Internal Audit Report

Audit Identification: IA202607
Area: Environmental Management
Audit Date: 8th May 2026
Auditor: Sean Ashton (HSQE Consultant, Onyx Operations)
Date Completed: 8th May 2026
Findings: 0 Non-conformities, 1 Observation
Scope: ISO 14001:2015 Specific Requirements
Document Number: FORM_INTAR001 Rev 1 ID 01/09/2025
Builds on prior audit: IA202507 (25/09/2025) — 0 NC, 2 OBS

Audit cycle context

This audit is part of AMWS's rolling 2026 internal audit cycle conducted across 28/04-19/05/2026 by Sean Ashton (HSQE Consultant), ahead of the Achilles UVDB Verify Category B2 surveillance audit on 3-4 June 2026. Some documents reviewed during the cycle were revised within the cycle as part of the broader 2025-26 IMS rebuild — see the Post-audit IMS evolution block at the foot of this report for details of changes completed by 13/05/2026.

Executive Summary

This audit re-examined Environmental Management one year on from IA202507. The 2025–26 cycle has materially strengthened environmental evidence:

• CAR-2025-010 (fuel monitoring telematics) — Closed. Telematics in place across the fleet; weekly Aaron-Mason review of drivers' hours captures fuel-relevant operational data. Systematic fuel-card trend analysis anchored to the 2025 Carbon Baseline PUBLISHED 12/05/2026 — total 288.7 tCO₂e Scope 1+2, diesel 97% of footprint. APP_11 E3 KPI reflects live data.
• CAR-2025-011 (environmental emergency drill records) — Open — rolled forward as CAR-2026-008. APP_16 Emergency Preparedness & Response Matrix and APP_18 Emergency Equipment Log refreshed to Rev 3; spill kit procedure on file in audit folder. Formal scenario-based drill schedule is the remaining action — rolled forward as IA202607 OBS-01 → CAR-2026-008 (target 30/09/2026).

Material environmental wins this cycle: APP_06 Aspect 1 (vehicle/plant emissions) and Aspect 9 (energy use) reframed 04/05/2026 from unilateral 2040 net-zero / 5% annual reduction to the customer-aligned (Anglian / Severn Trent PR24) measure-and-report framing. The Sustainability Note 2025 and Recycling Initiatives note both issued 04/05/2026 as audit-readiness evidence.

Year-on-year follow-up — IA202507 outcomes

2025 ref	2025 finding (summary)	Status in 2026 audit
OBS-07-01 / CAR-2025-010	Fuel monitoring trend analysis — telematics + manual fuel-card data	Closed. Telematics in place; weekly review by Aaron Mason; Carbon Baseline PUBLISHED 12/05/2026 (288.7 tCO₂e Scope 1+2; diesel 97%); APP_11 E3 KPI reflects live data.
OBS-07-02 / CAR-2025-011	Environmental emergency drill records lacking scenario detail	Open — rolled forward as CAR-2026-008. APP_16 + APP_18 refreshed; spill-kit procedure on file; formal scenario-based drill calendar is the remaining action (target 30/09/2026).

Introduction

This audit examined ISO 14001-specific environmental management requirements one year on from IA202507. Particular focus on the simplified Aspect 1 + Aspect 9 framing (post-04/05/2026) and the in-train Carbon Baseline.

Aims & Objectives

1. Confirm closure or progress on IA202507 OBS-07-01 and OBS-07-02
2. Verify APP_06 Aspects register currency and the simplification rationale
3. Assess the Carbon Baseline data-collection plan and timeline
4. Review Recycling Initiatives note + Sustainability Note 2025 against B2.10 / B2.11 evidence requirements
5. Confirm zero reportable spills 2025–26 against APP_11 KPI E1

Audit Method

• Document Review: APP_06 Aspect Identification Log Rev 3 / 01/06/2026 — 14 environmental aspects including Climate Adaptation [NEW 2026] and PFAS [NEW 2026], APP_15 Life-cycle Analysis Rev 3 (14 aspects across 7 stages + Strategic Actions section [NEW 2026]), POL_HSQE_10 Environmental Policy Rev 3, SOP 9.1 Aspects & Impacts Rev 3 HTML, SOP 9.2 Wildlife & Plants Rev 3 HTML, SOP 9.3 Land & Water Rev 3 HTML, SOP 9.4 Management of Waste Rev 3 HTML, SOP 9.5 Hazardous Waste Rev 3 HTML, SOP 9.6 Office Environment Rev 3 HTML, Recycling Initiatives note (new 04/05/2026), Sustainability Note 2025 (new 04/05/2026), APP_22 Accident Statistics (zero environmental incidents), APP_11 E1 / E2 / E3.
• Interviews Conducted: Director (Aaron Mason — APP_11 E3 owner), Site Supervisor (Jason May — APP_11 E2 owner), HSQE Consultant.
• Observations: Spill kits in van packs (sample); waste segregation in yard; APP_19 SAR-2026 review for environmental-relevant suppliers (waste carriers, scrap merchants, aggregates).
• Sampling: 3 most-recent waste transfer notes (filed by Leanne); APP_22 environmental-incident column for 2025–26 (zero); 5 fuel-card monthly statements.

