ISO14001 is the international standard environmental management system (EMS) that enables a company to formulate a policy and objectives that take into account the legislative requirements and information about significant environmental impacts.
Scope of the ISO14001 Standard
The scope of the standard only includes those environmental aspects which the company or organisation can be said to have a control or influence over. It is not obligatory but is seen as best practice to obtain, and a reflection of the intention of an organisation to manage its environmental performance in a pro-active way. This can reflect positively to the various stakeholders or downstream consumers that might interact with the organisation.
ISO14001 accreditation might be used by an organisation to:
- Implement, maintain and improve an EMS where one doesn’t yet exist
- Use as proof or assurance that a stated environmental policy is being complied with
- Show to internal and external stakeholders that there is compliance
- Provide external certification or registration of an EMS
- Demonstrate the status of conforming to an international standard regarded as best practice.
It is up to the organisation to decide whether they want to concentrate on just one or several sections of practice or to adopt a corporate approach throughout.
The standard incorporates the following steps:
Environmental Policy
This is a signed statement of the organisation’s principles and intentions relating to potential and actual effects on the environment. Targets should be realistic and open to public scrutiny, as well as being communicated to all employees and available to the public.
Planning
Firstly the company must identify all of its environmental aspects and impacts. “Aspects” are defined as ‘elements of an organisation’s activities, products or services that can interact with the environment’. “Impacts” meanwhile are ‘any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organisation’s activities, products or services‘.
These aspects and impacts can be direct, indirect, past or future effects. They should also consider normal/abnormal conditions.
According to ISO14001 the organisation should also ‘establish and maintain a procedure to identify and have access to legal, and other requirements to which the organisation subscribes, that are applicable to the environmental aspects of its activities, products or services‘.
The third part of planning is to create the environmental objectives based on the organisation’s significant environmental aspects. Fourthly is the creation of a management programme to state how the objectives and targets are to be achieved.
Implementation and Operation
In short, this process includes the following:
- Organisation structures and responsibilities (who will do what)
- Training, awareness and competence
- Communications (internal and external)
- Documentation (the EMS manual, written procedures and document control)
- Operational control (establishing and maintaining procedures to cover all situations relating to the environmental policy and to suppliers and contractors).
- Emergency Preparedness (to be aware and prepared for the environmental consequences of an emergency situation and to minimise the threat of them occurring).
Checking and Corrective Action
This is an evaluation of the EMS to see whether it is likely to meet the ISO14001 audit requirements. It incorporates:
- Monitoring and measurement of operations and activities that can have a significant environmental impact
- Non-conformance and corrective and preventive action
- Records
- EMS audit to determine whether or not it meets the requirements of the standard and has been properly implemented and maintained.
Management Review
The EMS must be periodically reviewed to ensure its continued suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. Any requirements for changes to the policy and objectives must be addressed by the management.
This article only provides an outline of the requirements of the ISO14001 international standard. It is important to remember that the standard does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria apart from the expectation that procedures that are considered to be best practice be adopted. For more information, be sure to contact specialist ISO14001 consultants or an ISO14001 consultancy.