As ISO 14001 states, “The organization shall establish a procedure to identify environmental aspects and determine those aspects that have or can have a significant impact on the environment.” You should also keep a register of the environmental aspects, which is kept up to date and takes into account planned new or modified activities, products, or services.
ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e., cause adverse changes to air, water, or land) (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above. ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. ISO 14001:2015 sets out the criteria for an Environmental Management System (EMS). It does not state requirements for environmental performance, but maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective EMS. It can be used by any organization that wants to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and drive down costs. Using ISO 14001:2015 can provide assurance to company management and employees as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved. ISO 14001 can also be integrated with other management functions and assists companies in meeting their environmental and economic goals. ISO 14001 is voluntary, with its main aim to assist companies in continually improving their environmental performance, while complying with any applicable legislation. Organizations are responsible for setting their own targets and performance measures, with the standard serving to assist them in meeting objectives and goals and in the subsequent monitoring and measurement of these. The standard can be applied to a variety of levels in the business, from organizational level, right down to the product and service level. Rather than focusing on exact measures and goals of environmental performance, the standard highlights what an organization needs to do to meet these goals. ISO 14001 is known as a generic management system standard, meaning that it is relevant to any organization seeking to improve and manage resources more effectively. This includes:
Plan Do Check Act Methodology of EMS
Continual Improvement Process
The core requirement of a continual improvement process (CIP) is different from the one known from quality management systems. CIP in ISO 14001 has three dimensions:
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Overall, the CIP concept expects the organization to gradually move away from merely operational environmental measures towards a strategic approach on how to deal with environmental challenges.
Concepts of environmental control:
We all have an impact on the environment by the mere act of living from day-to-day. An EMS, in its simplest form, asks us to control our activities so that any environmental impacts are minimized.However unstructured approach may lead us to improve in the wrong direction or, indeed, may leave us without any clear direction at all. It is tempting to control and minimize those impacts we feel we can tackle easily. Our attitude towards environmental issues is influenced by a topical environmental event, and therefore, we can be influenced to act without thoroughly understanding some of the more complex issues. We may focus on, and minimize, environmental impacts which are trivial in nature compared with other impacts which are far more significant and require more considered thought processes. Unless a structured approach is taken the organization may focus on what it believes to be its environmental impacts, a belief based upon ‘gut feel’ and ease of implementation. In reality, this does not address real issues but promotes a ‘green’ feel-good factor or perceived enhancement of image – both internal and external to the organization – which is not justified. For example, a company engaged in the extraction of raw materials by mining may have an environmental objective to save energy. By implementing a ‘save energy by switching off lights’ campaign in its site offices it may feel it has achieved ‘green’ status and may proudly boast of such an environment friendly approach. There will be some energy saved by administration personnel switching off lights and heating when they are not being used for long periods. However, such savings in energy are trivial compared to the massive impact that the mining industry has on the environment: the visible impact of the site and surrounding land, the associated increased noise levels from the operation of such a site, the high use of energy both in extraction technology and transport activities, the use of chemicals in the purification process and of course, the use of non-renewable resources (the raw material that is being mined). Unless the mining company considers the relative scale and significance of environmental impacts, then by claiming to be ‘green’ it has really missed the whole point of environmental control and impact minimization.An organization must move away from this ‘gut feel’ approach to a structured system that demands as a minimum from the organization, an understanding of the concepts behind and strong linkages between:
Benefits of ISO 14001
ISO 14001 was developed primarily to assist companies with a framework for better management control that can result in reducing their environmental impacts. In addition to improvements in performance, organizations can reap a number of economic benefits including higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements by adopting the ISO standard. By minimizing the risk of regulatory and environmental liability fines and improving an organization’s efficiency, benefits can include a reduction in waste, consumption of resources, and operating costs. Secondly, as an internationally recognized standard, businesses operating in multiple locations across the globe can leverage their conformance to ISO 14001, eliminating the need for multiple registrations or certifications. Thirdly, there has been a push in the last decade by consumers for companies to adopt better internal controls, making the incorporation of ISO 14001 a smart approach for the long-term viability of businesses. This can provide them with a competitive advantage against companies that do not adopt the standard ). This in turn can have a positive impact on a company’s asset value. It can lead to improved public perceptions of the business, placing them in a better position to operate in the international marketplace . The use of ISO 14001 can demonstrate an innovative and forward-thinking approach to customers and prospective employees. It can increase a business’s access to new customers and business partners. In some markets it can potentially reduce public liability insurance costs. It can serve to reduce trade barriers between registered businesses. There is growing interest in including certification to ISO 14001 in tenders for public-private partnerships for infrastructure renewal.
