ISO 14001:2015
Type of Certification: Environment
Name: ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management Systems
Description:
ISO 14001:2015 specifies the requirements that should be in place for an environmental management system within an organisation to enhance its environmental performance.
The activities of an organisation should aim to achieve a balance between economic, society and environmental development, which is essential to ensure a sustainable world for future generations. Among the environmental related sustainability issues include ensuring the availability of natural resources, energy sources, air quality, clean water, sanitation, climate change – all of which need to be protected to ensure the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Organisations, as drivers of growth and economy, have a big part to play in ensuring the protection of the environment. Expectations for sustainable development, transparency and accountability have been taken on board by governments and regulatory authorities, with increasingly stringent legislation, and pressures on organisation to ensure an environment free from pollution, efficient use of resources, proper waste management, etc.
These pressures have pushed organisations to adopt a systematic approach to environmental management. The standard is intended to be used by any organisation that wishes to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability.
Main Components:
ISO 14001:2015 can be used in whole or in part to systematically improve environmental management. The approach adopted in this standard is based on the concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), which promotes continual improvement. It can be applied to an environmental management system and to each of its individual elements, and can be briefly described as follows.
- Plan: establish environmental objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization’s environmental policy.
- Do: implement the processes as planned.
- Check: monitor and measure processes against the environmental policy, including its commitments, environmental objectives and operating criteria, and report the results.
- Act: take actions to continually improve.
Who should be certified:
Any organisation, regardless of size, type and nature, as the standard applies to the environmental aspects of the organisation’s activities, products and services that the organisation determines it can either control or influence considering a life cycle perspective.
Benefits:
Having a systematic approach to environmental management can provide top management with information to build success over the long term and open the opportunity to contribute to sustainable development by:
- protecting the environment – preventing or mitigating adverse environmental impacts;
- mitigating the potential adverse effect of environmental conditions on the organisation;
- assisting the organisation in the fulfilment of compliance obligations;
- enhancing environmental performance;
- controlling or influencing the way the organization's products and services are designed, manufactured, distributed, consumed and disposed by using a life cycle perspective that can prevent environmental impacts from being unintentionally shifted elsewhere within the life cycle;
- achieving financial and operational benefits that can result from implementing environmentally sound alternatives that strengthen the organization’s market position;
- communicating environmental information to relevant interested parties.
Contributes to SDGs:
- Goal 1: No Poverty
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
- Goal 4: Quality Education
- Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
- Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 13: Climate Change
- Goal 14: Life Below Water
- Goal 15: Life on Land