Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

Environmental Management
ISO 14001 Certification
Getting Started
Taking Each Stage of the Process
 Table of Contents

Introduction 2
Environmental Management 4
ISO 14001 5
Taking Each Stage of The Process 6
ISO 14001 Certification 7
Getting Started 8
 2 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

Businesses of all types and sizes are increasingly being expected to demonstrate
environmental responsibility.

Introduction • Loss of rain forests and many plants - these are

often important sources of drugs.
Businesses of all types and sizes are increasingly being • Overall pollution of air, water and land.
expected to demonstrate environmental responsibility.
Why is this? There are also serious concerns about quality of life,
including health and income, not just in the UK, but
There is a wide range of ’global environmental’ also for huge numbers of people around the world.
pressures.
A recent report indicated that from a world population
These include: of over 6,000 million, more than 1,300 million people
live on less than $1 per day.
• Increases in the greenhouse effect and
consequent global warming. In addition, the environment is protected by legislation
and this applies to all organisations. All companies
• Rising sea levels.
therefore need to ensure:
• Increases in extreme weather patterns such as
drought and flooding. • That they are aware of all current and future
legislation that is applicable to their operation,
• Depletion of natural resources, such as coal and
as both EU and UK environmental legislation is
oil and hard woods.
changing rapidly.
• Damage to the ozone layer.
• That they understand all of the requirements of
• Acid rain. these regulations and comply with them.
• Poor air quality.
 3 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

Legislation protects all the environmental media - air, Other groups such as employees, local communities
water and land. Examples of specific legislation include and environmental groups also expect businesses to
regulations covering: emissions to air and water; waste act responsibly.
disposal and management; packaging; storage of oil;
removal, transport and disposal of asbestos. This unit provides an overview of current
environmental concerns, and briefly describes the key
Finally, there are external ’stakeholders’: issues that managers should be aware of. It
summarises the requirements of ISO 14001, the
• Customers are increasingly asking their main International Standard for environmental
suppliers to demonstrate good environmental management, and discusses the certification process
management. and how to get started with an environmental
• Many large corporate organisations require management system.
their subsidiary companies to implement good
environmental systems.
Investors, insurers, banks, and others with a financial
stake in a business, also expect good environmental
management. This is partly to ensure that the risk of
financial penalties for pollution is minimised, but also
because good financial and environmental
performance usually go hand in hand.
 4 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

“That’s all very well, but I’ve got a business to run. It’s not my job to save the
planet!”

Environmental Management The Benefits of an EMS

“That’s all very well, but I’ve got a business to run. It’s
not my job to save the planet!” This is a natural
reaction, but the pressures are real and are not going
to go away.
So, how can organisations respond to the legal,
corporate, customer and investor expectations, as well
as to the bigger ’global’ issues, while ensuring that the
business continues to be run successfully?
The simple answer is to implement an Environmental
Management System (EMS), preferably conforming to
an internationally recognised standard such as ISO
14001.
A properly designed system will:
“But surely yet another system will just add to costs?”
Not necessarily - as with any management system,
there are resource requirements. However, the
installation of an EMS not only allows organisations to
address environmental pressures, but can also, in some
areas, lead to cost savings.
A well-designed EMS:
• Ensures that the business meets existing and
future regulations.
• Reduces costs by looking at ways of minimising
waste, energy and other resources.
• Provides a structure for continual
improvement.

• Benefit the business.

• Work alongside and support existing
management systems such as quality and health
and safety.
 5 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is good management practice applied to
environmental issues.

The ISO 14001 Process

 6 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

Taking Each Stage of The Process implementing a programme of objectives and targets
to improve performance.
If an organisation does not currently have an
environmental management system in place, ISO Implementation and Operation
14001 expects that before developing a policy the The implementation and operation process turns the
organisation should undertake an initial review. The policy and plans into practice through a programme of
review aims to establish the current position regarding training, communication and procedures.
the environment, including identifying environmental
Checking
aspects, applicable legal requirements, existing
Checking and corrective actions determine how well
environmental practices and procedures and an
the system performs against your plans and put right
evaluation of previous emergency situations and
any problem areas. Internal audits are carried out to
accidents.
monitor and measure your performance and progress.
The Environmental Policy
Management Review
This is a statement of commitments and intentions
Finally, the senior management review - typically held
regarding the organisation’s environmental
once or twice a year - gives the opportunity for the
performance. It is a publicly available document that
management team to consider how well the EMS has
describes what you want to achieve.
achieved its purpose.
Planning
The cycle then starts again to ensure that you can
The planning stage helps you to understand what is
continue to maintain a programme of continual
involved in terms of good environmental performance.
improvement, and compliance with your policy
It is at this stage that you ensure that you understand
commitments.
all the applicable regulatory and other requirements.
You will also assess the impacts that your operation has
on the environment, decide which of these are the
most significant, and how you can set about
 7 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001
ISO 14001 Certification
You don’t have to have your system certified by an
external body, but, if you do, it enables you to
demonstrate your environmental performance to any
interested party throughout the world.
Once development of your EMS has started, you
should decide on a certification body. You may already
have a certification body for your quality system. You
do not necessarily need to use the same one for your
EMS, although there could be cost benefits from doing
so. You should, however, ensure that they are an
accredited body, and you can check this by looking at
the UKAS website www.ukas.com or by contacting
them on 020 8917 8400.
You don’t have to have your system certified by an external body, but, if you do, it
enables you to demonstrate your environmental performance to any interested
party throughout the world.
It will normally take you between six months and a
year to develop a system, depending on how complex
your organisation is, and how much resource you can
devote to the process.
Assessment by the Certification Body
The assessment process by the certification body
covers two main parts:
• The first stage looks at the documents and
arrangements that are in place, and ensures
that sufficient development of the EMS has
taken place to enable a full assessment to take
place.
• The second stage involves a detailed review of
how the organisation is addressing all the
elements of ISO 14001, and whether it has
been appropriately applied taking account of
the nature of the organisation.
These two stages are normally about three months
apart.
Ideally, you should allow about 15 to 18 months for the
development and certification of the system.
Other Options for Demonstrating Conformity
with the Standard
Most organisations choose to gain certification by an
independent certification body to demonstrate
conformity with the standard. However, there are
other options available.
Your organisation could:
• make a self-determination and self-declaration;
• have a customer or business client confirm
your conformity to the standard; or
• seek confirmation of your self-declaration by a
party external to the organisation.
 8 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

Getting Started implementation working group, representing different

parts of the business.
A number of steps need to be followed:
Training and acquisition of knowledge of the
Ensure that all of your senior management agree with requirements of ISO 14001 are essential.
the plan. Commitment throughout the organisation is
essential if an effective system is to be put in place, Once you have agreed a programme, make sure that
which is of benefit to the business. resources are available (people, time and finance), and
then move forward as you would with any other
The next step depends to some extent on the size of important business project.
the organisation. At the very least a person at senior
management level - a director or senior manager -
should be appointed to ’champion’ the process. An
environmental manager or co-ordinator - not
necessarily a full-time role - should also be appointed.
It may be appropriate to have a steering group, or

Ensure that all of your senior management agree with the plan. Commitment
throughout the organisation is essential if an effective system is to be put in place,
which is of benefit to the business.
 9 Executive Briefing on ISO 14001

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