ISO 14001 – the Environmental Standard

Any organisation seeking certification for its Environmental Management Systems needs to meet the standards set out by ISO 14001.

First published as a standard in 1996, ISO 14001 specifies the requirements for an organisation's environmental management system.  It applies to environmental aspects over which an organisation has control, and where it can be expected to have an influence.

Like all international standards, ISO 14001 uses procedures to help your business become more efficient, more cost-effective and more consistent, as well as continually improving what you do in your business.  It can apply to all sizes of business, and all business types.

Continual improvement is a feature of all ISO standards, and you are not expected to have achieved all elements in order to obtain the standard.  You will, however, be expected to have a plan of how you will achieve continual improvement and then stick to the plan, as you will be monitored.

ISO 14001 focuses on two general areas, which might be loosely described as waste management and carbon footprint.

Waste management controls should address reducing overall waste, increasing recycling, and ensuring waste is dealt with appropriately for health and safety reasons.

Carbon footprint controls will deal with anything in your business which causes pollution, reducing the amount of energy and products that you use, and using recycled materials whenever possible.

To accomplish these, you will need to have a management environmental plan, and a set of procedures that detail how you go about your business. 

In addition, the standard requires everyone in the organisation to participate, and is a good method of establishing two-way communication between management and staff.

ISO 14001 requires an independent external audit by the British Standards Institution or Lloyds Register, or one of many standards monitoring bodies.  You will also have to conduct regular internal audits yourself, to demonstrate you are committed to the actions and policies described in your procedures.

In meeting the standard, you will save money, improve efficiency and be able to share your environmentally friendly credentials with your customers and prospects.  In fact, some companies have successfully introduced procedures and targets without going for the standard immediately. 

If you would like advice on how to set up procedures with a view to meeting ISO standards, Spiral can help.  We have teamed up with Aescia, a consultancy firm that specialises in Quality Management and preparing companies for ISO accreditation. 

For more information contact us.