Any new standard or updated standard comes with challenges and opportunities; the 2015 revised ISO14001 standard is no different. The revised standard will look and feel different and there are numerous changes throughout. The 2015 ISO14001 standard offers opportunities for organisations that may have stagnated, in that it allows companies to think differently about their EMS, but, like everything, it needs to be carefully considered and planned.
GETTING STARTED
1. Plan the transition and date of recertification
If you’re transitioning to the new 2015 ISO14001 standard, then the most obvious time to be audited against the new standard would be after your last surveillance audit. For example, if you are due for a surveillance audit in March 2017, then start planning and implementing to the new standard in April 2017. And go for recertification to the new standard in 2018. You have up until September 2018 to be certified to the new standard. After 15 September 2018, your ISO14001 certificate will no longer be valid.
There are a number of major changes to the new standard so these will need to be planned for. Give yourself a minimum of 12 months for the implementation so it will be less stressful.
2. Leadership
Prior to commencing the transition to the new standard, it’s imperative that top management is committed to incorporating environmental management as part of the company strategy.
In the old standard, there was one Environmental Management System (EMS) representative. In the new standard, this is no longer the case. Top management is expected to be accountable for the success of the EMS and as such should lead, promote and direct others to ensure the EMS is properly implemented, communicated and is meeting the desired objectives.
3. Conduct a gap analysis
If you already have an EMS implemented to the ISO14001:2004 standard, then I would suggest you conduct a gap analysis. This provides a comparison against the old and new standard and helps you understand the changes – some of which are minor and some of which are major with completely new elements.
The new inclusions relate to:
- Context of the organisation, internal and external issues, needs and expectations of interested parties
- Leadership and commitment, demonstration of leadership and integration into company strategy
- Actions to address risks and opportunities related to your environmental aspects
- Life cycle perspective, from raw material through to final disposal or reuse of product
In addition to the NEW inclusions listed above, there have been a number of revised clauses so these too will need to be considered. For example:
- Environmental policy
- Planning for actions
- Communications plan
- Compliance obligations
- Performance evaluation
- Internal audit program
- Management review
- Continual improvement
4. First step is to focus on the ‘context of the organisation’
This is a new clause of the ISO14001 standard
Understanding the organisation and its context should involve high-level analysis of how your business functions in relation to internal and external issues (see below) and what your stakeholders expect from your business in terms of sustainable outcomes.
The ‘context of the organisation’ will help determine the scope of your EMS. With the old standard, the scope, within reason, was determined by the organisation undergoing certification. This new element in the standard will change that.
It’s important to understand the context in which your organisation relates to ‘internal and external issues’. These are issues that can impact your organisation either positively or negatively and the way your organisation manages its environmental responsibilities and outcomes.
Examples of items to address under the clause ‘context of the organisation’
Environmental conditions are factors related to climate, air and water quality, land use, natural resource availability and biodiversity that can either affect the organisation’s purpose or are affected by its environmental aspects.
An example that would potentially affect product manufacturers or retailers would obviously be natural resource availability, (e.g. timbers, metals, plastics).
External issues include cultural, socio-political, legal, regulatory, financial, technological, economic, natural and competitive circumstances. These could be local, regional, national or international.
For example, if there was a downturn in the economy, this could impact how you manage your EMS and what resources you allocate to it. Exchange rates are another factor that could affect your business either positively or negatively depending on whether you import or export products, materials or components from overseas.
Internal issues include
Examples of internal issues could be the relocation of a factory or warehousing facility, staff members that have a significant role within the EMS resigning, or changes in the design and procurement processes.
Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
For product manufacturers, this would most likely relate to your clients’ expectations and industry requirements. Examples of requirements might include, green star rating tools and relevant green star credits, ecolabelling certification schemes, environmental requirements in clients’ tenders and, in some cases, clients (construction companies) suppliers’ or vendors’ codes of conduct. Staff and community expectations also need to be considered.
Once you have determined the internal and external issues that could affect your EMS and you understand the needs and expectations of interested parties, you can determine the scope of the EMS.
5. PLAN the year ahead
When I’m planning the EMS transition for my clients, I put together a 12 month plan so, for each month, I allocate a required action, whose responsible and a completion date. That way I know when all the requirements need to be completed and can plan ahead for the coming months. As with the old EMS, there is a systematic approach – PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT. This one is similar. The below diagram is an extract from the ISO14001:2015 standard, a new example of a PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT model.
New templates, registers, documents and procedures will need to be developed to meet the new standard requirements,
If we can help with any aspect of the implementation of the revised ISO14001: 2015 standard, please get in touch.
