How to Fill Form V – Environmental Statement Guide

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Filing your Form V Environmental Statement (Now called Environmental Audit)can feel overwhelming, especially for new EHS officers. But this guide will make it simple.

Introduction – What It Is, Who Fills It, and What You Need Before You Start

🔍 What is Form V or Form 5?

Form V is a document you submit every year to the Pollution Control Board. It shows how your company handled water, air, fuel, and waste in the past financial year. Think of it like your company’s environmental report card.

This form is not just a formality. It’s how regulators track whether your site is following environmental rules, using clean technologies, and treating waste properly.

If you do this right – the company is seen as responsible and well-managed. If you mess it up – it could trigger legal issues or unwanted inspections.

👥 Who Fills It?

Usually, the EHS department prepares it. But you’ll need inputs from:

• Utility/Engineering team (water, fuel, electricity)
• Production team (raw material use, product output)
• Lab (wastewater characteristics, emission data)
• Admin or Finance (investment in pollution control)

As a new joinee, you’ll probably be coordinating this. But don’t worry – once you understand the sections, it’s very doable.

📅 When Is It Submitted?

Every year before September 30th, for the previous financial year (April to March).
So for FY 2023–24 → deadline = 30th Sept 2024

📋 What You Need Before You Start:

Before you open the form, keep this data ready:

• Consent to Operate & EC copies
• Production vs. capacity figures
• Raw material & fuel consumption data
• Water and electricity bills
• Stack emission & wastewater test reports
• Waste disposal records (with manifest numbers)
• Capex/Opex data for environmental equipment

🧠 Tip from the field: Keep a running Excel file every month with these details – don’t wait till August to collect everything. That’s when mistakes happen.

Every EHS officer should read at least a few of these insightful environmental books during their journey.

Filling PART A – General Information in Form 5 Environmental Statement

🧾 What is Part A?

Part A is where you tell the Pollution Control Board who you are, what you do, and your basic operational details. It’s simple, but you need to be accurate and consistent with your existing consents.

🪪 Line-by-Line Breakdown (with insights)

1. Name and address of the owner/occupier

👉 Write the authorized person’s name, usually the Plant Head or whoever signs Form V.

🧠 Tip: Use the exact name as per your Consent to Operate (CTO) or Environmental Clearance (EC). No nicknames, no spelling changes.

2. Industry category

👉 Choose the applicable category:

• Red (highly polluting)
• Orange (moderate)
• Green (low impact)

🧠 Tip: Check your MPCB consent – your category is mentioned there.

3. Production Capacity

👉 Mention both:

• As per Consent to Operate (CTO)
• Actual production done in the financial year

🧠 Insight: If you produced more than your consented quantity, add an explanation in Part I. Overproduction without updated consent is risky.

4. Year of establishment

👉 Just the year operations started – not incorporation.

5. Date of last Environmental Statement submitted

👉 If this is your first year, write: “First Submission”
Otherwise, mention the exact date (dd/mm/yyyy) of last year’s submission.

✅ Common Form V Environmental Statement Mistakes to Avoid:

❌ Don’t copy data from old forms without updating the FY.
❌ Don’t mismatch addresses or names vs. consent documents.
✅ Always cross-verify production figures with Finance and Plant records.

Read more about Form V Environmental Statement in India for SPCB

🧠 Practical Tip:

If your plant has multiple product lines, mention only those included in the current CTO. Avoid listing products for which consent is not yet obtained.

Every project with Environmental Clearance must maintain transparency through six monthly EC compliance reports, and PPS ensures audit-ready documentation.

Filling PART B – Water, Raw Material, and Fuel Consumption

🚰 What is Part B?

Part B shows how much water, raw material, and fuel your plant used in the financial year. This is where regulators try to understand:

“Is the company using resources efficiently or wasting them?”

As a new joinee, your job is to gather real data and report it honestly. Don’t guess.

🧾 Section B1: Water & Raw Material Consumption

🔹 Water Consumption (m³/day)

Split into:

• Industrial use (process, cooling, etc.)
• Domestic use (toilets, canteen)
• Others (gardening, miscellaneous)

🧠 Tips from experience:

• Use your daily log sheets or flow meter readings.
• If not available, use water bill data and calculate monthly averages.

✅ Make sure the water use matches your Effluent Generation in Part C. That’s how the board checks for data integrity.

Read more about Why Form 4 & Form 5 Numbers Don’t Match (Real Industry Reasons)

🔹 Raw Material Consumption (kg or tons)

List each major raw material and its annual quantity consumed.

Example:

🧠 Pro Tip: Get this data from your stores/inventory team or SAP/ERP reports. Match it against actual production to show efficiency.

✅ Mention only materials actually used, not just purchased.

🔥 Section B2: Fuel Consumption

Include:

• Type of fuel: Diesel, PNG, Coal, FO, etc.
• Quantity consumed (per year or per day, as asked)

🧠 Field-tested insight:
If your DG set or boiler runs only during power cuts, mention the runtime hours and justify the low consumption.

❌ Common Form V Environmental Statement Mistakes to Avoid:

• Writing “NA” or leaving blanks. Even if usage is zero, write “0” to avoid objections.
• Using inconsistent units (don’t mix kg with tons).
• Not matching raw material vs production figures – that raises red flags.

✅ Best Practice:

Create a simple monthly Excel tracker:

• Tab 1: Water log
• Tab 2: Raw material consumption (from store slips)
• Tab 3: Fuel bills or flow meter readings

By March-end, you’ll have everything ready in one place for Form V.

