This report does not describe the way in which society considers how environmental legislation and environmental monitoring should work. Instead it describes the experience of a number of companies of the self monitoring system and the municipality's environmental monitoring functions. The research about environmental monitoring is limited and has not focused on the perspective of companies. It is important to elucidate the perspectives of both society and companies. Both parties work is needed in order to achieve sustainable development. The results of this case study brings out and confirms the view of a limited number of companies on the monitoring authority’s work. This is an important part in the quality work of the studied authorities, but is also necessary for future development and use of monitoring methods. The companies in the study give a positive picture about how the environment monitoring and the self monitoring system work. The self monitoring system is an important tool for a company which has an ongoing and structured environmental management system. For a smaller company systems that build on documented procedures, may however, be perceived as a burden. Another result of the study is that the companies experience the authorities´ monitoring as a rewarding dialogue between them and the authority. The advice given by the authority is appreciated and valuable for the companies' environmental work. Nevertheless, the entrepreneurs expect more extensive support than the authority can provide due to the legislation.