PECB Updated ISO-14001-Lead-Auditor Exam Questions and Answers by stanislaw

The correct answers are C and D .

The audit team leader is responsible for leading and managing the audit process. This includes planning the audit and communicating with the auditee about audit arrangements and logistics , such as timing, site access, availability of personnel, audit schedule, and practical arrangements.

C. Communicating with the auditee regarding the logistics for the audit — Correct

The audit team leader normally acts as the main communication link between the audit team and the auditee during audit planning and execution. This includes confirming arrangements, audit timetable, opening and closing meetings, guides, access requirements, and other practical matters.

D. Planning the audit — Correct

The audit team leader is responsible for preparing the audit plan, coordinating audit team activities, assigning audit tasks, and ensuring the audit objectives, scope, and criteria are addressed.

The other options are incorrect:

A. Granting certification to the organisation being audited — Incorrect

Certification is granted by the certification body , not by the audit team leader. The audit team provides audit findings and conclusions, but it does not make the independent certification decision.

B. Evaluating the process established by the auditee to identify significant environmental aspects — Incorrect

This is an audit activity performed by the audit team as part of assessing ISO 14001 EMS conformity. It is not exclusive to the audit team leader.

E. Defining the duration of the audit — Incorrect

Audit duration is determined by the certification body or audit programme management using applicable certification rules, complexity, size, scope, risks, and environmental aspects. The audit team leader may work within the assigned duration but does not exclusively define it.

F. Sending the report to the accreditation body — Incorrect

The audit report is normally submitted to the certification body/client according to certification procedures. Accreditation bodies oversee certification bodies; they are not the routine recipient of every audit report from the audit team leader.

Therefore, the two exclusive audit team leader responsibilities are C and D .

According to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clause 9.2.2 and 9.3.1:

Scope changes may be accommodated during the certification process, but proper evaluation is required.

The auditor should:

Confirm whether the EMS has been extended to cover the new site (C).

Inform that scope expansion needs to follow formal procedures through the certification body (F).

Simply including the new site without evaluation (A) is incorrect.

The audit plan can be adjusted, but full reassessment (D) is unnecessary unless significant issues arise.

The correct answers are A and D .

This question relates mainly to ISO 14001:2015 Clause 7.3 — Awareness and Clause 5.2 — Environmental policy .

Persons doing work under the organisation’s control, including subcontractor personnel where relevant, need to be aware of the organisation’s environmental policy. In this scenario, the environmental policy specifically includes two clear commitments:

A. Complying with legal requirements — Correct

The policy states that the organisation will “comply with relevant legislation.” Therefore, subcontractor personnel must be aware that their work must comply with applicable legal and environmental requirements. This is especially important because installation work may involve paint, waste, emissions, spill risks, drainage controls, and site environmental rules.

D. Commitment to environmental protection — Correct

The policy states that the organisation will “protect the environment by acting with responsibility at all times.” Therefore, subcontractor personnel should understand their responsibility to protect the environment while carrying out installation activities.

The other options are not the best answers:

B. Continual improvement of the EMS — Incorrect in this context

Continual improvement is an ISO 14001 policy requirement generally, but the policy text given in the question focuses on protecting the environment, complying with legislation, and setting objectives to enhance environmental performance. It is not one of the two clearest issues directly stated in the provided policy wording.

C. Addressing customer complaints — Incorrect

Customer complaints may be relevant to performance evaluation or corrective action, but they are not a stated commitment in the environmental policy.

E. Communicating with trade unions — Incorrect

This is not an environmental policy awareness requirement in the scenario.

F. Conducting environmental risk assessments — Incorrect

Risk assessment may be part of EMS planning, but the question asks what subcontractor personnel should be aware of in relation to the environmental policy, not what technical EMS activities they must conduct.

Therefore, the two correct issues are A. Complying with legal requirements and D. Commitment to environmental protection .

The correct answer is D . ISO 14001:2015 defines an interested party in Clause 3.1.6 as a “person or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision or activity.” This directly matches option D .

Option B is close but incorrect because it uses “influence / be influenced by” , while the ISO definition uses “affect / be affected by.” In ISO 14001, interested parties may include regulators, customers, employees, contractors, neighbours, suppliers, local communities, or NGOs, depending on the EMS context.