The next step

To the BSi's ISO 14001

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To the BSi's ISO 9001

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ISO 14001 comparison guide

[Document]

ISO 14001:2015

Long time coming

The standard, which defines a formal approach to environmental management, has been under review since 2012. The 2015 version permanently replaces the 2004 edition as well as the 2009 corrections (see The next step ).

Tip. If your arrangements have been certified, you have three years to amend your systems so that they meet the requirements of the new standard. However, we suggest that you start doing this sooner rather than later.

A major overhaul?

The standard has been given a thorough review and is quite different from the 2004 version. However, its scope has not altered. As such, it still requires businesses to develop a policy and define objectives which take into account legal requirements and significant environmental aspects, e.g. pollution prevention.

Across the board

A notable change is that the standard has been amended so that its requirements will be in line with other British Standard Institution (BSi) standards, such as ISO 9001. For example clause one in ISO 9001 will include similar requirements to clause one in ISO 14001.This means that if you sign up to multiple standards the compliance and auditing process will be more straightforward.

Note. ISO 9001 is also being updated to a 2015 version (see The next step ).

Changes in detail

The BSi has produced detailed guidance which breaks down the changes on a chapter-by-chapter basis (see The next step ). It also provides guidance on the likely effects of the changes.

Tip. If you are following the previous standard this document is well worth a look as it provides a reasonable explanation of the changes.

Warning. There are a number finer points that have been altered. As the BSi has identified, in many instances the rewording doesn’t introduce fundamental changes. That said, you will need to ensure you have recognised these in your systems.

Change of approach

One of the most significant changes in the standard can be found in chapter six. The entire planning process in environmental management has been restructured. It now states that the environmental impact of products and services should be considered “from a life cycle perspective” . This means that you will need to look at ethical material sourcing, reducing product miles, packaging, emissions, waste and recycling, etc.

Note. Although this sounds daunting, the exact expectations of the auditors won’t become completely clear until the new standard is more established.

For links to the ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 websites and a copy of the ISO 14001 comparison guide, visit http://tipsandadvice-environment.co.uk/download (EN 10.04.05).