REPA study plan
REPA · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Environmental Management Systems and Standards & Environmental Aspects, Impacts, and Risk Assessment
Map the ISO 14001:2015 clause structure (4-10) and write a one-line summary of the intent of each clause from memory
Distinguish environmental aspects from impacts and classify ten example aspects by whether they are direct or indirect
Apply a significance-determination method (criteria plus scoring) to five aspects and justify each significance decision in writing
Explain the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle as it maps onto EMS clauses and identify where risk and opportunity (clause 6.1) sits in that cycle
Your checkpoint
A one-page aspects-and-impacts register with ten entries, scoring criteria, and a written significance rationale for each
Environmental Aspects, Impacts, and Risk Assessment & Environmental Management Systems and Standards
Build a compliance-obligations register that separates legal requirements from other requirements (permits, voluntary commitments, customer requirements)
Perform a risk assessment on three significant aspects using likelihood and consequence scales, and rank them
Identify the ISO 14001 clauses that require documented information and list what evidence each one demands
Compare ISO 14001 with ISO 14004 guidance and note three places where the guidance clarifies an audit-relevant requirement
Your checkpoint
A risk-ranked register of five significant aspects with likelihood, consequence, score, and the control or objective attached to each
Environmental Law, Regulations, and Compliance
Summarize the structure of the environmental regulatory framework you will be audited against: statutes, regulations, permits, and standards
Trace the permit lifecycle (application, issuance, conditions, monitoring, reporting, renewal) and list the records each stage generates
Identify the enforcement mechanisms and penalty structures that apply to noncompliance and explain how they affect audit findings
Explain how an auditor verifies compliance with a permit limit without interpreting the law beyond their competence
Your checkpoint
A compliance-obligations matrix mapping eight legal or permit requirements to their source, the evidence of compliance, and the responsible function
Environmental Law, Regulations, and Compliance & Audit Planning, Scope, and Objectives
Draft audit criteria, scope, and objectives for a hypothetical EMS audit and state explicitly what is excluded from scope
Write three audit questions that test legal-compliance evidence rather than merely asking whether compliance exists
Assess auditor independence and competence requirements for a proposed audit team and document any gaps
Construct a sampling approach for a multi-site organization and justify the sample size and selection logic
Your checkpoint
A complete audit plan for a two-site EMS audit: scope, criteria, objectives, schedule, team roles, sampling rationale, and document request list
Audit Execution and Evidence Gathering
Classify evidence as physical, documentary, testimonial, or analytical, and state the strength and limitation of each type
Write opening and closing meeting agendas that satisfy ISO 19011 guidance without becoming scripted performances
Practice converting an observation into a finding by stating the criterion, the evidence, and the gap in three sentences
Identify the conditions that justify an audit trail being abandoned or an audit being suspended, and describe how to document that decision
Distinguish a nonconformity from an observation and from an opportunity for improvement using five worked examples
Your checkpoint
A mock audit evidence pack: ten findings written in criterion-evidence-conclusion format, each tagged by evidence type and severity
Audit Execution and Evidence Gathering & Audit Reporting and Follow-up
Draft nonconformity statements that survive challenge: specific criterion, verifiable evidence, no opinion language
Write a full audit report with conclusions on conformity, effectiveness, and the status of the management system
Evaluate a corrective action plan for root-cause adequacy and reject one that only addresses the symptom
Design a follow-up verification step for each open finding and set a defensible closure criterion
Your checkpoint
A complete mock audit report including executive summary, findings register, conclusions, and a follow-up tracking table with closure criteria
Pollution Prevention and Environmental Performance
Apply the pollution-prevention hierarchy (elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE) to three real process scenarios
Evaluate whether an environmental objective is measurable and time-bound, and rewrite two weak objectives to meet clause 6.2
Identify the environmental performance indicators an auditor would expect for energy, water, waste, and emissions, and state how each is verified
Explain how emergency preparedness and response (clause 8.2) is tested and what evidence of testing is credible
Distinguish genuine pollution prevention from end-of-pipe treatment and explain why the distinction matters to an auditor
Your checkpoint
A one-page performance review of a hypothetical facility: four indicators with trend, two rewritten objectives, and a pollution-prevention recommendation with rationale
Auditor Competence, Ethics, and Professional Conduct & Audit Reporting and Follow-up
Apply the ISO 19011 auditor principles (integrity, fair presentation, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, evidence-based approach) to three ethical dilemma scenarios
Resolve a scenario where a client pressures the auditor to downgrade a finding, and document the decision and its rationale
Review your weeks 1-7 deliverables against the eight domain weightings and list the three weakest areas
Complete a timed 60-question practice set and analyze every miss by domain and by error type (knowledge gap versus misread question)
Your checkpoint
A personal gap analysis listing the three weakest domains, the specific evidence for each gap, and a dated remediation action for each
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain, without notes, how a significant aspect flows into a compliance obligation, an objective, and an operational control
Week 4: Audit plan is complete enough that another auditor could execute it without asking you questions
Week 6: Every mock finding states a criterion and cites evidence; zero findings rely on opinion or hearsay language
Week 8: Timed practice score is at or above 75 percent overall, with no domain below 60 percent