Conformity Assessment
ISO 14001 can be used in whole or in part to help an organization (for-profit or not-for-profit) better manage its relationship with the environment. If all the elements of ISO 14001 are incorporated into the management process, the organization may opt to prove that it has achieved full alignment or conformity with the international standard, ISO 14001, by using one of four recognized options. These are:
ISO does not control conformity assessment; its mandate is to develop and maintain standards. ISO has a neutral policy on conformity assessment. One option is not better than the next. Each option serves different market needs. The adopting organization decides which option is best for them, in conjunction with their market needs.
Option 1 is sometimes incorrectly referred to as “self-certify” or “self-certification”. This is not an acceptable reference under ISO terms and definitions, for it can lead to confusion in the market. The user is responsible for making their own determination. Option 2 is often referred to as a customer or 2nd-party audit, which is an acceptable market term. Option 3 is an independent third-party process by an organization that is based on an engagement activity and delivered by specially trained practitioners. The fourth option, certification, is another independent third-party process, which has been widely implemented by all types of organizations. Certification is also known in some countries as registration. Service providers of certification or registration are accredited by national accreditation services such as NABCB in INDIA or UKAS in the UK.
Structure of ISO 14001:2015
ISO 14001 was revised in 2015 to bring it up to date with the needs of modern businesses and the latest environmental thinking. It’s based on Annex SL, the new high level structure (HLS) which is a common framework for all ISO management systems. This helps keep consistency, align different management system standards, offer matching sub-clauses against the top-level structure and apply common language across all standards. It makes it easier for organizations to incorporate their environmental management system, into core business processes, make efficiencies, and get more involvement from senior management.Perhaps the biggest difference between the old and the new standard is the structure. This is because the new edition uses the new Annex SL template. According to ISO, all future management system standards (MSSs) will use this new layout and share the same basic requirements. As a result, all new MSSs will have the same look and feel.A common structure is possible because basic concepts such as management, requirements, policy, planning, performance, objective, process, control, monitoring, measurement, auditing, decision making, corrective action, and nonconformity are common to all management system standards. A common structure should make it easier for organizations to implement multiple standards because they will all share the same basic language and the same basic requirements.
There have been changes in clause structure and some of the terminology in the new ISO 14001:2015 standard to be in align with other standards such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013. This, however, does not mean that the organization has to change its organization’s environmental management system documentation. There is no requirement to replace the terms used by an organization with the terms used in the new this international Standard. Organizations can choose to use terms that suit their business, e.g. “records”, “documentation”, or “protocols”, rather than “documented in formation”.
Layout of ISO 14001:2015
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1 Scope
2 Normative References 3 Terms and definitions 4 Context of the organization 4.1 Understanding the organization and its context 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties 4.3 Determining the scope of the Environmental management system 4.4 Environmental management system 5 Leadership 5.1 Leadership and commitment 5.2 Environmental policy 5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities 6 Planning 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities 6.2 Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them 7 Support 7.1 Resources 7.2 Competence 7.3 Awareness 7.4 Communication 7.5 Documented information 8 Operation 8.1 Operational planning and control 8.2 Emergency preparedness and response 9 Performance evaluation 9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation 9.2 Internal audit 9.3 Management review 10 Improvement 10.1 General 10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action 10.3 Continual improvement 1. Scope
This section explains the scope of the standard – i.e. what it is for and what it encompasses. It introduces the requirements of an environmental management system which supports the fundamental ‘environmental pillar’ of sustainability, together with the key intended outcomes of a management system including:
This section also makes clear that any organization claiming compliance with the revised standard should have incorporated all requirements of the standard within their environmental management system.
2. Normative references
As with ISO 14001:2004 there are no normative references associated with ISO 14001:2015. The clause is included simply in order to maintain consistent alignment with the ISO High Level Structure (HLS).
3. Terms and definitions
This clause lists the terms and definitions that apply to the standard – these are referenced where necessary back to other ISO 14001 standards (e.g. ISO 14031:2013). The ISO 14001:2015 standard extends the list of terms and definitions from the ISO 14001:2004 standard, combining the mandated HLS terms and definitions together with the more specific terms and definitions associated with environmental management systems.
