ABSTRACT
Although the focus and scope of environmental audits may be very different, the principles underlying the certification process are quite similar. Just as labeling and certification in general, environmental audits are primarily intended to inspire trust among stakeholders and to reinforce organizations’ social legitimacy. This quest for legitimacy through external audits reflects the emergence of an “audit society,” which is characterized by common rituals of verification and an obsession with control (Power 1997). The use of environmental audits as trustproviding mechanisms also raises critical questions that remain largely underexplored (Boiral and Gendron 2011): to what extent can commercial issues underlying the auditing practice undermine the alleged independence of third-party auditors? What are the impacts of the current lack of regulatory and professional guidance on the quality of environmental audits? What are the real impacts of these external audits on organizations’ internal practices?
