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ISO 14001 Implementation and Environmental Compliance Audit

With its certified environmental auditor (CEA), Enviropass has the ability to assist you in every step of your ISO 14001 implementation and maintenance. We do regulatory monitoring and environmental compliance audits (ECA) across the USA and Canada.

ISO 14001 Certification

The ISO 14001 environmental management System (EMS) can be implemented in virtually any type of organization to manage environmental aspects.  Before getting the ISO 14001 Certification from an external auditor, you must comply with every applicable section of the ISO 14001 standard.

Thanks to the support of its Certified Environmental Auditor (CEA) by the AQVE, Enviropass can help you implement, maintain, or audit your environmental management system every step of the way in the following fields:

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Audit
  • The Environmental Compliance Auditing (ECA) according to CSA Z773 / ISO 19011 standard – Guidelines for auditing management systems
  • The environmental policy
  • The identification and management of environmental aspects
  • The identification of applicable legal requirements
  • Control of documents
  • Internal Audit
  • Management Review

The ISO 14001 Standard

ISO is an international organization located in Geneva, Switzerland.  Its mission is to provide standards of the best-recognized practices to a myriad of industries, worldwide. The objective is to enhance transparency, trust, and trade around the world.

The ISO 14000 family focuses on environmental management.  The ISO 14001 standard of the family is probably the best known. 

ISO 14001 – Environmental management systems –  gives practical guidance on organizations’ environmental aspects and impacts.

Various organizations have implemented ISO 14001 environmental management systems worldwide: manufacturers, service providers, farms… even municipalities!

ISO 14001 Requirements

Just like the ISO 9001 on quality, ISO 14001 follows the Deming Wheel principles, with the P-D-C-A approach:

  1. Plan – Here, you detail how you manage your environmental aspects, following the ISO 14001 requirements.
  2. Do – You execute what was initially planned.
  3. Check – You verify whether Plan and Do work properly.
  4. Act – You make decisions to improve your system.
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With ISO 14001, the PDCA system is applied to the environmental interactions of the organization.

The 4 PDCA steps are iterative and tend to the organization’s continuous improvement. They apply to its activities, products, and services, within a predefined scope.

To comply with the ISO 14001 standard, the organization should, among other elements, achieve the following milestones:

  • Determining its scope, and the interested parties, such as stakeholders, neighbors, employees, local authorities, etc.  The scope must be consistent with the organization’s legal entity and structure.
  • Drafting, signing and publishing its environmental policy.
  • Defining the roles, responsibilities, and authorities within the organization.
  • Finding and addressing its environmental risks and opportunities.
  • Identifying the environmental aspects and impacts in normal and abnormal situations, as well as emergencies.
  • Evaluating which environmental aspects are significant, and which ones are regulated.
  • Listing all applicable compliance obligations, including the laws, regulations, and standards the organization must or have decided to meet.
  • Controlling the significant environmental aspects.
  • Setting environmental management action plans on environmental aspects.
  • Allocating human, organizational, and financial resources.
  • Making sure to have the appropriate competencies.
  • Raising awareness among its employees and subcontractors on the environmental policy, the EMS, and the significant environmental aspects.
  • Developing an internal and external communication plan.
  • Having an emergency plan that includes environmental aspects in situations of emergency, such as fires, explosions, floods, snowstorms, pandemics, etc.
  • Planning internal, and external, as well as environmental compliance audits.
  • Organizing periodic management reviews with the top management, to discuss and make decisions on the environmental management system.
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ISO 14001: the Environmental Aspects

The environmental aspects are the backbone of an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.

 

Environmental aspects describe the interaction of the organization with at least one of the environmental elements, which are:

  • water
  • air
  • soil
  • fauna
  • flora
  • human beings
  • natural resources
ISO 14001 production floor

An environmental aspect must cause a least one environmental impact.

They should be well detailed, for all activities, sub-activities, and tasks of an organization, in every type of situation, either normal, abnormal, or an emergency.  Some of these activities are temporary while others are permanent. 

Here is a non-exhaustive list of activities to consider when listing environmental aspects:

  • Employees transportation to the office
  • Building maintenance
  • Air conditioning
  • Heating system
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Video conferencing
  • Showrooms
  • Fires and explosions
  • Cafeteria management
  • Catering
  • Parking lighting
  • Recycling
  • Composting
  • Reuse
  • Construction work
  • Christmas party
  • Research and Development
  • Storage of Hazardous Substances
  • Printing
  • Shipping
  • Receiving
  • A new material approval process
  • Assembly lines
  • Sales operations
  • Subcontracting
  • Etc.

Once listed, the environmental aspects of every activity are associated with their environmental impacts. They are typically managed via a so-called aspects matrix, which shows:

  • Significant aspects
  • Regulated aspects
  • Risks
  • Opportunities
  • Actions to control the significant environmental aspects

The Annex A of ISO 14004 standard – Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, gives insightful examples of the aspects in a matrix.

ISO 14001 and Product Life Cycle

The environmental aspects must also cover:

  • the services, like after-sale services or maintenance, and
  • manufactured products. 

Considering the finished goods is particularly important if the organization is a manufacturer of any type.

Interestingly, the latest version of the ISO 14001 standard requires that you take into account the product life cycle (PLC). The idea here is to evaluate every environmental impact that stems from a specific product, throughout its life. 

To illustrate, here is an example of electronic equipment, showing how PLC is related to environmental aspects:

 
Stages of life (examples)

Associated requirements

(examples)

DesignEcoDesign
Choice of MaterialsRoHS REACH Prop 65 POP
Materials extractionConflict minerals reporting
Parts production and assemblyEnvironmental certificates of authorizations
Finished product useEnergy efficiency
Final disposalWEEE
 

Enviropass has developed unique expertise in both the ISO 14001 certification and product requirements like RoHS, REACH.

Ask for a free online Enviropass consultation!

Environmental Compliance Audits

To maintain a certified ISO 14001 environmental management system, 3 types of audits are required:

  • An environmental compliance audit of the regulated environmental aspects, for all the organization’s products, activities, and services
  • An internal audit of the environmental management system
  • An external audit for the registration of the environmental management system

These audits must be conducted periodically and auditors should meet the highest standards, such as:

  • ISO 19011 – Guidelines for auditing management systems
  • CSA Z773 – Environmental compliance auditing

Such standards provide guidance and principles on how an environmental audit must be conducted.

Enviropass can assist you with such a Certified Environmental Auditor.  Contact Enviropass!