Some of the core concepts of ISO 14001:2015 are:
Clarification of concepts
The use of the word “any” implies selection or choice. We cannot interchange the words “appropriate” and “applicable”. are not interchangeable. “Appropriate” means suitable (for. to] and implies some degree of freedom, while “applicable” means relevant or possible to apply and implies that if it can be done, it needs to be done.The word “consider” means it is necessary to think about the topic but it can be excluded; whereas “take into account” means it is necessary to think about the topic but it cannot be excluded. “Continual” indicates duration that occurs over a period of time, but with intervals of interruption (unlike “continuous” which indicates duration without interruption). “Continual” is therefore the appropriate word to use when referring to improvement. The word “effect” is used to describe the result of a change to the organization. The phrase “environmental impact” refers specifically to the result of a change to the environment. The word “ensure” means the responsibility can be delegated, but not the accountability. The term “interested party”; the term “stakeholder” is a synonym as it represents the same concept.
Some new terminology used in ISO 14001:2015 and not available in ISO 14001:2004 are
4. Context of the organization
This is a new clause that establishes the context of the EMS and how the business strategy supports this. ‘Context of the organization’ is the clause that underpins the rest of the standard. It gives an organization the opportunity to identify and understand the factors and parties that can affect, either positively or negatively, the EMS. Unlike the old standard, the new one expects you to understand your organization’s external context and its internal context before you establish its environmental management system (EMS).This means that you need to identify and understand the external issues and the external environmental conditions that could influence your organization’s EMS and the results that it intends to achieve. It also means that you need to identify and understand the internal issues and internal environmental conditions that could influence your EMS and the results in intends to achieve. The new ISO 14001: 2015 standard also expects you to identify the interested parties that are relevant to your EMS and to identify their needs and expectations. Once you’ve done this, it expects you to study these needs and expectations and to figure out which ones have become compliance obligations. But why is all this necessary? It’s necessary because your EMS will need to be able to manage all of these influences. Once you understand your context, you’re expected to use this knowledge to help you define your EMS and the challenges it must deal with.
4.1 Understanding the organization and its context
This clause requires the organization to consider a wide range of potential factors which can impact on the management system, in terms of its structure, scope, implementation and operation. The areas for consideration including;
4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
Clause 4.2 requires the organization to determine the need and expectations of “interested parties”, both internal and external. Interested parties could include;
What is clear is that whilst the consideration of context and interested parties needs to be relevant to the scope and the standard, the assessment needs to be appropriate and proportionate.What is also clear is that the output from clauses 4.1 and 4.2 is a key input to the assessment and determination of risks and opportunities required in clause 6. There are various methods and approaches which can be used to capture these inputs. As with any significant revision to standards, hopefully there will be the development of a range of methods and examples for this. Some current examples include;
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Iso 14001 Significant Aspects Of EducationInternal and External Issues
Internal and External Parties
It may be that when you reflect on how you capture key issues, and how many interested parties you engage with already, you may be pleasantly surprised. It may be that you only engage with a limited number of internal and external parties, but now is the time to start thinking about whether that is enough, and whether you are missing some good opportunities. There will be many ways in which to capture this – and hopefully some improved and new approaches might emerge as this part of the standard is considered. Approaches could include;
These clauses are asking organizations to think clearly and logically about what can internally and externally affect their management systems, and to be in a position to show that this information is being monitored and reviewed. It also requires organizations to elevate the discussions to the highest levels, since capturing the above range of information is hard to achieve without a high level approach.
4.3 Determining the scope of the environmental management system
This clause should be familiar to most organizations, since ISO 14001:2004 clause 4.1 clearly requires the definition of the scope of the management system. For ISO 14001:2015 the scoping requirements have become clearer, stronger and require the organization to consider the inputs from 4.1 and 4.2, along with the products and services being delivered. This should encourage a clearer and more logical approach to scoping, driven by external and internal requirements – it should not be used to exclude activities, processes or locations which have significant environmental aspects and impacts and should not be used to avoid areas with clear compliance obligations. The scope should be clearly documented and made publicly available. These clearer requirements on scoping will drive clarity in the thinking of organizations in scoping the management system. Certification bodies will, as before, look at how an organization has defined its scope, ensuring that this is both appropriate and is reflected accurately by the management system and also in the scope of any certificate issued.
4.4 Environmental management system
This clause basically states that the organization needs to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve a management system in order to achieve its intended outcomes, including enhancement of environmental performance. This should also be familiar to organizations which implement management systems in order to deliver compliance and improvement. This clause is also more focused in requiring organizations to understand more about the range of processes relevant to the scope of the management system. The term process is defined as; “a set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs”.
