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Building an ISO 14001-compliant environmental management system

ISO 14001 is an international standard that defines the requirements for an environmental management system (EMS). It is designed to help organisations identify, manage and reduce the environmental impacts of their activities and improve their environmental performance. The standard provides a systematic approach to managing environmental aspects, while supporting compliance with legal and other requirements. It also helps organisations to achieve their environmental objectives and to improve their sustainable development performance.

 

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Principles of the ISO14001 Environmental Management System

  • Leadership and commitment
    Top management is responsible for implementing, maintaining and developing the environmental management system. Management demonstrates its commitment by securing resources, supporting environmental objectives and promoting an environmentally conscious culture.
  • Understanding the context of the organisation
    The organisation needs to identify internal and external factors that can affect the achievement of environmental objectives. This includes the operating environment, markets, technology, regulation and stakeholder expectations.
  • Addressing stakeholder needs and expectations
    An organisation needs to identify who its key environmental stakeholders are (e.g. public authorities, customers, communities) and understand their requirements and needs.
  • Identifying and assessing environmental aspects
    An organisation must identify the environmental impacts of its activities, products and services and assess their significance. This will help to focus on the activities that have the greatest impact on the environment.
  • Compliance with legal and other requirements
    The organisation must ensure that it complies with all applicable environmental legislation and any voluntary commitments (e.g. customer requirements or industry standards).
  • Setting environmental objectives and measures
    An organisation must set concrete and measurable objectives to improve the environment. These are supported by planned measures, responsibilities and timetables.
  • Monitoring, measuring and evaluating performance
    The performance of the environmental management system is systematically monitored and measured. The results are compared with the objectives and used to improve the system.
  • Continuous improvement
    ISO 14001 is based on the principle of continuous improvement. An organisation should continuously improve its environmental management system to improve the level of environmental performance and prevent adverse impacts.

The purpose of an ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system is to provide a framework for organisations to protect the environment and respond to changing environmental conditions while maintaining a balance with social and economic needs. A systematic approach can provide the organisation's senior management with the ability to acquire knowledge and manage activities in such a way that the company can ensure its long-term success in accordance with the principles of sustainability and responsibility.

An essential part of an environmental management system is the various tools for continuous improvement and the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Do) model, which can be applied to all processes and the entire environmental management system. It requires an assessment of environmental risks and opportunities, staff involvement, target setting and regular monitoring and evaluation. The standard is applicable to organisations of all sizes and from all sectors that wish to demonstrate their environmental responsibility and develop their activities in a more environmentally friendly direction. At its best, an effective environmental management system will ensure compliance with legal requirements and responsible practices, and will be visible to the organisation's stakeholders and its own staff.

Preparing and updating the document

Protect can manage the entire environmental management system construction project or specific parts of it. Structuring and changing practices in line with the principles of responsibility and sustainability is much more than just creating documentation and requires the commitment of the entire staff.

 

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Documents in PRO24

With Protect, documents are most often created using the PRO24 HSEQ Desktop module. The entire company management system can be built and documented in the same electronic system. Documentation is easy to maintain and update using the system administrator's update view.

 

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