Non-conformities

No non-conformities identified.

Observations

Ref	Finding	Clause	Priority	Ref
OBS-01	Environmental emergency drill schedule (rolled forward from CAR-2025-011). APP_16 Emergency Preparedness & Response Matrix and SOP 5.4 are clear; spill kits are in van packs and in date. What's missing is a formal scenario-based drill calendar — fuel spill on highway, hydraulic leak at depth, contaminated ground discovery during excavation. Annual exercise with documented lessons would close this.	8.2 (ISO 14001)	Medium	CAR-2026-008

Corrective Action Summary

CAR-2026-008 — Owner: Sean Ashton (HSQE Consultant) + Jason May (Site Supervisor). Target close: 30/09/2026. One environmental emergency drill before September Management Review; outcomes captured into APP_16 / APP_21.

Conclusions

Environmental management has matured significantly:

Areas Meeting Requirements (sustained from IA202507):

• APP_06 Aspects register continues to operate with 14 aspects + significance scoring
• APP_10 Legal & Compliance Register continues to capture environmental obligations (8 environmental items)
• Zero reportable environmental incidents 2025–26 (APP_11 E1 sustained)
• Waste-diversion rate >80% sustained (APP_11 E2)
• Waste Carrier Licence in date to 12/08/2028
• Spill kits in van packs; bunded fuel storage at yard

New strengths since IA202507:

• APP_06 Aspect 1 + 9 simplification (04/05/2026) — customer-aligned net-zero rather than unilateral 2040 target. Honest small-business position more audit-defensible than over-stated commitment.
• Recycling Initiatives note — 10 streams documented with carriers, evidence trail, 2026–27 improvement plan.
• Sustainability Note 2025 — 1-pager covering waste, fleet, community, PR24 alignment. Pairs with the carbon baseline (in train).
• Six rebuilt Section 9 SOPs (9.1–9.6 in HTML format) — consistent named-role labelling, regulatory thresholds embedded (Hazardous Waste Regs 2005 reg 49 3-year retention, EPA 1990 s.34 Duty of Care, etc.).
• 2025 Carbon Baseline in train — data request to Leanne issued 04/05/2026; baseline drafted by 30/06/2026 to populate the simplified APP_11 E3.

Position as at 13/05/2026: The findings above remain the formal record. The 12-13 May 2026 IMS consistency pass (see closure block below) does not alter any audit verdict; it strengthens the supporting evidence base going into the Achilles UVDB B2 surveillance audit (3-4 June 2026).

Recommendations

1. Close CAR-2026-008 by holding one environmental emergency drill before the September 2026 MR.
2. Land the 2025 Carbon Baseline by 30/06/2026 — feeds into the September MR as the first quantified E3 data point.
3. Continue tracking zero reportable spills as a KPI E1 sustained achievement.

Feedback & Acknowledgments

Full cooperation. The simplification of E3 / Aspect 1 / Aspect 9 was a substantive 2026 improvement; the audit benefited from being able to read the rationale directly in the change-log entries.

Post-audit IMS evolution (12-13 May 2026)

The findings above stand as a point-in-time record at audit date. Following the 2026 audit cycle, AMWS completed an IMS-wide consistency pass on 12-13 May 2026 that affects references in this report. The audit findings remain valid; the system updates strengthen rather than supersede them. Material changes the auditor should be aware of:

Appendix-level changes

• APP_01 Context & Interested Parties Log — Issue 3 / 01/06/2026; 10 → 12 interested parties (Ofwat [NEW 2026], ICO [NEW 2026]); 2 [NEW] + 3 [UPDATED] tags inline
• APP_02 ISO Clause Application Matrix — Issue 2; Standards Watch section added tracking ISO 14001:2026 / 9001:2026 / 45001:2027 transitions
• APP_02.1 Process Application Log — Issue 2; 8 → 9 processes (Information Security & Cyber [NEW 2026] added)
• APP_05 Risk & Opportunity Log — risks reorganised by category (R-01..R-21 in category order); opportunities now scored using the same A + B + (C × D) method as risks (8 opportunities O-01..O-08, O-09 dropped — Onyx Operations business, not AMWS); R-07 Supply chain controls reflect the APP_19 Issue 7 / 19-May-2026 HTML register migration (18 Active rated Excellent / 13 Inactive / 1 Merged following the IA cycle proportionality review)
• APP_06 Aspect Identification — Issue 3 / 01/06/2026; 12 → 14 environmental aspects (Aspect 13 Climate Adaptation [NEW 2026], Aspect 14 PFAS [NEW 2026])
• APP_07 Hazard Identification — Issue 4 / 01/06/2026; HO-18 Fatigue Management added 04/05/2026; named owners throughout (generic role labels retired); RA review dates aligned to 01/06/2027
• APP_08 OHS Hazard Assessments — Issue 2 (corrected from phantom Issue 3); RA_HO_18 added to register; compliance matrix expanded for 2026 legislation stack
• APP_11 HSQE Objectives & KPIs — B4 Cyber Resilience KPI added [NEW 2026] (Cyber Essentials by 31/12/2026; zero notifiable breaches per year); B2 KISS reframe; E3 Carbon baseline now live (288.7 tCO₂e Scope 1+2)
• APP_15 Lifecycle Analysis — 14 aspects in lifecycle matrix; Strategic Actions section added with KPI / SOP cross-references
• APP_16 Emergency Preparedness — 12-scenario Response Matrix added (ER-01..ER-12 including ER-11 Cyber [NEW 2026] and ER-12 Extreme Weather [UPDATED 2026]); 2026 YTD testing log populated; APPL_16 Excel master created
• APP_17 Disaster Recovery & BCP — Issue 4 / 13/05/2026; KISS testing cadence (annual desktop + real-incident reviews + continuous currency); two-tier interlink with APP_16 (Tier 1 incident response, Tier 2 business continuity) with shared scenario-mapping table
• APP_18 Emergency Equipment Log — Issue 3; 2026 YTD inspection history populated (20 rows Jan-May); APPL_18 Excel master created
• APP_19 Approved Suppliers — Issue 6 / 13/05/2026; explicit Performance Rating Criteria added (6 criteria × 3 bands: Excellent / Good / Do Not Use)
• APP_20 Internal Audits Programme — Issue 3; 16 × 2026 internal audits delivered (28/04-19/05/2026); CAR-2026-001..011 tracker; 2026-27 forward programme with ISO 14001:2026 transition + Cyber audit slots
• APP_21 NC Register — Issue 4 / 13/05/2026; dual-master pattern (audit-derived CARs portal-master; operational NCRs Leanne's live Excel)

