Appraising and applying GIS tools in auditing

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The opportunity
Testing GIS applications
Sharing best practice
Download project outputs

Introduction

Project details

Project title: Appraise and apply GIS tools in auditing

Lead organisation: Accreditation Services International (ASI)

Partners: Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Duration: October 2017 to July 2018

Guatemala coffee plantation © Rainforest Alliance

The opportunity

Geographic information systems (GIS) are transforming our knowledge and understanding of what goes on across the surface of our planet. While most of us are familiar with some basic GIS tools through applications like Google Maps, with advances in cloud and mobile technology GIS is being used in an ever wider range of fields. In the world of standards and certification, GIS presents an opportunity to make audits more effective and efficient. It can also be a powerful means for assessing the performance and impact of certification schemes, for example by tracking changes in forest cover.

Data collection on coffee in Uganda © Giuseppe Cipriani for UTZ

Testing GIS applications

With support from the Innovations Fund, Accreditation Services International (ASI) and a group of ISEAL member standards carried out a series of workshops to find out more about auditors’ understanding and use of GIS. This revealed that, while auditors will check the areas they are auditing on Google Maps, few make use of the many GIS tools and layers of data that could give them a more comprehensive picture. Following this, the team conducted three field trials in Germany, Russia and Malaysia to test a total of six GIS software packages and apps that could make audits more effective and efficient.

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Sharing best practice

Content

Drawing on this research, the project created a self-starter kit for auditors that includes information on the potential uses of these GIS tools, practical advice and step-by-step instructions for using them. A short video was also developed to introduce the kit. In addition, the project team set up a LinkedIn group to help build a learning community to advance best practices for the use of GIS in audits.

Download project outputs

Report | GIS self-starter kit for auditors

A report of a series of field tests conducted by ASI regarding the usage of GIS during audits in Germany, Russia and Malaysia. Result of the report is a self-starter kit, exploring and explaining different tools aiming to help auditors integrate GIS into their audit routine.

Report | GIS self-starter kit for auditors10.8 MB

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