Last updated 6 October 2026
ISO 14001:2026 does not require internal auditors to be licensed or registered, and no South African law does either. Your organisation decides whether you are competent under clause 7.2 and selects you under clause 9.2.2 b) to audit objectively and impartially. To earn that place, you learn ISO 14001:2026 and the ISO 19011:2026 audit method, learn the environmental law your site works under, and complete audits under supervision.
A QC supervisor at a dairy in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands found her name on the March internal audit schedule with six weeks’ notice. She knew pasteurisation inside out. She had never read ISO 14001, never seen a trade effluent permit, and did not know what an auditor is allowed to write down. This is the route I would map for anyone in her seat.
A direct way to become audit ready is ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor. In about 14 hours online you build an audit programme, plan and run two audits on a case site evidence pack, and write the findings and corrective action decisions. R3 850 for a limited period, normally R4 670.
Who is allowed to be an ISO 14001 internal auditor?
Anyone the organisation judges competent and can place so that the audit is objective and impartial. ISO 14001:2026 sets no qualification, no minimum years of experience and no registration for internal auditors.
The requirement sits in clause 9.2.2 b): the organisation selects auditors and conducts audits so that the audits are objective and the audit process is impartial. The notes to the definition of audit in 3.4.1 add two useful points. An internal audit can be done by the organisation itself or by an external party on its behalf. Independence can be shown by freedom from responsibility for the activity being audited, or by freedom from bias and conflict of interest.
Clause 7.2 does the rest: the organisation determines the competence needed, makes sure people have it, and keeps evidence available. Annex A.7.2 names internal audit among the EMS roles that need it. So when a certification body auditor samples your audit reports, the next question is always the same: why is this person competent, and where is the evidence? A certificate from a two day course in 2019 with no audits since does not answer it.
What competence does an ISO 14001 internal auditor need?
Six areas: audit method, the standard, environmental technical knowledge, compliance obligations, the site itself, and personal behaviour. Most new auditors arrive strong in one or two and thin in the rest.
| Competence area | What it covers | How you show it |
|---|---|---|
| Audit method | Planning from an audit objective, interviewing, sampling, writing findings, reporting | Training record, audit plans and reports you wrote |
| The standard | ISO 14001:2026 clauses 4 to 10, how they link, what changed from 2015 | Training record, a findings sample that cites clauses correctly |
| Environmental technical knowledge | Effluent, emissions, waste, refrigerants, chemicals, what a working bund or grease trap looks like | Site walks with process owners, sector experience |
| Compliance obligations | Enough of NEMA, the Waste Act, the Air Quality Act, the National Water Act and municipal by-laws to recognise what applies and what evidence proves it | Findings that trace obligations to controls and records |
| The site | Processes, drainage, shifts, who owns what | Audit plans that cover night shift, wet weather and contractors |
| Personal behaviour | Open minded, observant, tactful, decisive, able to hold a finding under pressure | Written assessment by an experienced auditor who observed you |
Food people usually arrive with the audit habit from years of BRCGS or FSSC 22000 audits. What they lack is the environmental eye. On an environmental walk you look at where the water goes after the floor drain, what is in the skip behind dispatch, and whether the diesel tank bund valve is closed.
What do the ISO 19011:2026 principles ask of you?
ISO 19011:2026 is guidance, not a requirement, and it sets out seven principles: integrity, fair presentation, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, an evidence-based approach and a risk-based approach. They tell you what to do when the checklist runs out.
Annex A.9.2 of ISO 14001:2026 points to ISO 19011 for how to audit. In plain terms the seven principles ask this of you:
- Integrity: be honest, work within your competence and notice the pressures that could sway your judgement.
- Fair presentation: report what you found and what you could not check, including obstacles and unresolved disagreements.
- Due professional care: apply judgement in proportion to how much people will rely on your audit.
- Confidentiality: protect what you see, and do not use it for gain or gossip.
- Independence: stay free of bias and conflict of interest, and stay away from auditing your own work where you can.
- Evidence-based approach: base conclusions on information you can verify, from a sample you can explain.
- Risk-based approach: spend audit time where the environmental and audit risks are highest.
At a restaurant on the East Rand the manager said used cooking oil went to an approved collector every Friday. The slips agreed. The unlabelled half drum behind the cold room did not. Evidence-based approach meant walking behind the cold room. Fair presentation meant writing down both the slips and the drum.
How do you become an ISO 14001 internal auditor, step by step?
Learn the standard and the method, learn your site and its law, then audit under supervision until someone experienced signs you off. On most sites that takes one audit cycle, not one course.
- Learn ISO 14001:2026 clauses 4 to 10 and what changed from 2015. If the standard is new to you, the Introduction to ISO 14001:2026 course covers every clause in plain words.
- Learn the audit method from ISO 19011:2026: planning from an objective, interviewing, sampling, writing findings.
- Read your own site’s aspects register and compliance obligations register, then its permits and licences.
- Walk the environmental hotspots with the people who own them: drains, stormwater outlet, waste yard, chemical store, boiler, refrigeration plant.
- Observe one audit led by an experienced auditor and keep your own notes.
- Lead part of the next audit while that auditor watches, then ask for written feedback.
- Keep an audit log: date, scope, your role, hours on site, findings raised.
- Ask the audit programme owner to assess you and file the evidence under clause 7.2.
Steps 5 to 8 prove competence. The ISO 14001:2026 internal audit checklist will help on your first observed audit, as long as you use it as a prompt and not a script.
Does an internal auditor course make you a certified or lead auditor?
No. An internal auditor course trains you to audit your own organisation’s system. Certified, registered and lead auditor status comes from a registration body, and each body sets its own criteria.