For those who are committed to a management system which is at the core of your business then this will probably be an integral part of your management system. You may however need to review how effectively you connect those processes and understand the influence and impact of those processes on each other and on the business. This should also elevate the system in terms of its importance and value to the business, because it should drive more meaningful analysis of the key business processes and critical aspects of those processes. In practical terms it will require an organization to more fully analyse its processes and ensure that there is good understanding of how they interact with each other – and not operate as isolated procedures without overlap. Clause 4 introduces some significant innovations to the management system world, and could represent a challenge to some organizations who have not viewed the management system as essential to the business, focused as it is on raising management systems to a higher level and to be more central to the way an organization works – an approach which is entirely correct and logical. 5 Leadership
This clause is all about the role of “top management” which is the person or group of people who directs and controls the organization at the highest level. The purpose is to demonstrate leadership and commitment by integrating environmental management into business processes. Top management must demonstrate a greater involvement in the management system and need to establish the environmental policy, which can include commitments specific to an organization’s context beyond those directly required, such as the ‘protection of the environment’. There is greater focus on top management to commit to continual improvement of the EMS. Communication is key and top management have a responsibility to ensure the EMS is made available, communicated, maintained and understood by all parties. Finally, top management need to assign relevant responsibilities and authorities, highlighting two particular roles concerning EMS conformance to ISO 14001 and reporting on EMS performance.
5.1 Leadership and commitment
This clause encompasses a range of key activities which top management need in order to “demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the management system”. Therein lies one of the innovations delivered by the common HLS – top management must show leadership of the management system rather than just demonstrate commitment to it. The standard is driving the oversight of the management system to the highest level of management and making it a key component of the organization and its core business processes and activities. It doesn’t mean that the leadership has to be able to regurgitate the policy or recite the objectives and targets – what it means is that an internal or external interested party should feel entitled to have a discussion with leadership about core and critical aspects of the business, because these are at the heart of the management system. This sub-clause is a significant innovation to the structure of management systems, but should be viewed as a ‘positive challenge’ to organizations and an opportunity to enhance the role of the environmental management system and place it at the centre of the business.
5.2 Environmental policy
The Environmental Policy is an important document because it acts as the driver for the organization. It provides the direction and formally establishes goals and commitment. Top management should ensure that the policy is appropriate, compatible with the strategic direction and not a bland statement that could apply to any business. It should provide clear direction to allow meaningful objectives to be set that align with it.The new standard focuses on commitment to ”protection of the environment” rather than solely addressing “prevention of pollution” in the 2004-edition. This indicates a broader environmental view and more in line with current and future environmental challenges. Commitments to protect the environment can, in addition to prevention of pollution, also include climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable resource use and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems. The policy needs to be communicated to all employees and they need to understand the part they have in its deployment. The policy must be documented and available externally.
5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities
For a system to function effectively, those involved need to be fully aware of what their role is. Top management must ensure that key responsibilities and authorities are clearly defined and that everybody involved understands their roles. Defining roles is a function of planning, ensuring awareness can then be achieved through communication and training. It is common for organizations to use job descriptions or procedures to define responsibilities and authorities. In ISO 14001:2015 top management are more directly identified as being responsible for ensuring that these aspects of the system are properly assigned, communicated and understood. The specific role of a Management Representative has been removed – the standard still contains all of the key activities and responsibilities of that previously identified role, but these now lie more directly within the core structure of the organization – including top management. This has a positive implication for the environmental management system- there is a clear expectation for consistent and appropriate ownership from top-to-bottom within an organization.
Clause 5 contains much familiar content, but with greater emphasis on leadership and commitment, and the expectation that top management will be more actively engaged with the management system. 6 Planning
Unlike the old standard, the new ISO 14001 standard expects you to determine risks and opportunities. So what does this mean and what does the new standard expect you to do? It expects you to start by establishing a risk planning process. It then expects you to use this process to identify risks and opportunities related to your organization’s unique context, its interested parties, its compliance obligations, and its environmental aspects. It then expects you to define actions to address all of these risks and opportunities. And to make sure that these actions will actually be carried out, it asks you to make these actions an integral part of your EMS , and then to implement, control, evaluate, and review the effectiveness of these actions and these processes. While risk planning is now an integral part of the new ISO 14001 standard, it does not actually expect you to implement a formal risk management process.
