INTRODUCTION
ISO 14001 Environmental Management is the most widely used environmental management standard globally. The standard is a tool to help businesses manage their environmental impacts.
The new ISO14001: 2015 standard is an improvement on the 2004 version. The new standard has a holistic approach to managing environmental impacts; it makes companies more accountable through leadership and commitment and ensures the EMS is part of the company’s strategy and is integrated throughout the organisation.
HOW LONG IS THE TRANSITION PERIOD
There will be a 3 year transition period from 2015- 2018. If your company is already certified to ISO 14001:2004 you will have until the 15 September 2018 to be certified to the new standard. After September 2018, certification to the old standard will no longer be valid.
WHAT ARE THE KEY CHANGES
The new standard will look and feel different. There are some significant changes and minor updates to the old standard. I have outlined a number of the new inclusions.
Context of the organisation – you will need to demonstrate a broader understanding of the context in which your company operates and how to incorporate this into your Environmental Management System (EMS). The context also includes the needs and expectations of interested parties, i.e. your stakeholders (clients, suppliers, employees, communities, NGO’s etc). This in turn determines the scope of the EMS.
Top level leadership and commitment – it’s important to be able to demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the EMS, to ensure the company integrates environmental management into the strategic planning processes.
Environmental protection - you will be expected to commit proactively to initiatives that protect the environment.
Risks and opportunities – the focus is not only on risks but on opportunities associated with environmental aspects, compliance obligations and other issues and requirements.
Life cycle approach -this of course is very pertinent to product manufactures, and requires the organisation to consider each stage of a product or service from development to end-of-life.
A greater focus on environmental performance - the concept of continual improvement now has an emphasis shift from improving management systems to improving environmental performance.
Strategic communications – a communication strategy for internal and external communications, including the need for consistent and reliable information, is required.
WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS of the new standard
The old ISO14001: 2004 standard was focused on environmental ‘risks’ but I like the inclusion of ‘opportunities’ for the organisation. The new standard offers opportunities to organisations that may have stagnated and something that could have been potentially overlooked. It allows companies to think differently about their EMS.
CHALLENGES of the revised standard
For small to medium sized companies (SME’s), there maybe a couple of challenges.
Firstly, around ‘leadership’ and integrating environmental management into the company’s strategy. Some SME’s don’t have business plans or a documented company strategy, so it may be difficult to demonstrate this, but certainly not impossible.
Secondly, you will need to allocate time and resources for the implementation of the new standard. Allow yourself plenty of time to implement these changes, at a minimum I would suggest 12 months. Consider engaging external expertise to assist with this transition.
Does the certification give your company a competitive advantage?
Clients, specifiers, Government bodies, builders and construction companies have an expectation that product manufactures have environmental management practices embedded into their company culture and strategy. The ISO14001 certification gives your clients assurance that you are managing your environmental impacts and complying with environmental legislation.
I often see the requirement for ISO14001 certification in tender requirements, government contracts and suppliers code of conducts.
This new standard will certainly challenge some SME’s but it’s worthwhile to have the ISO14001 certification.
“Check out next month’s BLOG - ISO14001: 2015 TRANSITION Guidance -5 tips to get you started
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How can we help?
Sustainable Business Matters can assist your company with advice, tools, templates, manuals and onsite expertise to ensure a smooth transition to the new ISO14001: 2015 standard. Contact us now.