Pentland Science Park Case Study: EMS internal audit

Introduction

Pentland Science Park Ltd was established by The Moredun Foundation to improve the welfare of livestock for the Scottish farming community. The science park is home to leading scientific and research organisations, including Moredun Research Institute. Pentland Science Park Ltd (PSP hereafter) manages the park’s estate, facilities and two farms to ensure its environmental management complies with ISO14001 requirements.

Beginnings

In late 2024, our friends at On-site Generation introduced us to PSP to respond to the   Compliance Manager’s request for assistance with internal auditing of the Environmental Management System (EMS) of this large and complex estate with multiple tenants.  We quickly developed a collaborative relationship with the compliance manager,  devised a risk-based approach, and agreed on working practices so we could achieve a tight deadline by mid February 2025. 

Now

PSP required an experienced audit team that could hit the ground running, work with their systems and prioritise a complex compliance regime to ensure all the processes were completed within 10 days. Having never been to the site before, we invested effort in understanding the underlying business activities through conversations and site walks with key process owners; we then set up collaborative working methods to efficiently share information, track progress and resolve issues.

The audits included the following: 

  • Waste Management, 
  • Emergency Response, 
  • Fuel Delivery and Storage, 
  • Compliance obligations, including carbon reporting and Net Zero,
  • Site maintenance, 
  • Monitoring, Communication and Leadership.

Our internal audits exceeded PSP expectations as we went beyond the minimal compliance requirements for ISO 14001 to identify compliance risks and opportunities, improve efficiency and drive continual improvement. As with all our audit and assurance projects, we robustly challenge the business-as-usual and use open conversations to ensure the project outcomes create value beyond compliance while aligning with our clients’ values. For Moredun, this means focusing on collaboration, maximising impact, and protecting communities and the environment now and in the future. 

With our work completed on time and on budget, PSP was ready for its annual external audit by a UKAS-accredited body.

Future

Now that they have successfully achieved an excellent result from the external audit, Pentland Science Park and Beyond Green will debrief their work together. Our project debrief process is an important part of our client service. It helps explore the support that Beyond Green can provide PSP with internal auditing and the Moredun Research Institute with Carbon Reporting and achieving their Net Zero commitment.

This is was Gillian Galbraith, Compliance Manager at PSP, had to say about our work together:

“PSP was extremely pleased with Beyond Green’s work at short notice. Their expertise and efficiency ensured a seamless internal audit of our Environmental Management System, despite the complexity of our estate and tight deadlines.

They quickly developed a collaborative approach, engaged key process owners, and implemented effective methods to identify compliance risks and improvements beyond standard ISO 14001 requirements. Their audits covered critical areas, including waste management, emergency response, and carbon reporting, all with a focus on continual improvement.

Thanks to their thorough and timely efforts, PSP was fully prepared for its external audit, achieving excellent results. We look forward to continuing our collaboration to enhance environmental compliance, carbon reporting, and our Net Zero commitments.”

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