Iso 14001 Standards Pdf
In basic terms, this clause requires the organization to;
Risks and Opportunities
The ISO 14001 standard also introduces the concept of “considering a life cycle perspective” for its products, services and activities. This makes the previous concepts of the upstream and downstream aspects clearer, and also introduces language now in common use across other standards as well as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and product assessment standards. The overall strength of this clause lies in both introducing the principles of risk and opportunity to management systems standards via the HLS, and by connecting it very clearly to the processes defined under Clause 4. A well-established approach to managing this range of inputs, risk analysis and prioritisation already implemented by many organizations is the use of risk registers, which if properly managed and implemented can effectively identify and assess risks and opportunities across a wide range of areas and issues. There will also be other approaches which result from the various relevant clauses
of 14001 (e.g. the results from clause 4.1 and 4.2 and the requirements of 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3 and 6.1.4) along with management of change, with an overall analysis and review resulting in objectives, targets and plans. The depth and complexity of approach will depend significantly on the size and complexity of the organization, as well as other factors which could include level of external regulation, existing requirements for public reporting, shareholder interests, public profile, numbers and types of customers, range and types of suppliers. Hence there will be a range of approaches that will be appropriate for the wide spectrum of organizations. 6.2 Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them
This clause requires the organization to establish environmental objectives and plans, ensuring that these are clear, measurable, monitored, communicated, updated and resourced. As part of the planning process, top management needs to set environmental objectives driven by the outputs from the analysis of risks arising from threats and opportunities (i.e. the range of activities undertaken in 6.1), with the aim of delivering compliance, performance improvement and effective risk management. Objectives should be consistent with the Environmental Policy and be capable of being measured. Documented information needs to kept in relation to objectives and there will need to be evidence regarding monitoring of achievement.
Preventive action
The new ISO 14001 standard no longer uses the term preventive action. We’re now expected to use risk planning concepts and to think of the entire EMS as a system of preventive action. ISO 14001 2015 section A.10.1 says there is no longer a single clause on preventive action because “One of the key purposes of an environmental management system is to act as a preventive tool. This concept of preventive action is now captured in 4.1 (i.e., understanding the organization and its context) and 6.1 (i.e., actions to address risks and opportunities).” So, according to the new standard, these two sets of requirements cover the old concept of preventive action. Evidently, once we realize that the entire EMS can be used to manage risks and opportunities, we no longer need a separate clause on preventive action. It’s redundant. 7 Support
This clause is all about the execution of the plans and processes that enable an organization to meet their EMS. Simply expressed, this is a very powerful requirement covering all EMS resource needs. Organizations will need to determine the necessary competence of people doing work that, under its control, affects its environmental performance, its ability to fulfil its compliance obligations and ensure they receive the appropriate training. In addition, organizations need to ensure that all people doing work under the organization’s control are aware of the environmental policy, how their work may impact this and implications of not conforming with the EMS. Finally, there are the requirements for ‘documented information’ which relate to the creation, updating and control of specific data.
7.1 Resources
The main intention behind this general requirement is that the organization must determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the environmental management- covering all aspects of people and infrastructure. Whilst not contained in the ISO 14001 standard, the ISO 9001 standards contains a very interesting additional requirement termed “organizational knowledge”, which relates to ensuring that the organization understands internal and external knowledge needs and can demonstrate how this is managed. This could also include knowledge management of resources, and ensuring that there is effective succession planning for personnel, and processes for capturing individual and group knowledge. It isn’t a documented requirement of ISO 14001 but it is relevant and useful as a general principle.
In order to determine competence, competence criteria needs to be established for each function and role relevant to the environmental management system. This can then be used to assess existing competence and determine future needs. Where criteria are not met, some action is required to fill the gap.Training or reassignment may even be necessary. Retained documented information is required to be able to demonstrate competence. Recruitment and induction programmes, training plans, skills tests and staff appraisals often provide evidence of competence and their assessment. Competency requirements are often included in recruitment notices and job descriptions. The standard is clear that documented information is required as evidence of competence.
7.3 Awareness
Personnel need to be made aware of the environmental policy, significant aspects and impacts of relevance to their activities, how they contribute to the environmental objectives, environmental performance and compliance obligations, and the implications of failures in compliance.
7.4 Communication
Effective communication is essential for a management system. Top management need to ensure that mechanisms are in place to facilitate this. It should be recognised that communication is two-way and will not only need to cover what is required, but also what was achieved. With ISO 14001:2015 the importance of internal communications and external communications are emphasized. This is a natural legacy of the existing ISO 14001:2004 and the importance of interested parties in environment issues. This sub clause also makes very clear the importance of ensuring in relation to environmental reporting and associated communications that the organization shall “ensure that environmental information communicated is consistent with information generated within the environmental management system, and is reliable”. This is an excellent addition and consistent with other corporate reporting standards. It also emphasizes the need to plan and implement a process for communications along the familiar ‘who, what, when how’ principles.
