ISO 14001 Revision Nears Completion
Following a final edit and translation, a ballot of ISO members will be conducted in July and August, with the new ISO 14001:2015 standard set for publication – as predicted - in September 2015. A three year period has been set by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) for the 300,000 certificate holders worldwide to transition to the new standard.
Martin Baxter, IEMA’s Chief Policy Advisor and UK appointed expert to the revision working group said today:
“The new standard raises the bar on the expectations it sets for how organisations manage environmental performance. It places environmental management at the heart of decision making, aligning with corporate strategy and taking a more expansive approach to improving environmental performance across the value chain.
The working group revising the international environmental management systems standard ISO 14001 has finalised the technical requirements. Following a final edit and translation, a ballot of ISO members will be conducted in July and August, with the new standard set for publication early in September 2015.”
ISO 14001 additional requirements
ISO 14001:2015 contains significant additions and enhancements to the 2004 edition, these include requirements to:
- understand the strategic context of the organisation and the needs and expectations of interested parties
- integrate environmental management in core business processes
- ensure the reliability of information communicated
- evaluate risks and opportunities, both to the environment and the organisation
- take a life cycle perspective
- extent control and influence through supply chains and design processes
Significant additional emphasis is given to continual improvement of environmental performance.