ISO 14005 - EMS - Guidelines for a Flexible Approach to Phased Implementation

You may know the ISO 14001 standard with elementary requirements of an environmental management system (EMS). Also, you may have heard about standard ISO 14004 with its practical examples and general guidelines on the EMS implementation. Yet, do you know ISO 14005?

The ISO 14000 Family

The ISO International Organization for Standardization issues standards of many types to facilitate trade worldwide.

The ISO 14000 family focuses on environmental management within organizations. The idea is to present the most recognized practices applicable to a wide variety of organizations, such as:

Manufacturers of any kind;
Small and medium companies or large corporations;
Public or private service providers;
Etc.

ISO 14001 for EMS Implementation

ISO 14001 provides the landmarks to implement a performant EMS. The ISO 14001 requirements follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (P-D-C-A) principles.

Like every standard, ISO 14001 is subject to revisions. Make sure to use the latest edition!

ISO 14004: the Interpretation

One can describe ISO 14004 as an interpretation of ISO 14001 with valuable illustrations. In particular, the ‘practical help boxes’ throughout the guideline stress factors and display examples. Additionally, Annex A offers insightful examples of environmental aspects, impacts, risks, opportunities, etc. Finally, Annex B illustrates an EMS implementation in six phases.

ISO 14005: Why Having a Third 14000 Standard?

Considering the objectives of ISO 14001 and ISO 14004, is there a need for further EMS guidance?
Contrary to ISO 14004, ISO 14005 also addresses EMS already in place and offers a phased approach. In other words, ISO 14005 helps organizations implement, continually maintain and improve their EMS over time, as required by ISO 14001.

What is ISO 14005?

The ISO 14004’s title is Environmental management systems – Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation.

To clarify, ISO 14005 enables companies to develop, improve and fill gaps within their EMS through successive phases. In particular, organizations that may not have robust EMS structures will benefit from this method.

Therefore, this diagnostic, correction, and improvement process follows the phased approach. It includes the following actions:

Assess the EMS. Annex A of ISO 14005 with its maturity matrix of five levels helps here.
Prioritize areas for improvement. Indeed, it is not always an easy task to find out how to tackle an EMS. Considering all the ISO 14001 requirements can be daunting, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). What actions should we address first? What is paramount? This stage will help answer these questions.
List gaps.
Plan actions.
Verify improvements.

How to Implement an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System?

In essence, all ISO 14000 family standards can help, depending on the implementation stages. However, here are some takeaways:

Firstly, ISO 14001 is the reference of an EMS. EMS managers should always keep ISO 14001 requirements in mind when implementing, developing, and improving their EMS.
Secondly, ISO 14004 illustrates the 14001 theory. It gives precious tips to understand the ISO 14001 requirements and practically adopt them.
Thirdly, ISO 14005 helps implement, and more importantly, improve EMS by phases.

Finally, Enviropass recommends observing the ISO 19011 guidelines for auditing EMS.

Follow practical ISO 14001 training that will guide you step by step.

Environmental Assessment