The ISO 14001 standard addresses environmental management with requirements for how the organization identifies, manages and improves the environmental conditions in the company.
Within the framework of the ISO 14001 standard, the company must conduct an environmental audit to identify significant environmental impacts related to the company’s activities. During the environmental audit, the company considers the environmental impacts of its products throughout the product lifecycle from creation to disposal. A stakeholder analysis is carried out to provide the company with an overview of stakeholder needs and expectations of how the company manages specific environmental impacts. The company identifies risk factors and prepares a risk assessment where the company scores the likelihood and consequence of the environmental impacts. The company is committed to continuously improve environmental conditions and monitor efforts to reduce emissions, waste generation, water consumption and energy consumption.
An environmental management system means that the company maintains a management system consisting of procedures for all significant activities. The company commits to continuously improve the environmental impact in a written environmental policy and ambitious environmental goals. The company must carry out regular ISO 14001 audits and, if the company wants a certifiable system, the environmental management system must be monitored periodically by an independent ISO 14001 auditor.
Implementing environmental management ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and documentation of environmental efforts to the company’s stakeholders. Savings can be achieved by reducing emissions, and increased demand from public and private customers can be achieved through increased environmental awareness.
There is a growing interest in green building. Sometimes the broader term – sustainable construction – is used, focusing on the environmental impact, social quality and economic quality of construction. Sustainable construction strikes a balance between environmental, economic and human considerations. You can read more about sustainable construction HERE.
ISO 14001:2015 is harmonized with ISO 9001:2015 and can therefore be integrated into the existing management system. We can offer an individual consultancy process where we are involved in all or part of the process, depending on your wishes and needs. We prepare a gap analysis to give you an overview of the scope and assess the need for involvement in the process.
Contact us if you want savings or if you want help getting started with iso 14001
