Introduction
ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized standard, which can be applied / implemented to any production or services industries. This standard can be uniformly applied to organizations of any size or description. It was drawn up by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with an intent to set international requirements for Environmental Management System.
It prescribes controls over those activities that have an impact(Positive / Negative) on the environment. These primarily include the use of natural resources such as water, wood, natural gas, oil etc. handling and treatment of waste and energy consumption.
ISO 14001:2015 version is a 10 clause structure and has adopted P-D-C-A cycle for effective implementation of environmental management system. Besides this, the new version of the standard excludes requirements for preventive actions, environmental manual, management representative etc..
Evolution of ISO 14001 and Revision History
- Year 1992 – BS 7750 standard launch
- Year 1993 – Committee is created to develop ISO 14001 framework
- Year 1996 – ISO publishes the first version of ISO 14001:1996
- Year 2004 – 1st Revision of the standard
- Year 2015 – 2nd Revision of the standard (10 Clauses introduced)
Applicability (Which organizations can avail ISO 14001 certification??)
- Manufacturing units
- Service sector including Educational institutes, Hospitals and other service providing units
- Trading units
- Any other business units irrespective of nature of business, size and location.
Focus Points – ISO 14001:2015 Implementation
- Identification of processes having impact (Positive/Negative) on environment
- Formulating Environmental Policy and Objectives
- Aspect and Impact study
- Identification of significant impact
- Setting up system for documentation and records.
- Legal compliance
- Environmental programs
- Creating environmentally responsible organization
Benefits of ISO 14001 implementation
- Establishment of green processes as many as possible
- Reduction in Risk of Non-Compliance related to Legal and Statutory Requirements
- Conservation of resources
- Satisfaction and Retention of Valuable Customers
- Good Marketing Tool and Credibility in Overseas Business.
- Status of environmentally responsible organization
ISO 14001:2015 Implementation Process by PQSmitra
PQSmitra adopts a detailed processing approach for the effective system implementation at the organization. ISO 14001 implementation help organizations to control pollution and cost saving by means of conservation of resources. PQSmitra team assists clients with 100% documentation assistance towards successful certification in 1st attempt. The implementation process is described below:
- Initial visits and review of the existing operational processes
- Identification of various environmental aspects and impacts
- Aspect and Impact study to find out significant environmental aspects
- Creating environmental programs
- Training and Hand holding/ support for implementation
- Internal audit for verification of implemented system
- Management review
- Certification audit – Stage 1 and Stage 2
- Closure of non-conformities
- Rewarding the certificate to the organization
ISO 14001 Reference standards
- ISO 14004 Environmental management systems – General guidelines on implementation
- ISO 14005 Environmental management systems – Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation
- ISO 14006 Environmental management systems – Guidelines for incorporating eco design