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.
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 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!
Just like the ISO 9001 on quality, ISO 14001 follows the Deming Wheel principles, with the P-D-C-A approach:
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:
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:
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:
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:
The Annex A of ISO 14004 standard – Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, gives insightful examples of the aspects in a matrix.
The environmental aspects must also cover:
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) |
---|---|
Design | |
Choice of Materials | |
Materials extraction | |
Parts production and assembly | Environmental certificates of authorizations |
Finished product use | |
Final disposal |
Enviropass has developed unique expertise in both the ISO 14001 certification and product requirements like RoHS, REACH.
Ask for a free online Enviropass consultation!
To maintain a certified ISO 14001 environmental management system, 3 types of audits are required:
These audits must be conducted periodically and auditors should meet the highest standards, such as:
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!
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