California because of the state’s stringent environmental and safety regulations. These audits help businesses identify potential non-compliance issues, reduce environmental risks, and ensure worker safety. They also protect organizations from fines, legal liabilities, and reputational damage. 

Key compliance tips for a successful audit include:

• Staying updated on California-specific laws (like Cal/OSHA and CARB)
• Maintaining accurate records
• Conducting regular internal reviews
• Training staff on EHS policies
• Addressing any previously identified gaps

Proactive engagement in EHS compliance demonstrates a commitment to safety, sustainability, and regulatory adherence. Moreover, it ensures that you have conditions to keep your workers safe, productive, and motivated. 

What is an EHS Audit?

An EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) audit is a systematic evaluation of an organization’s compliance with environmental and workplace safety regulations. It assesses practices, policies, and procedures to ensure they meet legal standards and promote a safe and sustainable working environment. 

In California, EHS audits must consider strict regulations such as Cal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) for workplace safety, CARB (California Air Resources Board) for air quality, and hazardous waste laws under CalEPA (Environmental Protection Agency). 

Businesses have to comply with stringent environmental protections, worker safety protocols, and emission standards. It would be best for businesses to prioritize EHS audits and rely on professional EHS services to ensure that they remain compliant and carry out effective audits. 

Benefits of Conducting EHS Audit

EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) audits offer several key benefits for organizations. They can help you determine where you are in terms of EHS compliance and how to improve your performance. Here are six detailed advantages of conducting EHS audits. 

1. Regulatory Compliance. Audits help ensure adherence to local, state, and federal laws, reducing the risk of fines, penalties, or legal action for non-compliance.

2. Risk Reduction. By identifying potential hazards and environmental risks, audits enable organizations to mitigate dangers to employees, communities, and the environment.

3. Cost Savings. Addressing inefficiencies in processes, such as energy consumption or waste management, can result in operational cost savings. Additionally, avoiding fines and reducing insurance premiums lowers financial liabilities.

4. Improved Reputation. Demonstrating a commitment to health, safety, and sustainability enhances an organization’s reputation with stakeholders, including customers, employees, and regulators.

5. Enhanced public image. The general public now places a high value on environmental standards and workers’ welfare. Businesses that violate these values may lose their reputation and image in the eyes of the public. This may eventually damage your brand. EHS audits reduce the risk of this occurring.

6. Continuous Improvement. Audits provide actionable insights for continuous operational improvement. Often, records of previous audits are required to carry out new ones. Therefore, audits can serve as the basis for continual improvement of your company’s EHS performance.

How to Prepare for a California EHS Audit?

To prepare for an EHS audit in California, you should be fully familiar with the regulations that are relevant to your industry and individual business. This also includes the various local and national regulatory bodies. Remember that California regulations can be much stricter and have additional requirements compared to Federal-level requirements.  In addition, you should inform employees and make sure all necessary documents are ready.

When preparing for an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) audit in California, businesses must consider compliance with various regulatory bodies that enforce state and federal laws. At the federal level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees workplace safety, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates air, water, and hazardous waste standards.

In California, stricter standards are enforced by Cal/OSHA, which provides regulations tailored to the state’s unique industries and risks, and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), which oversees environmental health through specialized boards such as the Air Resources Board (CARB) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). Local agencies, like city or county environmental health departments, may also impose additional requirements.

Thorough preparation for a California EHS audit requires understanding the specific  jurisdiction of these different bodies and staying updated on changing regulations. 

Here is a list of steps to follow when preparing an audit:

1. Identify the Specific Regulations that Apply to your Facility. EHS compliance laws in California are dynamic, complicated and always changing. You should ensure that you are fully aware of the standards giants which you are measuring your company’s performance.

2. Define the Scope of the Audit. You need to decide how big or how ambitious your audit will be. This includes what your goals are and the specific objectives of the audit. For example, do you want a higher score than the previous audit? Do you want to see improvement in employee safety and knowledge?

3. Gather all Relevant Documentation. Audits typically verify the accuracy of EHS-related issues such as safety data sheets (SDSs). They also need to verify documentation such as hazardous waste records, previous audit records, environmental permits, and OSHA reports.

4. Inform Staff. On-the-ground/floor workers and management should be aware that an audit is taking place. They should be given the date and informed that the auditors may ask them questions during the inspection.

5. Safety Equipment and a Pre-Audit Orientation for Auditors. Auditors require safety equipment to conduct their audit in addition to an introduction to the facility layout.

6. Open Discussions. You should discuss past incidents, pollutants, and control measures openly with the auditors. This can give them the necessary information to provide better recommendations after the audit. 

Internal audits should be conducted regularly to address any compliance gaps and ensure readiness.

Conclusion

EHS audits in California are an important part of EHS compliance. They help give you a good idea of what you are doing right in terms of EHS compliance and what needs to be improved. Audits are a continuous process. That means results from previous audits can be used to track improvements over time. 

There are several advantages to having regular audits besides staying on the right side of regulations and standards. In addition to avoiding hefty fines and wrongful lawsuit payouts that result from violating laws relating to occupational safety, you gain the trust of your employees and boost their morale and productivity. This can only lead to improved company performance. 

Your company will also benefit from enhanced public image and reputation or at least avoid the PR fallout from being involved in a highly publicized EHS compliance violation. Internal audits are always an option. However, we recommend external audits to ensure greater objectivity and efficiency. Here at CDMS we have experts with the experience and expertise to make sure that you are hitting all your set targets for EHS compliance. Check out our expert solutions and offers for EHS Audit services.