This summer will bring the largest change in ISO14001, the international environmental management system standard, since it was introduced 20 years ago.
ISO14001 is the world’s second-most popular international standard on quality management after ISO9001, so any revision is big news, especially one as well considered and thought through as this is.
The standard is implemented at 380,000 businesses and organisations across the world. It gives a structure for identifying the issues to manage, and provides plans to improve performance in each area and a framework for regular review.
At the highest level the new standard has undergone a complete renumbering and re-ordering, so it looks entirely different from the existing text. However, the environmental management principles remain broadly similar, albeit with six key changes:
- Historically companies have considered the impact of their work on the environment. The new standard also requires consideration of the impact of environmental change on the company.
- Systems will need to get “outside the gate” and include supply chain and product issues.
- The scope has to include the views of wider stakeholders.
- Systems have to be integrated into day-to-day operations, and not just be the preserve of the environment manager.
- There must be more two-way involvement from senior managers.
- It focuses on higher-quality data.
The revisions are welcome, as they make ISO14001 a much more relevant and effective standard in our view. As a business we spend as much time helping companies adapt to climate change as we do on cutting energy use. It makes every sense to bring both areas under the ISO14001 umbrella.
Likewise, products and supply chains often have larger environmental impacts than direct operations, so including these is sensible.
Of course, there is also a catch. Poorly implemented systems will remain poor, as will poorly certified systems. That is not the fault of the standard, but the effectiveness of the implementation process and the quality of certifiers.
Although the final standard will not be published until the summer, we do not expect many substantive changes from the current drafts. So there is plenty to crack on with now, including putting some specific plans into your objectives and targets for this year.
Louise Wood is an associate director at WSP Group