Filling PART C – Pollution Load (Water & Air)

💧 Section C1: Wastewater Generation and Characteristics

This part asks:

How much effluent did you generate, and what was in it?

🔹 Effluent Quantity

Mention total effluent discharged per day (m³/day).
Split into:

• Treated Effluent
• Untreated Effluent (if any)

🧠 Tip: This should match your STP/ETP outlet flowmeter readings or logbooks. Don’t guess-regulators may cross-check with your test reports.

Need help in ETP / STP Calculations? Try our ETP/STP Calculators which will help you filling Form V Environmental Audit or Enviromental statement

🔹 Effluent Characteristics

Give values for:

• pH
• BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand)
• COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand)
• TSS (Total Suspended Solids)
• Heavy metals (if applicable)

🧠 Where do I get this data?
From your third-party lab reports (as per your consent conditions – usually monthly or quarterly tests).

✅ If you discharge into a CETP, mention “Discharged to CETP” and still include test values.

🌬️ Section C2: Air Emissions

Now comes stack emissions – if you have a boiler, DG set, process stack, furnace, or scrubber outlet, this is mandatory.

🔹 Mention:

• Number of stacks
• Type of fuel used
• Parameters tested (PM, SO₂, NOx, etc.)
• Concentration (in mg/Nm³)

🧠 Tip: Pull this data directly from your NABL lab’s stack monitoring report.

✅ Make sure the stack names match your Consent document.

🚨 Common Form V Environmental Statement Mistakes to Avoid:

❌ Reporting air or water pollution without backing lab data
❌ Mixing units (mg/L vs ppm vs mg/Nm³)
❌ Copy-pasting last year’s values – every year’s data is unique

🧠 Insight from the field:

Even if your pollution levels are within norms, regulators want to see that you are monitoring them consistently. It’s about seriousness, not just results.

✅ Bonus Tip:

Keep a digital folder like this:

When submission time comes, it’s all there – and you’ll be 10 steps ahead.

We offer Form V Enviromental Statement now called as Environmental Audit submission.

Filling Parts D to I – Waste, Investment & Final Remarks

🧾 Part D – Hazardous Waste

Report details of hazardous waste generated, like:

• Type of waste (sludge, spent oil, etc.)
• Quantity generated (in MT/year or kg/month)
• Disposal method (e.g., “Sent to CHWTSDF” or “Returned to supplier for recycling”)

Read our Various types of Hazardous waste guide

🧠 Tips:

• Use data from Form 3 registers or manifest tracking.
• Don’t forget to mention authorization number if available.
• Be honest – over-reporting or under-reporting can both lead to issues.

Have few questions about how to fill Form IV? Read our Form IV Hazardous Waste Return: Full Step-by-Step Filing Guide

🧾 Part E – Solid Waste

This is for non-hazardous waste, such as:

• Paper, canteen waste, packaging, rejected products
• Disposal methods (e.g., sold to recycler, composted, landfill)

🧠 Tip from the field:
If your company has waste segregation or composting practices, mention them here – it reflects positively on your sustainability practices.

🧾 Part F – Characteristics & Disposal of Waste

Here, the board wants to know how you handle your waste after it’s generated. Include:

• Whether you neutralize, store, treat, or directly dispose
• Disposal route: recycling, incineration, landfill, co-processing, etc.

✅ Be practical. Don’t write “100% recycled” unless you have proof or agreements.

💰 Part G – Pollution Control Investment

Mention your spending on:

• ETP/STP maintenance
• Stack monitoring services
• Equipment upgrades (e.g., scrubber, bag filter)
• AMC and third-party analysis

✅ Include both Capex (e.g., new ETP motor) and Opex (e.g., chemical & lab charges)

🧠 Insight: Even small investments like flowmeter replacement show you’re committed.

🧾 Part H – Additional Measures

This section is optional – but important for building trust.

Examples:

• “Planted 100 trees inside plant boundary”
• “Installed real-time online stack monitoring system”
• “Replaced diesel boiler with PNG system”

✅ Highlight anything innovative or eco-conscious you did.

📝 Part I – Any Other Notes

Use this to clarify:

• Production variation vs. consent
• Occasional exceedance and corrective action
• Any upcoming environmental improvements

🧠 Pro Tip: Keep the tone honest but optimistic. Don’t hide issues – show how you’re addressing them.

❌ Common Form V Environmental Statement Mistakes to Avoid (for All Final Sections):

✅ Submission Checklist:

• ✔ Double-check all units (kg, ton, m³)
• ✔ Ensure signatures match your Consent to Operate (name/designation)
• ✔ Attach all relevant reports (lab, flowmeter, logbooks)
• ✔ Submit both hard copy and online (if required by MPCB)

🧠 Final Words (From a Senior to a Junior):

Form V is not just paperwork – it’s proof that your site is run with care. The more seriously you take it, the fewer problems you’ll face down the line. Always keep your data ready month by month, and never rely on copying last year’s form.

And remember – regulators don’t expect perfection, they expect transparency and improvement.

🔗 For a full list of all SPCB Environmental Compliance Forms and their families, visit our Complete Pillar Guide.

✅ Reviewed by Our Expert Leadership Team

This service offering is created and reviewed by our senior team of environmental professionals with 10–40 years of experience in pollution control, regulatory compliance, and monitoring services.

Tanaji S. Gajare

Founder & Chairman
40+ years in air & water monitoring, sustainability leadership

Anil Shelke

Executive Director
30+ years in compliance, audits, and ETP/STP operations

Kunal Gajare

Chief Sustainability Officer
10+ years in stack monitoring, MPCB/MoEF clearances, EIA