Each of these tools uses a different set of methodologies and has inherent strengths and weaknesses. This section offers overviews of each of these tools and concludes with a discussion of what they do and do not do. An environmental audit can be carried out internally or by a third party and results in a report of the findings. Because audits can be done with the interest of the public in mind, audit results may be released to the public.
Environmental audits vary, looking at a number of factors related to a company's activities.
These can includes the company's commitment to strong environmental goals, environmental good or harm carried out by the company, and others. Environmental Benchmarking Environmental benchmarking is carried out to measure a company's internal progress against its goals. As such, it can be used to set internal goals and rate internal improvements. Environmental benchmarking also allows a product, building, or service's environmental performance to be compared against those of its peers. By knowing the typical energy use of a post office, for example, the Energy Star Buildings program can identify which post offices are most efficient and those that lag behind.