Is your businesses or organisation looking for a management system that supports the compliance of environmental legislation? Businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the impact that they have on the environment. Preventing negative impacts on the environment and operating in a more environmentally friendly way can be achieved by implementing an environmental management system.
ISO 14001:2015 has been specifically designed to outline the requirements for an environmental management system that helps organisations to comply with environmental legislation as well as develop and improve upon its environmental performance.
John Jeffery offers ISO 14001 consultancy services, allowing your company to provide reassurance to both customers and the general public of the commitment of the organisation to minimise adverse environmental impacts caused as a direct result of business activities. Because of the resource utilisation and energy-saving aspects of being ISO 14001 certified, this management system will also have an impact on the ‘bottom line’.
ISO 14001 is part of the ISO 14000 family of standards. It is an international standard that outlines the requirements for organisations implementing an effective environmental management system.
An environmental management system, also referred to as EMS, is a system that is adopted by an organisation to ensure that it is operating in compliance with environmental policy and government regulations. EMS can be established to meet the requirements of ISO 14001 or BS 8555 (Project Acorn).
ISO 14001 was first published in 1996 and is based on the British Standard for Environmental Management Systems BS 7750. The most recent version of the standard is ISO 14001:2015. It acts as a cycle, as does ISO 9001, and indeed the content of many of the clauses is identical e.g. control of documents.
The current (2015) version is now aligned to the common ten-clause structure of all management system standards, requires a life-cycle approach when identifying environmental aspects and puts a greater emphasis on evaluation of compliance.
As a voluntary standard, ISO 14001 can be integrated with other standards, such as ISO 9001, to improve the quality and accomplishment of an organisation’s goals.
Implementing an Environmental Management System such as ISO 14001, demonstrates an organisation’s consideration and commitment towards operating in an environmentally friendly way. Whilst this is beneficial to the environment, organisations can benefit from building better relationships with customers, the wider public and community and a range of internal and external stakeholders.
Generate a corporate reputation for operating responsibly
On top of the obvious benefit to the environment, the company itself can improve its general reputation by operating in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly capacity. When reaching out to new customers, clients and investors, it’s well worth noting that many individuals and businesses are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious.
Customers using the products or services of an organisation or consultancy that is registered to ISO 14001 by a UKAS Accredited Certification Body can be assured that the organisation has:
Demonstrating corporate responsibility for environmental operations could in turn boost trust amongst new customers and stakeholders.
A holistic approach to managing your organisation’s environmental impacts
As previously mentioned, better relationships can be formed with customers and the wider community. Internal management will also benefit, as the system offers a holistic approach to environmental management for the whole organisation.
Reduce costs and operate more efficiently
An EMS can help to identify areas where environment-related costs can be reduced. For example, organisations can save capital simply by considering how tangible resources, including water, paper, gas and electricity can be reduced, reused or recycled.
The structure of ISO 14001 is split into ten areas of focus. Whilst the first three sections are introductory, the remaining seven outline the requirements of an EMS. Each of these sections adopts a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, which ensures that those implementing the standards continue continuous improvement of their EMS.
The sections are as followed:
Interested in becoming ISO 14001 certified? Talk to John!