ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor

ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor

About this course

An internal auditor who reads the aspects register in the office and never walks to the stormwater outlet has audited a document, not a system. An environmental audit happens at the drain, the bund, the waste yard, the stack and the chemical store, and in the permit file that says what is allowed to leave the site.

This course trains you to audit an ISO 14001:2026 environmental management system the way a good certification body auditor does. It is built on clause 9.2 of the fourth edition, which now expects audit objectives to be defined for every audit and the audit programme to be documented, and on ISO 19011:2026, the current guidelines for auditing management systems.

You learn the principles, then audit each clause in turn, then build an audit programme, plan and run audits on a case site evidence pack, write nonconformities that cannot be argued with, and judge corrective action responses.

Who it is for

Internal auditors and people about to become one, EMS coordinators and SHEQ managers who run the audit programme, process owners who will be audited, and consultants. The people who test the system.

What you finish with

You build an audit programme, plan and run two audits on an evidence pack from a case site, write the findings and decide on corrective action responses.

Curriculum

6 modules, 31 lessons and sittings.

Module 1: The internal auditor, the requirement and the principles

• Lesson 1.1: What clause 9.2 asks, and what an internal audit is for
• Lesson 1.2: The principles of auditing in ISO 19011:2026
• Lesson 1.3: Competence, objectivity and impartiality
• Lesson 1.4: What makes an environmental audit different

Module 2: Auditing the requirements, clause by clause

• Lesson 2.1: Auditing context, interested parties and scope (4)
• Lesson 2.2: Auditing leadership and the policy (5)
• Lesson 2.3: Auditing aspects, compliance obligations and risks (6.1)
• Lesson 2.4: Auditing objectives and changes (6.2 and 6.3)
• Lesson 2.5: Auditing support and operational control (7 and 8)
• Lesson 2.6: Auditing performance evaluation and improvement (9 and 10)

Module 3: The audit programme, clause 9.2.2

• Lesson 3.1: Environmental importance, changes and previous results
• Lesson 3.2: Audit objectives, criteria and scope for each audit
• Lesson 3.3: Building the programme and documenting it
• Lesson 3.4: Combined audits with ISO 9001 and ISO 45001

Module 4: Planning and conducting the audit

• Lesson 4.1: The audit plan
• Lesson 4.2: Checklists that help and checklists that hide
• Lesson 4.3: The opening meeting
• Lesson 4.4: The site walk: drains, stores, stacks and bins
• Lesson 4.5: Interviewing people and reading records
• Lesson 4.6: Sampling and audit evidence
• Lesson 4.7: Remote and hybrid audit methods
• Practice exercise 1: plan and run an audit on the case site

Module 5: Findings, reporting and follow-up

• Lesson 5.1: Writing a nonconformity that cannot be argued with
• Lesson 5.2: Opportunities for improvement and observations
• Lesson 5.3: The closing meeting and the audit report
• Lesson 5.4: Judging a corrective action response
• Lesson 5.5: Verifying effectiveness and closing out
• Practice exercise 2: findings and corrective action decisions

Module 6: Course assessment, marked online

• Assessment part 1: build the audit programme
• Assessment part 2: plan and conduct two audits
• Assessment part 3: findings and corrective action decisions

How you are assessed

Two practice exercises, then a three part course assessment marked online: build the audit programme, plan and conduct two audits on a case site evidence pack, then write the findings and decide on corrective action responses. The pass mark is 70 percent on every assessment, with three attempts on each.

What you need

A phone, tablet or laptop with an internet connection. You do not need a site of your own: every practical task runs on a case site with the data supplied and a model answer, or on your own site if you have permission to use its information. You will find it useful to have your own licensed copy of ISO 14001:2026, which is sold by ISO and through national standards bodies such as the SABS. The course paraphrases the requirements and does not reproduce the standard.

Certificate

On passing you receive an ASC Food Safety Training certificate of completion that names the course, the code and the date, with a verification code an employer can check.

ISO 14001:2026 is a standard published by ISO. This course is an independent training product and is not approved or endorsed by ISO or by any certification body.

See all four ISO 14001:2026 courses and which one fits your job at ascfoodsafetytraining.com/iso-14001/.