The organization shall conduct internal audits at planned intervals to provide information on whether the event sustainability management system:

a) conforms to:

• the organization's own requirements for its event sustainability management system;
• the requirements of this International Standard;

b) is effectively implemented and maintained;

c) is being effective in achieving the sustainable development policy, objectives and targets.

The organization shall:

• plan, establish, implement and maintain an audit programme(s), including the frequency, methods, responsibilities, planning requirements and reporting. The audit programme(s) shall take into consideration the importance of the processes concerned and the results of previous audits;
• define the audit criteria and scope for each audit;
• select auditors and conduct audits to ensure objectivity and the impartiality of the audit process;
• ensure that the results of the audits are reported to relevant management;
• retain documented information as evidence of the implementation of the audit programme and the audit results.

REQUIREMENTS:

It is a requirement of this clause that the organisation conduct an internal audit to assess its conformity to the requirements of the standard.

EDUCATION:

An internal audit allows you to ensure that your management system is complete, relevant, up to date, is effective and is being implemented.

• Review the documentation that should be in place by a management system, and ensure it is current, and accessible. Use this opportunity to consider if any changes to your situation have occurred since the document was originally produced, and make modifications to encompass any new issues, objectives or plans.
• Review that awareness is in place by all those individuals and entities that are involved in implementing the system, procedures and processes.
• Review that the plans, procedures and processes are actually being implemented.
• Review the performance measurement process, it’s relevance, accuracy and level of robustness.

Where documentation, procedures or processes are a requirement of the standard and are not available, these will also be recorded as ‘non-conformities’ and corrective action taken.

Where there are deviations from procedures or policies observed, these will be reported as ‘non conformities’. Corrective action will need to be taken.

Internal audits of a management system based on this International Standard can be performed by personnel from within the organization, or by external persons selected by the organization, working on its behalf. In either case, the persons conducting the audit should be competent and in a position to do so impartially and objectively. In smaller organizations, auditor independence can be demonstrated by an auditor being free from responsibility for the activity being audited.

RELEVANT SEMS QUESTION:

REPORTING AND CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT/Evaluating Compliance: The management system is audited internally.

SAMPLE SEMS DOCUMENT:

• Internal Audit Procedure

EXAMPLE OF EVIDENCE TEXT:

The audit process includes;

• Review of required documentation and its currency
• Review of implementation of documented procedures and processes
• Review of performance measurement process

Where there are deviations from procedures or policies observed, these will be reported as non conformities. Corrective action will be taken in due course.

Where documentation, procedures or processes are a requirement of the standard and are not available, these will also be recorded as non conformities and corrective action taken.

The responsibly of this is the Sustainability Manager, accompanied by one representative of the Greening Committee.

Timing:

We will each year cross check against the requirements of ISO 20121 to ensure the Event Sustainability Management system has been implemented effectively.

This will occur in the first half of the calendar year at an appropriate time in the work schedule. The internal audits will be logged.

Implementation of procedures and processes will be reviewed year-round during the event planning cycle, and importantly, during the delivery of the actual event in [insert date/s].

Deviations which occur during the event delivery, will be recorded as non-conformities however it is expected in many cases that corrections can be taken in real time.  A report for at-event deviations and real time corrections will be produced.

It is expected that an external audit will undertaken every 24 months or as is prescribed by a scheme accredited by JASANZ.

Audit Log:

[This would then have a link to an audit log, or actually have the dates written in here.]

Internal Audit Outcomes:

The findings of the internal audit will be included in a report on the implementation of the management system. Any non-conformities or identified improvements to be undertaken will be included in this report. These actions will have delegation of responsibility and time lines and will be reviewed on the schedule described in the report.

Read a sample internal audit report here. [GSP has not produced a sample audit report].

AUDITOR INSTRUCTIONS:

• Check that the organization audits its management system
• Check it is documented who conducts the audit and when it is done.
• This may be evidenced through a procedure or process outlying how they do the internal audit.
• The SEMS document: SUMMARY OF DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED BY ISO 20121 20121 could be used as the basis of cross checking.
• Ensure they own a copy of the standard!
• Check they have assigned a competent person to do the audit. This may mean the person has been trained in ISO implementation and auditing.

AUDIT OUTCOMES:

• The organization conducts internal audits at planned intervals to provide information on whether the event sustainability management system is being implemented effectively.
• There is documentation to state who conducts the audit and when they occur.
• Those conducting the audits have the competency to do so.
• The organization owns a copy of the standard.