In South Africa, SAATCA registers auditors. Internationally, IRCA and Exemplar Global run auditor certification schemes. Their criteria usually combine a lead auditor course that the body itself recognises, education and work experience, a log of audits done as part of a team under a qualified lead auditor, and continuing professional development. The details change, so read the current criteria on the body’s own site before you plan your route.
ASC’s Internal Auditor course gives you an ASC certificate of completion with a verification code. It does not register you with anyone, and no registration body has approved it. What it does is train you in the internal audit method and give you practice on a case site evidence pack. The audits you then carry out build real experience. Whether any of that counts toward registration is the registration body’s decision.
| Role | Who you audit | Who decides you can do it |
|---|---|---|
| Internal auditor | Your own organisation (first party) | Your organisation, under clauses 7.2 and 9.2.2 |
| Supplier or second party auditor | Suppliers and contractors, on behalf of a customer | The organisation that commissions the audit |
| Certification body auditor | Clients of a certification body (third party) | The certification body, under its accreditation rules |
| Registered or certified lead auditor | A status, not a job | A registration body such as SAATCA, IRCA or Exemplar Global, against its own criteria |
Ready to start with the part you control? Enrol in ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor and finish with a working audit programme, two planned and conducted audits and a set of written findings. About 14 hours, R3 850 while the special runs.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
The training part takes about 14 hours with ASC and costs R3 850 on the current special. The experience part takes as long as your audit programme needs to give you two or three supervised audits, usually a few months.
The course is self paced on a phone or laptop, so a supervisor can work through a lesson between production meetings. Every few lessons there is a short scenario check, each module ends with a case study assessment, and there is a quick game between modules. Everything is marked automatically the moment you submit, with feedback that names the lesson to go back to. Nobody waits for a trainer. The pass mark is 70 percent.
No VAT is charged, so R3 850 is what you pay. If five or more people need training, ASC quotes a team rate. Not sure which ISO 14001 course fits your job? WhatsApp ASC on +27 61 483 0381.
There is a clock running for many sites. ISO 14001:2026 was published in April 2026 and certification bodies expect a transition of about three years, ending around 30 April 2029. Confirm the dates with your own certification body. Either way, the transition audit will sample your internal audits, so trained auditors need to be in place well before it.
What do new environmental auditors get wrong first?
They audit the office instead of the site, accept statements as evidence, and write findings as opinions. All three are habits, and all three are fixed by practice with feedback.
On a packhouse audit in the Sundays River Valley I watched a new auditor spend three hours in the boardroom reading procedures. He never reached the fungicide drench area, the place where a spill would reach the irrigation canal. The plan said “clause 8.1”. It did not say where 8.1 lives on that site.
The second habit is taking “yes, we do that” as proof. A statement starts the trail. The record, the observation and the person doing the job finish it. The third is the finding written as a verdict: “waste management is poor”. A finding that holds up names the requirement, the evidence and what is not met. How to write ISO 14001 audit findings shows the full method with examples from food sites.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a qualification to be an ISO 14001 internal auditor?
No formal qualification is required by ISO 14001:2026. Your organisation must be able to show you are competent under clause 7.2 and that your audits are objective and impartial under clause 9.2.2 b).
Can I audit my own department?
Avoid it where you can. Annex A.9.2 asks for independence from the activity audited wherever practicable, and on a very small site you should at least show freedom from bias and conflict of interest.
Will an internal auditor course make me a registered auditor with SAATCA?
No. SAATCA, IRCA and Exemplar Global each set their own registration criteria, usually including a course they recognise and logged audit experience. The ASC course gives you an ASC certificate of completion, not registration.
How many audits should I do before I audit alone?
The standard sets no number. A sensible practice is to observe one audit, lead part of another under observation, and be signed off in writing by an experienced auditor before you lead alone.
Do food safety auditors make good environmental auditors?
Often, because they already know how audits run. They usually need to build environmental technical knowledge and an understanding of South African environmental law before their findings hold up.
How long is the ASC ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor course?
About 14 hours over 6 modules and 31 lessons, self paced online. You can stop and continue whenever work needs you.
Which ASC course makes you an audit ready internal auditor?
ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditor is built on clause 9.2 of ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 19011:2026. You practise on a case site evidence pack, so your first real audit is not your first audit.
R3 850 limited period special, normally R4 670. No VAT is charged, so the price shown is the price paid. Five or more learners: contact ASC for a team rate.
- 6 modules, 31 lessons, about 14 hours, self paced on phone or laptop
- Principles, competence and impartiality, and what makes an environmental audit different
- Auditing every clause of ISO 14001:2026, from context to corrective action
- Build an audit programme, then plan and run two audits on a case site evidence pack
- Two practice exercises and a three part assessment, all marked automatically
- ASC certificate of completion with a verification code your employer can check
- Is it for me? Yes if you have been named as an internal auditor, run the audit programme, or will be audited as a process owner.
- How long does it take? About 14 hours in short lessons you can fit around shifts.
- Will it work at my site? Yes. You can work on your own site instead of the case sites.
Still building the system you will audit? ISO 14001:2026 Understanding and Implementation builds every register and plan. All four courses sit on the ASC ISO 14001 training hub.
ISO 14001 is copyright and is not reproduced here. ASC is not affiliated with ISO.
Sources
- ISO 14001:2026, Environmental management systems, ISO
- ISO 19011:2026, Guidelines for auditing management systems, ISO
- SAATCA, Southern African Auditor and Training Certification Authority
- IRCA, International Register of Certificated Auditors
- Exemplar Global