ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management Systems

Published in September 2015, this Standard supersedes ISO 14001:2004.

So what does this mean for your business?

If your business hasn’t been certified to ISO 14001 yet, start working towards the requirements of this new Standard. There’s no need to reference the old Standard.

If your business is already certified to ISO 14001:2004, you have three years (until September 2018) to upgrade your business to the new requirements, and then go through a transition audit to update your Certification to the new Standard. The key thing to know here is, if your business has already effectively implemented its systems as truly intended by the old Standard, and you’re seeing the benefits in your business, there shouldn’t be a lot of work required to update to the new requirements.

Why has the Standard been updated and what are the changes?

The business world is continually changing and the Environmental Management Standard has been updated to better fit today’s needs. The environmental context for businesses is more challenging these days in meeting stakeholder expectations, along with the general expectation that modern organisations will become environmental stewards and perform accordingly in all areas of operation.

There’s been a shift towards more service-based businesses world wide in recent years, and the terminology of the Standard has been adjusted to make it easier for these service-based organisations to interpret the true intent of the Standard.

A “risk-based thinking” approach has been introduced, to determine the requirements of the business and its management systems. This new approach has enabled a considerable reduction in the prescriptive requirements of the old Standard, which have been replaced by performance-based requirements, providing greater flexibility for the management systems to suit the needs of the individual organisation. There is now no mandatory requirement for documented procedures! The organisation determines its own requirements to effectively manage its own processes!

There’s more focus on continually identifying opportunities for improvement for future needs and expectations in enhancing the organisation’s environmental performance.

There’s a greater focus on management demonstrating leadership and commitment, and taking greater accountability for the effectiveness of the environmental management system, ensuring integration of the requirements within the business processes, and ensuring it achieves its intended outcomes.

A common framework for all Management System Standards has been introduced to provide greater consistency across all the ISO Management Standards.

The Standard

This International Standard is all about minimising any negative impacts on the environment (via adverse changes to air, water or land), complying with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and continually improving in these areas.

It provides a framework for better management control with the goal of reducing environmental impact, and higher conformance with environmental legislative and regulatory requirements.