7.5 Documented information
The new ISO 14001 2015 standard has also eliminated the long standing distinction between documents and records. Now they’re both referred to as “documented information”. Why ISO chose to abandon two common sense concepts and replace them with one that is needlessly awkward and esoteric is not entirely clear. According to ISO’s definition, the term documented information refers to information that must be controlled and maintained. So, whenever ISO 14001 2015 uses the term documented information it implicitly expects you to control and maintain that information and its supporting medium. However, this isn’t the whole story. An annex to the new ISO 14001 2015 standard (A.3) further says that “this international standard now uses the phrase ‘retain documented information as evidence of’ to mean records, and ‘maintain documented information’ to mean documentation other than records.” So, whenever the new ISO 14001 standard refers to documented information and it asks you to maintain this information, it is talking about what used to be referred to as documents, and whenever it asks you to retain this information, it is talking about what used to be called records. So sometimes documented information must be maintained and sometimes it must be retained (contrary to what ISO’s official definition says). So, while the official definition of the term documented information abandons the distinction between documents and records, through the use of the words “maintain” and “retain” and because of what this means (according to Annex A), the main body of the standard actually restores this distinction. In other words, while documents and records were officially kicked out the front door, they were actually allowed back in through the back door.
Procedures The old ISO 14001 standard asked organizations to establish a wide range of procedures. These included an environmental aspects procedure, a legal requirements management procedure, an awareness procedure, a communications procedure, a documents procedure, an operational procedure, an emergency preparedness and response procedure, a monitoring and measurement procedure, a compliance evaluation procedure, a nonconformity management procedure, a record keeping procedure, and an audit procedure. Now, only one procedure is left. The new ISO 14001 2015 standard asks you to establish an emergency preparedness and response procedure in section 8.2, and that’s the only one. Instead of asking you to write procedures, the new standard expects you to maintain and control a wide range of documents (i.e., documented information). Since the new standard doesn’t tell you what to call these documents, you can call them procedures if you like. And, of course, you still need to have documents except that now they’re called “documented information”. So, while on the surface this looks like a radical change, it probably isn’t. Mandatory documents and records required by ISO 14001:2015
Here are the documents you need to produce if you want to be compliant with ISO 14001:
Iso 14001 Certification Process
And, here are the mandatory records:
Non-mandatory documents
There are numerous non-mandatory documents that can be used for ISO 14001 implementation. However, I find these non-mandatory documents to be most commonly used:
8 Operation
This clause deals with the execution of the plans and processes that enable the organization to meet their environmental objectives. There are specific requirements that relate to the control or influence exercised over outsourced processes and the requirement to consider certain operational aspects ‘consistent with a life cycle perspective’. This means giving serious consideration to how actual or potential environmental impacts happening upstream and downstream of an organization’s site-based operations are influenced or (where possible) controlled. Finally, the clause also covers the procurement of products and services, as well as controls to ensure that environmental requirements relating to design, delivery, use and end-of-life treatment of an organization’s products and services are considered at an appropriate stage.
8.1 Operational planning and control
The overall purpose of operational planning and control is to ensure that processes are in place to meet the environmental management system requirements and to implement actions identified in 6.1 and 6.2. There are some clearer and stronger requirements relating to outsourced processes and control of changes. In addition, requirements around the life cycle perspective approach are defined in more detail, covering the key elements of:
The organization needs to determine and evaluate the level of control and influence over the different life cycle elements, based on the context of the organization and the consideration of significant environmental aspects, compliance obligations and risks associated with threats and opportunities. Overall ISO 14001:2015 requires a structured approach to all aspects of the products and services with a strong reference point to life cycle perspective. As discussed under Clause 7.5, there is no specific requirement for documented procedures in ISO 14001:2015, but there is a clear requirement for ensuring that there is documented information to provide assurance that the processes are in place and implemented effectively. That requirement could cover process maps, procedures, specifications, forms, records, data and other information across any media.
