ISO 14001:2015: The Environmental Standard Moves into Strategy
ISO 14001:2015 was published in September 2015. The new edition links environmental management to the organisation’s strategy and asks for a life cycle perspective.
Key points
- ISO 14001:2015 was published on 15 September 2015 with a three-year transition period.
- Environmental management becomes part of strategic planning and a leadership responsibility.
- Organisations must consider a life cycle perspective and focus on improving environmental performance.
From procedure to strategy
The 2004 edition was often run by one department. The 2015 edition expects top management to integrate environmental management into the organisation’s business processes and strategic direction, and to understand the external conditions, including environmental conditions, that affect the organisation.
The main changes
- A commitment to protect the environment, including prevention of pollution.
- A life cycle perspective when identifying environmental aspects, from design to end of life.
- Compliance obligations replace the phrase “legal and other requirements”.
- The emphasis moves from improving the system to improving environmental performance.
- A communication process that covers both internal and external communication.
Planning the transition
Review your aspects register to check that it reflects a life cycle perspective, and confirm that your compliance evaluation is still complete. Organisations that also hold ISO 9001 can plan one integrated transition, since the two standards now share the same structure.