Question 1

What is a green audit?

Accepted Answer

A green audit is a systematic, independent assessment of a facility, campus, or organisation's environmental performance. It evaluates energy consumption, water usage, waste management, air quality, biodiversity impact, and compliance with environmental regulations. The audit produces a detailed report with findings, a scoring or rating (where applicable), and actionable recommendations for improvement. Green audits are commonly conducted for educational institutions (NAAC), manufacturing plants, warehouses, commercial buildings, and public-sector campuses.

Question 2

What is the difference between a green audit, an environmental audit, and an energy audit?

Accepted Answer

A green audit is the broadest assessment — it covers energy, water, waste, air quality, biodiversity, and green practices holistically. An environmental audit focuses specifically on regulatory compliance, pollution control, environmental impact assessment, and EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) controls. An energy audit is the most focused — it examines energy consumption patterns, equipment efficiency, tariff analysis, and identifies energy-saving opportunities with payback calculations. Organisations often need all three, and a green audit typically incorporates elements of both energy and environmental audits.

Question 3

What is NAAC Criterion 7 and why does it require green audits?

Accepted Answer

NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) Criterion 7 covers 'Institutional Values and Best Practices' for higher education institutions in India. Key Metric 7.1.4 specifically requires institutions to have conducted green audits, energy audits, and environment audits — ideally by external, independent auditors. Institutions must provide the audit reports, action-taken reports, and evidence of improvements implemented. These audits carry significant weightage in the overall NAAC grading and are mandatory for institutions seeking high accreditation grades.

Question 4

What is green manufacturing facility certification?

Accepted Answer

Green manufacturing facility certification is a third-party assessment and certification of a manufacturing plant's environmental performance across defined criteria — typically covering energy efficiency, water management, waste minimisation, emissions control, material usage, chemical management, green procurement, and worker health & safety. Unlike green building ratings (IGBC/LEED/EDGE) which focus on the building envelope and construction, green manufacturing certification evaluates the operational environmental footprint of the production processes within the facility.

Question 5

How does green certification differ from IGBC/LEED green building ratings?

Accepted Answer

Green building rating programs (IGBC, LEED, EDGE, GRIHA) focus on the design, construction, and operation of the building itself — site selection, building envelope, HVAC efficiency, indoor air quality, and sustainable materials. Green facility certification, by contrast, evaluates the operational environmental performance of what happens inside the building — production processes, energy consumption by equipment, waste generated by operations, water used in manufacturing, and supply chain practices. Many organisations need both: a green building rating for the structure and a green operations/manufacturing certification for the activities within it.

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