8.2 Emergency Preparedness and Response
This clause is clear in requiring the organisation to establish, implement and maintain processes needed to handle potential emergency situations identified in 6.1.1. The more detailed requirements cover the need to ensure:
9 Performance Evaluation
This is all about measuring and evaluating your EMS to ensure that it is effective and it helps you to continually improve. You will need to consider what should be measured, the methods employed and when data should be analysed and reported on. As a general recommendation, organizations should determine what information they need to evaluate environmental performance and effectiveness. Internal audits will need to be carried out, and there are certain “audit criteria” that are defined to ensure that the results of these audits are reported to relevant management. Finally, management reviews will need to be carried out and “documented information” must be kept as evidence.
9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
This sub-clause encompasses two key areas:
The range of monitoring and measurement required needs to be determined for those processes and activities which relate to significant environmental aspects/impacts, environmental objectives, key areas of operational control and processes, and also for evaluating the meeting of compliance obligations. For the monitoring and measurement determined as required, the organization also needs to determine key criteria and requirements, including:
The output from these activities provide key inputs for a range of other elements of the environmental management system, including management review, and in determining the internal and external communications required on the environmental management system and its performance.
The other key aspect of this sub-clause is the organization will need to demonstrate how it evaluates compliance with other requirements. Most organizations fulfil this clause via their internal audit processes, but other compliance audits, checks and reviews can be used. The organization should define its processes for evaluating compliance with legal and other requirements and must maintain documented information relating to these activities. The process must cover:
This area is similar to the requirements under ISO 14001:2004, but with clearer and more detailed requirements. As with ISO 14001:2004, this is not about reviewing which compliance obligations are applicable to the organization, it is about evaluating actual compliance with the range of compliance obligations applicable to the organization.
Relationship of elements of ISO 14001:2015 standard relevant for compliance management.
9.2 Internal audit
Internal audits have always been a key element of ISO 14001 in helping to assess the effectiveness of the environmental management system. An audit programme needs to be established to ensure that all processes are audited at the required frequency, the focus being on those most critical to the business. To ensure that internal audits are consistent and thorough, a clear objective and scope should be defined for each audit. This will also assist with auditor selection to ensure objectivity and impartiality. To get the best results, auditors should have a working knowledge of what is to be audited, but management must act on audit results. This is often limited to corrective action relating to any nonconformities that are found, but there also needs to be consideration of underlying causes and more extensive actions to mitigate or eliminate risk. Follow up activities should be performed to ensure that the action taken as a result of an audit is effective. This clause is largely the same as ISO 14001:2004.
9.3 Management review
The main aim of management review is to ensure the continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the quality management system. Only through conducting the review at sufficient intervals (remember, management review does not have to be just one meeting, held once per year), providing adequate information and ensuring the right people are involved can this aim be achieved. The standard details the minimum inputs to the review process. Top management should also use the review as an opportunity to identify improvements that can be made and/or any changes required, including the resources needed. The input to management review should include information on;
The output from the management review should include any decisions and actions related to;
Documented information pertaining to the management review is required to be retained.
This clause is largely the same as ISO 14001:2004, but with some broader topics and alignment with the new language of risks and opportunities, and the context of the organization. 10 Improvement
This clause requires organizations to determine and identify opportunities for continual improvement of the EMS. The requirement for continual improvement has been extended to ensure that the suitability and adequacy of the EMS—as well as its effectiveness—are considered in the light of enhanced environmental performance. There are some actions that are required that cover handling of corrective actions. Firstly organizations need to react to the nonconformities and take action. Secondly they need to identify whether similar nonconformities exist or could potentially occur.This clause requires organizations to determine and identify opportunities for continual improvement of the EMS. There is a requirement to actively look out for opportunities to improve processes, products or services; particularly with future customer requirements in mind.
10.1 General
This states that the organization shall determine opportunities for improvement and implement necessary actions to achieve intended outcomes.
10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action
The main aim of the corrective action process is to eliminate the causes of actual problems so as to avoid recurrence of those problems. It is a reactive process, in that it is triggered after an undesired event (e.g. a pollution event). In essence, the process uses the principles of root cause analysis. A basic approach to problem solving is “cause” and “effect”, and it is the cause that needs to be eliminated. Action taken should be appropriate and proportionate to the impact of the nonconformity. As part of the corrective action process, the effectiveness of action taken must be checked to ensure it is effective. For this clause on nonconformity and corrective action, much of the content is familiar and similar to ISO 14001:2004 but the term “preventive action” has now been completely deleted from the standard. This is because the new HLS is built on the fundamental principles of risk management, which embodies the need to identify risk and manage those risks, with the ultimate goal of risk elimination. The overall approach is one of mitigating and where possible eliminating risk, with the use of corrective action to deal with the impacts of realised risks.
