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Companies making claims of being environmentally-friendly often face greater scrutiny from government regulators, environmental watchdogs, and consumers. Such companies are increasingly turning to auditors to produce “green audits” to back up their environmental claims. According to a survey by KPMG, these companies are willing to pay for green audits mainly to preserve their brand name.

Green auditing has been slower to take off in the United States than in the European Union, where companies need accurate counts of carbon discharges to comply with an emissions trading scheme.
Office Depot and Kimberly Clark have both begun using green audits. In 2003, Office Depot was forced to change its environmental practices after being picketed. Among other changes, it cut off a vendor of paper supplies and began tracking its carbon emissions. The company also began publicly releasing the results of its annual green audits. Today Office Depot is has won the praise of environmental groups.

Kimberly Clark, maker of Kleenex and Cottonelle, has long been vilified by Greenpeace and other environmental activists for its use of forest fiber and for misleading sustainability reports. The company came to an agreement with Greenpeace that incrementally reduced its consumption of non- recycled forest fiber. Its reports are now reviewed by a sustainability consultant and an outside advisory board.

Investors have also become a source of pressure for companies to use green audits. The California Public Employees Retirement System, one of the largest institutional investors in the country, is a key proponent of green audits.

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By Joshua Levitt
Managing Director for UsedCisco.com

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