It's hard to believe that my term as Chair of the BEAC Board of Directors is almost over. We have accomplished much, but there is still much ahead - which is a good thing!
The BEAC Standards Board exposed for comment the draft Performance and Program Standards for the Professional Practice of Environmental, Health & Safety Auditing. Comments have been received from over 20 respondents, and the Standards Board is working to have the final version ready for distribution before the end of the year.

On the administrative side, we were pleased to expand our staff with the addition of a Certification Administrator. Work has begun on defining elements for a redesign of the BEAC website to provide more services to CPEAs and other stakeholders. We announced the first fee increase in BEAC's history, to begin in January 2009. Auditing Roundtable members and IIA members automatically qualify for discounted BEAC fees, and CPEAs qualify for discounted membership in the IIA.

The BEAC Exam Committee extended credit to CHMMs for Part 2 of the Environmental Compliance exam. This exemption joins those already available (CSPs and CIHs are exempt from Part 2 of the Health & Safety exam, and CPAs and CIAs are exempt from Part 1 of any of the BEAC exams). The Exam committee has completed multiple versions of several of the BEAC exams. Coordination is underway to hold a Responsible CareŽ exam in India in November. Updates of the Management System and Responsible Care exams are still in process, and the Exam Committee continues to explore alternative exam delivery methods.

An ethics affirmation statement for all CPEAs was added to the biennial Continuing Professional Development report. As a result of researching the ethics affirmation statement, the BEAC Ethics Committee is now developing an Ethics Resource guide, to be made available to other certification bodies, and a Professional Ethics Network involving other certification bodies and professional membership organizations is in the initial formation stage.

BEAC is involved in several strategic initiatives, in both national and international areas. We assisted our Japan affiliate IEHSG by providing financial support for their representative to attend the AR training course in Crystal City. We continue active participation in the Trilateral task force with the AR and IIA. We are completing a renewal of our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American Chemistry Council, and an update to the joint MoU with the AR and Auditing Association of Canada. For the future, and potential new certification programs, we continue to monitor activities in the areas of sustainability, corporate social responsibility, greenhouse gas, energy management, security, and process safety management.

And we have been ADVOCATING for the profession! We've participated in AR conferences and IIA conferences. We're sponsoring a participant on the US TAG for ISO/PC 242 Energy Management. We exhibited at the AWMA show. Expanding our global horizons, CPEAs have made presentations at ASSE meetings in Bahrain and Singapore, at IIA Latin America conferences in Colombia and Costa Rica, and upcoming IIA conferences in Brazil and Nicaragua (scheduled for November). The IIA Insight newsletter quoted me, along with IIA President Dave Richards, on the impact of EHS issues to the internal auditing profession in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility.

REMEMBER TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
No matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, EHS issues will remain important to everyone on this planet. BEAC is prepared to be involved, and we see a fantastic potential in moving forward with our partners.

The 2008 Benchmark Survey of Auditing Practices is now available for completion. This is a followup to a previous survey in 2006, and several improvements have been made. The main change is that there are now separate surveys for "internal" and "external" auditors. This arrangement will provide more useful information to both types of auditor.

If you want to review the survey first to see what type of information is being requested, you can print a copy of the blank survey using your browser's PRINT function. Then, when you are ready to enter the data, do so during one session; you will not be able to complete entry in a later session.

If you have any questions regarding the survey completion, contact the author at:
David E. Downs, CIH, CSP, QEP, CPEA
President, EHS Management Partners, LLC
dedowns@ehsmp.com

Please complete the survey by October 31, 2008. Each submitter will be mailed a copy of the report in December 2008. It will also be available to AR members on the web site.

Thanks in advance for participating in this important survey of auditing practices!

Don't miss out on your opportunity to strengthen personal and professional relationships, learn from the brightest and talented minds in the profession and return back to your organization recharged, refreshed and ready to handle any challenge that comes your way! Register now!...and don't miss the marquee EHS conference of the year!

