By KYIV. May 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Business Association (EBA) asks MPs not to support the draft law on environmental audit (No. 6349) in its current form and recommends that it be finalized in accordance with European practices, the EBA said in a press release on Thursday.
“Eco-audit in the EU is, first and foremost, a market tool that allows businesses to gain competitive advantages among clients and potential investors by implementing an environmental management scheme. Under no circumstances is the eco-audit used as an element of regulatory policy, let alone as an alternative to eco-inspections aimed at intervening in business operations,” Olha Boiko, Coordinator of the Committee on Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development of the European Business Association, said.
According to the association, the document proposes several positive innovations. It establishes a clear list of requirements for the content of the environmental audit report and the mandatory issuance of a statement on the eco-audit to managers and owners of enterprises where a mandatory eco-audit is conducted.
On the other hand, the grounds for required environmental audits are expanding, including for some individual entrepreneurs, which may lead to increased pressure on businesses and the emergence of corruption risks.
According to the EBA, due to the lack of specification of the provision on the possibility of conducting a mandatory environmental audit based on a court decision, in case of violation of the requirements of environmental legislation, any violations identified by the State Environmental Inspectorate during the audit may become the basis for its conduct.
The association also pointed out the inadmissibility of limiting the choice of an environmental auditor. During mandatory eco-audits, the performer (environmental auditor) is selected by the customer, who is an interested government body or local self-government body. At the same time, it is proposed to allocate three working days before concluding a contract between the customer and the performer to inform the head or owner of the enterprise where the eco-audit is planned to be carried out about this information. During this time, the director or owner of the enterprise must approve the selected environmental auditor or provide the customer with information about the potential personal interest of the eco-audit performer in its results.
It is also noted that the draft law does not specify how information about the personal interest of the environmental auditor should be subsequently taken into account by the customer: whether the presentation of such information is a mandatory basis for changing the eco-auditor, whether such information can be rejected by the customer as unfounded/unproven, and within what period the customer should consider such information and report on the decision made. Thus, there is a risk of possible abuse by eco-audit customers, which in practice may negate the ability of the head/owner of the enterprise to exercise their right to reject the eco-audit performer.
The EBA points to the absence of criteria for identifying business entities that terminate their business activities or are in the process of liquidation, to meet the requirement for a mandatory environmental audit. The association reminds that currently about 2 million sole proprietors work in Ukraine, and more than 20,000 of them are closed every month.
According to the association, the provision on the establishment of a mandatory environmental audit during the liquidation of enterprises or their structural subdivisions is also controversial, since it contradicts the current procedure for the liquidation of legal entities.