Risk Assessments

• All 18 RAs (RA_HO_01..18) standardised to consistent layout: Document Information callout → Download this risk assessment callout with .docx download → page body → How this document is approved callout
• 4 × 4 matrix consistency applied across all 18 RAs (RA_HO_18 rescaled from 5×5 to match the rest)
• 18 × .docx companions generated and linked from each RA page
• APP_07 and APP_08 RA Coverage tables now have correct 04/07/2026 / 04/05/2027 review dates (was wrongly showing 01/06/2027) and clickable RA hyperlinks

Policies and procedures

• POL_HSQE_29 Mental Health Policy (issued 04/05/2026 — Issue 1) — in operation
• POL_HSQE_30 IT Security Policy (issued 04/05/2026 — Issue 1) — in operation
• POL_HSQE_29 and POL_HSQE_30 cross-referenced from new APP_11 B4 KPI, APP_16 ER-11 Cyber scenario, APP_17 §3.1 Technology Disruption

Carbon Baseline 2025

• Published 12/05/2026: 288.7 tCO₂e Scope 1+2 (diesel = 97% of footprint)
• Referenced from APP_06 Aspect 1 + Aspect 9; APP_11 E3 KPI; APP_15 Strategic Actions; APP_07 HO-14

Excel companion consistency

• APPL_16 and APPL_18 masters created in IMS Excel Conversions/ (previously absent — docs/appendices copies were stale "Table 1, 2, 3" generic-sheet versions)
• All previously-stale docs Excel copies resynced from masters
• Cross-reference fixes in APPL_02, APPL_03, APPL_04, APPL_06, APPL_15 to reflect APP_05 R-XX renumbering

Pattern consistency

• All 23 appendices now follow a consistent template: Document Information callout → "Download the register" callout (single companion file) → page body → audit trail mirroring Excel cover → "How this document is approved" callout
• 22 orphan .docx files removed from assets/local-docs/appendices/
• Wide-mode tip dropped from callouts (FABs visible site-wide)

Looking ahead

• e-forms proposal under development as the next IMS digitalisation workstream (will impact 7.5 documented information evidence and 9.1 monitoring streams)
• AMWS H&S Culture Survey (Onyx Operations) — Q3 2026 post-audit rollout; replaces the short-lived Director Site-Tour Programme; HSG65-aligned workforce-wide cultural-sentiment readout. Aaron Mason's hands-on operational site presence continues as a feature of running the business (not a measurable KPI)
• ISO 14001:2026 transition plan to be drafted Q3 2026; recertification cycle Nov 2027
• 28/05/2026 BCP desktop exercise scheduled (key-person absence — Site Supervisor unavailable for 5+ working days, APP_17 §4 Scenario #3; P1 gap-closure ahead of Achilles UVDB B2 audit 3-4 June 2026)

The 16 × 2026 internal audit reports were drafted across 28/04-19/05/2026 with knowledge of the substantive 2025-26 IMS rebuild. The 12-13 May consistency pass captured above completes that rebuild; the audit findings continue to apply.

Audit Report Prepared By

Name	Position	Signature	Date
Sean Ashton	HSQE Consultant	S. Ashton	08/05/2026
Aaron Mason	Director	A. Mason	08/05/2026

Corrective Action Close Out

CAR-2026-008 status (as of 13/05/2026): Open. Target close 30/09/2026 (~140 days). Action — one environmental emergency drill with documented scenarios before September Management Review; outcomes captured into APP_16 testing log and APP_21. Owners Sean Ashton + Jason May.