Understanding the new ISO 14001 requirements can be time-consuming.
The ISO 14001 standard isn’t exactly a page turner, either, ranking somewhere between your health insurance policy and TV user manual.
But it’s critical that you understand the ISO 14001 requirements in order to comply with the new standard.
An Aspect and Impact Register is an integral part of any organization’s ISO Environmental Management System. It is designed to identify and give significance to sustainability and environmental efficiencies; which are created as a result of the activities and services provided by the organization. “ISO 14001: 2015, 6.1.2 Environmental Aspects Within the defined scope of the environmental management system the organization shall determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those that it can influence, and their associated environmental impacts, considering a life cycle perspective. ISO specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organization can use to improve its environmental performance. ISO is intended for use by an organization seeking to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability. According to the ISO 14001 standard, “an environmental aspect is an element of an organization’s activities, products, or services that has or may have an impact on the environment” and environmental impacts are “any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s environmental aspects.”. May 29, 2019 A register of significant environmental aspects is usually produced to meet the requirement to maintain documented information of environmental aspects and associated impacts and of significant environmental aspects. The register must be kept up to date, and will need to be reviewed periodically (e.g. Annually) or when new aspects are.
In this post, we’ll break down the main requirements — at a high level and in plain English.
Getting to know the ISO 14001 requirements
The new ISO 14001 revision was published in 2015. The standard outlines requirements for an environmental management system (EMS), with a new emphasis on sustainability.
>>> To learn more about the standard, check out our ISO 14001 resource page.
ISO 14001 is broken down into 10 sections, or clauses. For this post, we’ll be focusing on clauses 4-10, which provide a framework for an EMS.
While you read, keep in mind that ISO 14001 doesn’t lay out any specific requirements for environmental performance. Instead, you’ll identify your own goals and areas of improvement within the framework established by the standard.
ISO 14001 requirementsClause 4. Context of the organization:
As we’ve mentioned before, ISO 14001:2015 isn’t a “one size fits all” standard.
Naturally, the environmental issues and considerations that are relevant to, say, a transportation company are going to be very different from those of a utility company.
That’s why the standard requires each organization to explicitly evaluate who you are, what you do, who cares about you, and how you will respond. You’ll consider:
One of the most significant changes in 14001:2015 is that companies must evaluate the needs and expectations of their stakeholders.
Just like you’d consider what your customers want in a new product, you’ll have to consider what needs they want met in terms of your environmental performance.
All these considerations go into determining the scope of your EMS and the structure of the management system itself.
Clause 5. Leadership:
ISO 14001:2015, like the previous 2004 standard, requires you to develop an environmental policy that outlines roles, responsibilities, and authorities throughout the company.
But unlike the old standard, ISO 14001:2015 underlines the importance of leadership involvement.
Instead of one person wearing the “environmental management representative” hat, top management will be held responsible for the effectiveness of the EMS.
In order to comply with ISO 14001's leadership requirement, you’ll need to demonstrate that your leaders know your environmental objectives and are working to create a culture of continual environmental improvement.
Clause 6. Planning:
Under ISO 14001, companies must identify and plan for any activity that could impact the environment.
To meet this requirement, you’ll need to identify significant environmental aspects and impacts like:
You’ll also need to identify your compliance obligations, like state and local regulations.
After you’ve identified potential risks and opportunities, you’ll need to determine your environmental objectives and plan specific actions to achieve those targets.
Clause 7. Support:
Support is the largest section in the new ISO 14001 requirement. This clause looks at your resources, communication, and documentation for your EMS.
Under the new standard, it’s up to individual companies to determine what documentation is necessary for an effective management system, like how you’ll measure training effectiveness and demonstrate competence.
With the rise in technology and big data, the new standard emphasizes the use of digital documentation as a way to manage this information.
Finally, you’ll need to define how you’re going to communicate with stakeholders.
Clause 8. Operation:
This clause requires you to identify which of your activities might impact the environment, and define operational controls to minimize that impact.
To meet this requirement, you’ll need to create documented procedures like work instructions and preventive maintenance programs.
You’ll also need to have a documented emergency preparedness and response plan for potential accidents that could affect the environment, like a chemical spill.
Clause 9. Performance evaluation:
This clause requires you to determine how you’ll monitor, measure, analyze, and evaluate your EMS.
To meet this requirement, you’ll need to evaluate both your environmental performance, as well as ways to improve your management system.
This includes creating a system of internal audits and management review to ensure your EMS is working properly.
Clause 10. Improvement:
One of the most prominent themes in ISO 14001:2015 is a commitment to continual improvement.
To that end, the last clause requires you to determine how you’ll deal with nonconformity, including corrective actions, as well as actions for continual improvement actions.
Next steps
Clearly, there’s a lot to think about when you’re working toward compliance with the new ISO 14001 standard.
We’ve developed a free checklist to help you make sure you don’t miss any steps in your ISO 14001 implementation.
>>> For more information on ISO 14001, check out our resource page “The Definitive Guide to ISO 14001 Environmental Management”.
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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