10.3 Continual improvement
This sub-clause of ISO 14001:2015 effectively summarises the key aim of an environmental management system: to continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the environmental management system to enhance environmental performance. This was also embodied in ISO 14001:2004 but is separately stated in ISO 14001:2015. Improvement does not have to take place in all areas of the business at the same time. Focus should be relevant to risks and benefits. Improvement can be incremental (small changes) or breakthrough (new technology). In reality both methods will be used at some point in time.
Other clarifications and modifications
The old ISO 14001 standard asked you to “define and document the scope of its environmental management system” (4.1), but it didn’t say anything about how this should be done. The new ISO standard clarifies how this ought to be done (4.3). It now asks you to consider your compliance obligations, your corporate context, your physical boundaries, your products and services, your activities and functions, and your authorities and abilities when you define the scope of your EMS. And it asks you to include all products, services, and activities that have significant environmental aspects. The new term “compliance obligation” has replaced the rather cumbersome phrase: “legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes”. However, the meaning is the same. There are two kinds of compliance obligations: mandatory compliance obligations and voluntary compliance obligations. Mandatory compliance obligations include laws and regulations while voluntary compliance obligations include contractual commitments, community and industry standards, ethical codes of conduct, and good governance guidelines. A voluntary obligation becomes mandatory once you decide to comply with it. The new standard no longer refers to environmental targets. According to section A.6.2, “The concept of “target” used in prior editions of this International Standard is captured within the definition of “environmental objective”. You can, of course, still set targets and call them targets if you wish. The only real difference is that the new ISO 14001 standard thinks of a target as a type of objective.
Management of change is an important part of maintaining the environmental management system that ensures the organization can achieve the intended outcomes of its environmental management system on an ongoing basis. Management of change is addressed in various requirements in ISO 14001:2015 Standard, such as
As part of managing change, the organization should address planned and unplanned changes to ensure that the unintended consequences of these changes do not have a negative effect on the intended outcomes of the environmental management system. Examples of change include:
ISO 14001:2015 has introduced the requirement for a “life cycle perspective” in environmental management systems (EMS). The new standard does not require a formal life cycle analysis, or quantification, but does require organisations to look upstream and downstream of the processes performed on-site and try to reduce environmental impacts. Specifically, the life cycle perspective is related to the organisation’s environmental aspects and impacts. It requires careful consideration of the life cycle stages that the organisation can control or influence, including acquisition of raw materials, production and transportation, use and maintenance, and recycling or disposal. In doing this, the organisation needs to create records as evidence that they have considered each lifecycle stage. The standard also requires the organisation to provide information to its external service providers and contractors about the potentially significant environmental impacts of its products and services. It must also consider the need to provide this information to transporters, end-users and disposal facilities. By providing this information, the organisation can potentially prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts during these life cycle stages.
The life cycle perspective can be applied in choosing, for example:
Why has this life cycle requirement been added to the standard? The introduction to the new standard explains that a life cycle perspective can be used to benefit the environment in areas where the organisation has “control or influence” and also “prevents environmental impacts from being unintentionally shifted elsewhere within the life cycle”. Life cycle considerations were largely ignored by the old standard. Now they’re central. ISO 14001 now expects you to use a life cycle perspective to “identify the environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts of its activities, products and services that it can control and those that it can influence”. The term “management representative” has been officially dropped. The management duties and responsibilities that were previously assigned to someone called a “management representative” may now be assigned either to one person or to many. Of course, you may continue to use this job title if you wish.
Mapping ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 14001:2004
Guidance Matrix
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Environment, ISO Standards
In this blog we continue to describe what an implementing company must do in order to meet the requirement of ISO 140001:2015. We will remain with clause 6.1: Actions to address risks and opportunities. Clause 6.1.2 relates specifically to environmental aspects. Key to improving the environmental performance of your organization is controlling the environmental aspects that arise from its operations. Improved environmental performance is a direct result of managing the organizations environmental aspects and impacts.
Clause 6.1.2: Environmental Aspects
The organization will need to determine the environmental aspects that relate to activities, products and services within the scope of its Environmental Management System. It is also necessary to:
Terms relating to clause 6.1.2
Having identified actual and potential environmental impacts and aspects for its operations, the organization must determine which are significant. A defined method and criteria must be applied to do this. Significant environmental aspects must be communicated throughout the organization as appropriate.
The organization is required to maintain documented information of:
Clause 6.1.2 Environmental Aspects – Quick Check
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