NAEM's Forum is the perfect professional learning venue for you to benchmark your programs and exchange ideas with other EHS & Environment managers. The conference program's 24 interactive sessions and four (4) keynotes ensure that you will bring back immediately useful and worthwhile knowledge.

CPEAs and applicants can earn 10 CPD hours by attending both days of the conference.
And don't miss presentations by BEAC participants during sessions 6, 8, and 12.

As a skilled professional, you are invited to participate in the 2008 Pulse of the Professions Survey sponsored by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Tulane University Center for Applied Environmental Public Health and the Center for Environmental Innovation.

This survey will capture the opinions that professionals, such as you, have on the current state of their careers within their organizations, along with surfacing the developing trends and issues facing their professions. You will personally benefit since the published results will provide you with an understanding of your profession's challenges, enabling you to better position your career for the future.

The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete, and must be completed in one sitting. Yes, we recognize this is not a trivial request of your time, but again, this will directly benefit you and your colleagues.

The deadline for the survey is October 31, 2008. Results of the survey will be published in a wide variety of venues.

Thank you for your participation and support of this important initiative.

NWEC - Where Business Meets the Environment
When: Monday & Tuesday, December 8th & 9th, 2008
Where: Red Lion Hotel on the River - Jantzen Beach, Portland Oregon

The Northwest Environmental Conference (NWEC) is the largest, most comprehensive environmental conference & tradeshow in the Pacific Northwest. NWEC's goal is to provide Northwest businesses, agencies and other organizations with high-quality, low-cost environment training, information, discussion and networking opportunities.

The 2008 Conference continues a 20 year tradition of providing a forum encouraging environmental excellence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

This year's conference will feature field trips, hands- on demonstrations and early-bird workshops in addition to consistently relevant conference sessions and abundant networking opportunities.

CPEAs and applicants can earn CPD credit of 6 hours per day for the regular session, or 7 hours if the early bird session is attended.
Don't miss presentations by BEAC participants on December 9th.

The Auditing Roundtable, Inc. is pleased to announce new Officers and Board members for 2008 - 2009:

President Rob Bray, CPEA - The Elm Consulting Group LLC
Vice President Joyce Okantey - Eli Lilly & Company
Treasurer Mike Lispi, CPEA - Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Secretary Susan Fandel, CPEA - Pacific Gas & electric Company

Other Board Members:

Cynthia Chiles, CPEA - convergence consulting LLC
Douglas Hileman - Douglas Hileman & Associates
Kenneth Kasper, CPEA - Schering- Plough Corporation
Andrew Malatesta, CPEA - Jacques Whitford Company
Peter Sherrard, CPEA - Duke Energy Corporation

EPA is seeking public comment on its Interim Approach to Applying the Audit Policy to New Owners ("Interim Approach"). The Interim Approach is effective immediately on an interim basis, and EPA will be accepting comment until October 30, 2008.

The Auditing Roundtable is soliciting its membership for members who are interested in serving on a committee of no more than five people to collect comments from members and prepare an official response on behalf of the Auditing Roundtable membership.

Please contact Kathy Rieth if you are interested: Kathy@auditing-roundtable.org.

COLLABORATE.
LEARN.
NETWORK.

Whatever aspect of emergency planning, prevention, and response in the energy and maritime industries you work in, CLEAN GULF is the place to be October 28-30, 2008! Oil & Hazmat Spill. Environmental. Port Security. Marine Fire & Salvage. CLEAN GULF truly offers something for everyone. This unique, ONCE-A-YEAR industry gathering focuses on the real challenges, trends, and solutions that affect you. From in-depth training workshops to information-packed seminars led by the industry's best minds to our largest solutions expo ever, CLEAN GULF offers you the most comprehensive learning experience in the region. Don't miss it!

CPEAs can earn CPD credits for attending this conference.