ISO 14001 Environmental Standard - An Explanation of the standard

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system. The ISO 14001 Standard provides a framework for the organisation to set practical environmental goals they can achieve. 

To quote the ISO directly…

ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.

ISO 14001:2015: Environmental management systems, Requirements with guidance for use.

This Standard also enables organisations to gain certification on the basis of integration with other ISO Standards. In particular, ISO 14001 integrates well with the ISO 9001 – Quality Management Standard. Thus, the two standards form an effective management ‘whole’. This enables improved management of the organisation overall. At the same time, it takes into account the environmental aspirations of the organisation. Consequently, the organisation is able to satisfy environmental goals without separate, disparate systems.

Environmental Management

In a modern social and business context, managing the environmental impact of an organisation makes sense. Environment has a sensitive public profile. It also has a big cost for most organisations, more so the bigger the business. As a result, the modern business needs to manage its impact and the public perception that goes with it. Balanced against that need, is the general organisation of the business processes. Particularly, those that impact the environment. So, it makes sense to integrate the internal process management and the external environmental impacts as part of the same management process.

Clearly, this is not going to happen overnight. Further, implementation should start at a point from which continual improvements occur over time. While the ISO 14001 Standard is suitable for organisations of all types and size, it requires a wide scope of considerations. Most importantly, the Standard requires organisations to consider all environmental issues affected by its operations. A successful project would look at the whole range of environmental systems. For example, the following are the main starting points:

• Air pollution 
• Water and sewage impact
• Waste management and environmental contamination
• Energy minimisation
• Climate change mitigation
• Resource use
• Logistics (transport efficiency) and operational efficiency in the environment.

Many of these environmental impact points provide the opportunity for cost savings in the long run. Most of them also offer improved management effectiveness too since, these interfaces with the environment are key points of business control.

The ISO 14001 Standard is Far Reaching Inside and Outside the Business

ISO Management Standards ensure that the process of management works through clearly defined, documented and monitored systems. For such systems to work they need to penetrate all aspects of the organisation from strategic planning through to process workflow. So, everyone needs training and to become engaged with the changes. Of course, one of the most important aspects of these management systems is the need to continuously improve and move the systems forward toward pre-set goals. Consequently, leadership right through the organisation needs to be strongly committed to the management system, as well as the environmental initiatives. The latter may be at the interface between organisation and environment but often lie outside the organisations’ direct domain. Hence, the leadership may need to become aware of the wider horizons that decisions must additionally encompass.

Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem, must be solutions for all.

~Ban Ki-moon

Business Payback

Clearly, there are costs and impacts that come with a wider, more “holistic” approach to the environment. So, what is the payback? Charter 4 have found that there are quite a few business benefits. Broadly, these are…

• Regulatory and statutory compliance.
• Increased leadership commitment and engagement with environmental and public concerns
• Greater employee engagement
• Improved public and stakeholder reputation
• Better marketing profile, and public visibility,
• Greater public confidence in the organisation and less public boycott concerns.
• The achievement of strategic business goals in environmental management.
• Competitive advantage in markets affected by environmental issues.
• Better relations with suppliers.
• Increased confidence by customers upstream in the supply chain.
• Improved environmental performance and possibly environmental efficiencies.
• Potential cost savings on waste and energy.

Practically, not all these benefits will come at once. Of course, some may not apply. However, there is plenty of scope for using the ISO 14001 Standard to improve your business and its overall standing.

Charter 4 have many years experience of dealing with ISO projects and ISO 14001 in particular. However, we have a special emphasis in our approach. We have noticed that our clients want to see a payback from the investment in time and money they put into their ISO project. We agree. Our approach is to look at your business with a view to finding ways for you to gain competitive gain. Please contact us to discuss your situation.