Why was ISO 14001 revised? According to the International organisation for standardization (ISO), all ISO standards are reviewed and revised regularly to make sure they remain relevant to the marketplace. This article explores what some of the changes mean to you and what you have to do about them.
The new ISO 14001 standard and you
The new version of ISO 14001:2015 will respond to the latest trends, including the increasing recognition by companies of the need to factor in both external and internal elements that influence their environmental impact, such as climate volatility and the competitive context in which they work. The changes also ensure that the standard is compatible with other management system standards.
1. A common structure
According to Praxiom.com, the biggest difference between the old and the new standard is the structure. This is because the new edition uses the new Annex SL template. According to ISO, all future management system standards (MSSs) will use this new layout and share the same basic requirements. As a result, all new MSSs will have the same look and feel.
A common structure is possible because basic concepts such as management, requirements, policy, planning, performance, objective, process, control, monitoring, measurement, auditing, decision making, corrective action, and nonconformity are common to all management system standards. A common structure should make it easier for organizations to implement multiple standards because they will all share the same basic language and the same basic requirements.
What must I do?
You may have numbered your documents according to the 2004 version of the standard. Must you renumber?
NO!!!! You should never have followed the numbering of the standard to start with. Use a numbering system that makes sense to you. A simple cross reference matrix will make sure you can find your way around your documents in an audit.
2. Context of the organization
Unlike the old standard, the new one expects you to understand your organization's external context and its internal context before you establish its environmental management system (EMS). This means that you need to identify and understand the external issues and the external environmental conditions that could influence your organization's EMS and the results that it intends to achieve. It also means that you need to identify and understand the internal issues and internal environmental conditions that could influence your EMS and the results in intends to achieve.
The new ISO 14001 2015 standard also expects you to identify the interested parties that are relevant to your EMS and to identify their needs and expectations. Once you've done this, it expects you to study these needs and expectations and to figure out which ones have become compliance obligations.
But why is all this necessary? Praxiom advise that It's necessary because your EMS will need to be able to manage all of these influences. Once you
understand your context, you're expected to use this knowledge to help you define your EMS and the challenges it must deal with.
What must I do?
You should prepare a list of all interested parties. List all their needs and expectations. You should at least consider the parties in the figure below:
3 Documented information
The new ISO 14001 2015 standard has also eliminated the long standing distinction between documents and records. Now they're both referred to as “documented information”. According to ISO's definition, the term documented information refers to information that must be controlled and maintained.
What must I do?
This does not mean you will throw out all your procedures and forms, it does formally open the door for other kinds of information such as emails, websites etc which is more realistic to how we do business today. You will still need to control the documented information. A list of who keeps what and who updates what is still vital.
4. No more Procedures
The old ISO 14001 standard asked organizations to establish a wide range of procedures. These included an environmental aspects procedure, a legal requirements management procedure, an awareness procedure, a communications procedure, a document control procedure, an operational procedure, an emergency preparedness and response procedure, a monitoring and measurement procedure, a compliance evaluation procedure, a nonconformity management procedure, a record keeping procedure, and an audit procedure. Now, only one procedure is left. The new ISO 14001 2015 standard asks you to establish an emergency preparedness and response procedure in section 8.2, and that's the only one.
What must I do:
Nothing…keep the procedures if you need them. You probably do. There may be many you have written as a knee jerk reaction to an auditor so you can now reevaluate whether you REALLY need these.
5. ISO 14001 requires a greater commitment from leadership.
ISO 14001:2015 now requires Environmental management to be more prominent within the organization’s strategic direction. Top management has been more closely defined, to make the EMS more strategic and integrated into the organisation’s decision-making. Environmental, sustainability and CSR managers will be expected to have more interaction with top management.
The term “management representative” has been officially dropped. The management duties and responsibilities that were previously assigned to someone called a “management representative” may now be assigned either to one person or to many. Of course, you may continue to use this job title if you wish.
What must I do:
Schedule top management training so they understand the requirements and their new role. Also prepare them for much more interaction with the auditors.
References:
http://www.praxiom.com/iso-14001-new.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso14001_revision
