ISO14001 – The Environmental Management Standard

ISO14001 is the internationally recognised standard for environmental management. Being certified to ISO14001 shows that an organisation’s Environmental Management System (EMS) complies with the requirements detailed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

An Environmental Management System (EMS) documents your organisation’s policies, processes and procedures relating to the environment. A robust EMS will help you minimise the impact of your operations on the environment, including natural resources and wildlife. 

ISO14001 follows the principles of Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA). In short, it requires you to plan effectively, do as you planned and then review your actions to ensure you followed the plan and your goals were achieved.

Many larger businesses are keen to minimise the environmental impact not only of their own operations but of their supply chain too. Achieving ISO14001 helps to reassure these potential clients that you take the wellbeing of the environment as seriously as they do. It can also help you reduce costs and improve your reputation.

ISO14001 is relevant to every business, including ones which deliver services rather than products. 

Office environments may not have an obvious environmental impact as factories but colleagues can still work together to make a difference. If we all made the same commitment to reducing water usage and recycling where possible, the collective impact would be huge. 

ISO14001 will help you:

• Minimise your impact on the environment
• Identify risks to your business
• Reduce the costs of raw materials, processing and transportation
• Minimise facility running costs (e.g. lighting and heating)
• Improve your reputation

ISO14001 integrates well with ISO9001 (Quality), ISO27001 (Information Security) and ISO45001 (Health & Safety) thanks to their common structure (Annex SL). 

Thanks to the ‘Attenborough Effect’, people are showing much more interest in green issues. Your staff are no different. Many of them will enjoy taking an active role in minimising their impact on the environment and helping others to do their same. Clients find that their ‘Green Champions’ or ‘Green Teams’ educate and encourage their colleagues, driving down wastage and improving recycling rates.

The cost depends on the size and complexity of your organisation and how much time and resource you can make available. We’ll be delighted to talk through your requirements and provide you with a quotation, including flexible payment terms.

The last revision was in 2015, so the standard doesn’t yet need updating. If you’re a client, or are subscribed to our newsletter, we’ll give you plenty of advance warning of a new version and help you transition, if required.

You’ll need to have your systems audited against the ISO14001 standard by a third party. We’ll help you prepare your systems for this audit as part of our ISO certification process.

We believe in making ISO feel manageable, whatever your business! Whether you have ISO experience or are new to ISO, you’ll find our friendly consultants have the skills to help you achieve certification quickly and confidently. Find out more about our process, including the step-by-step plan, which will help you achieve compliance.  

Yes, this should arrive within 14 days of a successful audit. You will also be entitled to use an ISO14001 certified logo on your website and other marketing materials. This will be supplied by your certification body. We’ll send you a copy of our Promotion Power Pack to help your marketing team use the logo correctly, for example on emails, websites and sales collateral.

ISO14001 can easily be integrated with ISO9001 (Quality), ISO27001 (Information Security) and ISO45001 (Health & Safety). The four are designed to work together as an Integrated Management System.

You will need to pass an external audit every year. We will arrange this for you and support you as you prepare.  

In the early days of your management system, you may want the reassurance of having expert advice on tap. We can help you learn to run effective internal audits and hold meaningful management reviews. Our consultants can also provide advice via email or phone as part of our Compliance as a Service.

Please give us a call or complete an enquiry form. We’ll find out a little more about your business and give you all the advice you need to decide if ISO14001 is right for you.