Introducing environmental auditing as a tool of environmental governance in Ukraine

Abstract This paper intends to describe and analyse the introduction, development and practice of environmental auditing in Ukraine and how it is affected by the EU-Ukraine integration process. Environmental auditing in Ukraine has combined features of both command-and-control and marked-based policy tools, which reflects a complex combination of influences from its Soviet past and international practices adopted as part of its transition to a market economy. Consequently, there are two types of environmental auditing: mandatory and voluntary, which, although based on different normative documents and having different objectives, largely rely on the same practitioners - environmental auditors. Environmental auditing in countries undergoing political and economic transition, like Ukraine, has not been studied before. A theoretical framework was developed for this purpose, consisting of 1) 'shift of policy paradigms' theory, 2) 'collective action' theory and 3) 'community of practice' theory. Several qualitative methods were used for data collection: literature review, semi-structure open-ended interviews, and participant/non-participant observations. The gathered data are summarised in a three-stage development of environmental auditing in Ukraine as preliminary (1991–2004), foundation (2004–2010) and stagnation (2010–2015) stages. Future EU-Ukraine integration will affect environmental auditing in Ukraine as the supremacy of European Law is accepted, mandatory and voluntary environmental auditing practices will follow different paths.