Changes to ISO14001 on the way

The latest version of the revised ISO14001 Environmental Management System will be published as a Draft International Standard (DIS) in the autumn after ISO member countries voted in favour of the second committee draft (CD2) text. A final round of consultation on DIS14001 is likely to extend into early 2015 with the new ISO14001 ready to be adopted and published in May 2015. Those already working to ISO14001 will find the revised version contains quite significant changes:

- Company directors will be required to take more responsibility for the EMS system. It will be harder for directors to simply delegate responsibilities for the environmental policy, the setting of roles and responsibilities and for conducting the management review.
- The structure will change to fit the new a ‘high-level structure’ which will make integration with other ISO standards such as ISO9001 more straightforward.
- The scope will grow to take a more comprehensive view of an organisation’s environmental footprint and push the EMS deeper into the organisation’s core practices.
- Risks and opportunities as well as aspects will have to be considered meaning issues such as resource scarcity and climate change adaptation may need to be included. Value chain and life-cycle approaches will become more commonplace.
- Another element of the widening scope will include external relationships with suppliers, customers and regulators. If the EMS could be reasonably expected to influence the supply chain then there may be requirements for the company to act on environmental impacts carried out on their behalf.
- Tighter controls on the holding, evaluation and reporting of data could be required and improved monitoring and understanding of legal compliance status without the input of a regulator is also likely.

ISO14001 is currently implemented in well over 300,000 organisations globally and whilst the impending changes will require additional work and investment for many companies those that rise to the challenge and maintain certification to this more comprehensive and purposeful standard will benefit from improved stakeholder perceptions.

If you have ISO14001 or are looking to implement it soon, get in touch to see how we can help support you through the journey and be confident in your legal compliance.