7. Conclusions

Many companies and sites are not fully compliant with environmental regulations, often without realizing it. Although increasing attention is being paid to this subject, knowledge and monitoring of regulations in-house requires resources that are not always available. An assessment, such as that offered by the regulatory compliance environmental audit, provides a precise picture of a site's situation with regard to regulations. This assessment then enables a corrective action plan to be put in place, thus avoiding incidents, fines or damage to the company's image. To be effective, the audit must be carried out by specialized, trained and competent personnel, using formalized and recognized methods.