About First Party Auditing

An internal audit can also be seen as a 'First Party' conformity assessment audit. (as compared with an external party auditing your system). This internal audit or First Party Audit is also necessary to ensure you are 'conformity ready' if you choose to progress to Second or Third Party (external) auditing.

In First Party Auditing, someone from within your organization will review the event sustainability management system. The person who takes on the auditing role should have adequate experience and competency to be able to identify and understand event sustainability issues. This is important so they can interpret the implementation of the management system considering the context of the organization, external and internal issues, all framed against the organization’s sustainable development principles.

For self-assessment claims to be credible, the organization should ensure these claims are supported by the existence of a robust, internally transparent, and well-documented system. Consider how you will ‘prove’ your conformity if your claims are questioned by internal or external stakeholders.

Internal Audit Steps

To ensure you have adhered to the requirement of the standard's Clause 9.3 Internal Audit, and to make an authentic self-assessed claim of conformity to ISO 20121, follow these steps:

1. Buy a Copy of the Standard
If you are going to assess your conformity to the standard, you had best have a copy of the standard at hand! You can buy a copy of the standard through your national standards body. We recommend you download the pdf. Purchase the standard.

2. Read the Standard & Annex Guidance
Ensure you read all the clauses in the standard and all the explanatory guidance in the annexes. Ensure you understand what is involved in implementing the standard before you try to audit it! The SEMS Tool covers all aspects of the standard however, so you can be assured if you successfully complete the SEMS Tool you will also meet the requirements of the standard and our Internal Audit Checklist will help you to do this.

3. Define the Scope
Ensure you understand what is included and what is excluded in the management system. If you have a multi-venue or multi-site event are all locations included? If you are an event-organizing company that does several types of events, is this just for a single type of event or will it encompass all event types? 

4. Sample Event or Activities
The conformity assessment must be framed around an example of typical organization event activities. So if you do more than one event, choose an event against which to assess the implementation of your procedures and processes.

4. Sample Event or Activities
The conformity assessm

6. Map Conformity Against Requirements
Use the Internal Audit Checklist to crosscheck your processes, procedures, systems and documentation address each of the requirements of the standard.

7. Make Conformity Claims or Progress to External Auditing
Use the correct language to communicate publically your First Party conformity to ISO 20121. You should conduct internal audits annually. If you choose to undergo external auditing, apply for Second or Third party auditing.

8. Include Your Conformity Assessment on the SEA ISO 20121 Log
All events that have implemented ISO 20121 are encouraged to log their conformity with the Sustainable Event Alliance.

How Can the SEMS Tool Help?

By using the SEMS Tool the audit process is streamlined as all evidence is held within the tool. Your auditor can be assigned a log in to the tool to review the evidence and map it back to the requirements of the standard. Buy the SEMS Tool.

Purchase Access to the Internal Audit Tool Now!

Click the Paypal button below to purchase the tool. An annual license is US$40 and is valid for one event. Upon clicking the Paypal button below  you will be asked to log into your Paypal account to complete the purchase. If you don't have a Paypal account there is an option to pay by credit card through Paypal.

Upon completion of the payment you will be forwarded to the Internal Audit Checklist which is hosted online.

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