ALL ABOUT ISO 14001:2015

An internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental
management system is called the ISO 14001:2015. This was first published in 1996, with
2016 marking the 20th anniversary of the standard. The third edition of ISO 14001
was published in September 2015. The ISO 14001:2015 specifies the requirements for an
environmental management system that an organization can use to enhance its environmental
performance. This is intended for use by an organization seeking to manage its environmental
responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of
sustainability. This helps an organization achieve the intended outcomes of its environmental
management system, which provide value for the environment, the organization itself and
interested parties. Also, organizations can improve their environmental performance through
more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the
trust of stakeholders.
Consistent with the organization's environmental policy, the intended outcomes of an
environmental management system include:

 enhancement of environmental performance;

 fulfillment of compliance obligations;
 achievement of environmental objectives.

ISO 14001:2015 maps out a framework that an organization can follow to establish an
effective EMS. Using this framework, organizations can improve their environmental
performance through more efficient use of resources, waste reduction, and gain a competitive
advantage and stakeholder trust. The standard requires organizations to consider all
environmental issues relevant to its operations, and can include air pollution, water and
sewerage, waste management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and
resource use and efficiency. Like all ISO management system standards, ISO 14001 includes the
need for continual improvement of systems and approaches to environmental concerns.

Through implementing the new standard, organizations should find it easier to incorporate an
EMS into their core business process and gain greater business benefits as a result.The revised
standard aims to ensure that environmental management is completely integrated and aligned
with the business strategies of the organization. This strategic focus will result in improved EMS
performance, including sustainability improvements, money savings, and helping to preserve
resources for future generations.

Taking care of our environment, and preventing our companies from causing negative
impacts on the environment, are two of the most important challenges facing businesses today.
One of the biggest benefits of implementing an EMS is the recognition that comes with being
among those businesses that care enough to reduce their environmental footprint. This can bring
better relationships with customers, the public, and the community at large for your company,
but it also brings other benefits. Along with the good public image, many companies can save
money through the implementation of an environmental management system. This can be
achieved through reducing incidents that can result in liability costs, being able to obtain
insurance at a more reasonable cost, and conserving input materials and energy through
reduction efforts. This improvement in cost control is a benefit that cannot be overlooked when
making the decision to implement an environmental management system.

INTEGRATION OF ISO 9001 AND ISO 14001

The result of combining two systems like ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 is an integrated
management system (IMS). Anything that affects business results is part of one management
system and all processes and documentation are fully integrated. As many parts of an
organization participate in the development, implementation and maintenance of management
systems, having one system reduces the amount of time and effort needed to fulfill the
requirements of each phase. There are two ways to integrate these two management systems
when you have a certified quality management system in place, you can converge an
environmental system with it by adding the necessary processes to cater for EMS requirements.
Or you can merge systems which results in combining all documentation that supports the same
process.

As the world’s most recognized quality management system standard, ISO 9001 is
helping businesses of all sizes to save money, increase profits, win more business and meet
customer expectations. Designed to help organizations continually monitor and manage quality
across all their operations, this internationally recognized standard sets the benchmark to achieve
consistent performance and service. With ISO 9001 in place, organizations can:

 Become more consistent competitors in the marketplace

 Meet present and identify future customer needs
 Increase efficiency to save time, money and resources
 Motivate, empower and engage staff with more efficient internal processes
 Offer better customer service and win more high value customers as a result
 Broaden business opportunities by demonstrating compliance.

Recognized around the globe, ISO 14001 helps organizations to reduce their
environmental impact while growing their business – ultimately achieving sustainable success.
As an internationally accepted standard, ISO 14001 outlines the most effective ways to put a
successful environmental management system (EMS) in place. The standard was developed to
help organizations remain commercially successful without overlooking their environmental
responsibilities. Its high level framework allows businesses to meet increasingly demanding
expectations from customers and other stakeholders, as well as regulatory requirements. With
ISO 14001 in place, organizations can:

 Improve environmental performance and reduce waste

 Improve lifecycle management which helps to identify product improvements
 Improves corporate responsibility to meet supply chain requirements
 Demonstrate compliance to expand business opportunities
 Confidently prepare for the changing business landscape.

There are many benefits of integrating ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in an organization. This
makes it easier to integrate multiple management systems thereby gaining greater business
benefits. It ensures all business processes for both quality and environmental performance are
integrated and aligned with the business strategies of the organization, making it easier to
continually improve all management systems. By meeting all the standard requirements with one
set of policies and procedures, integrating both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 will highlight
overlapping responsibilities. This will result in less duplication which makes business processes
easier to manage and maintain. Integrating multiple management system standards provides a
more holistic approach to business processes which increases efficiency, develops coordinated
solutions to problems in different work areas, and provides a complete view of the whole
organization. Another thing of having an integrated management system the audit process - both
internally and externally - will be more effective resulting in decreased disruption, eliminating
duplication of audit activity and saving time, money and other resources. The revised standards
ensure that quality and environmental management are now completely integrated with the
business strategies of the organization. Lastly, using risk-based thinking throughout, the revised
standards promote a proactive approach to identifying risks and taking opportunities, making
continual improvement systematic. This will lead to improved governance and decision making
across both quality and environmental management. It’s ideal to integrate management systems
together into one set of policies and procedures. To experience real, long-term benefits, ensure
ongoing compliance to a standard so that it becomes an embedded habit. Train clients to
understand standards and how to implement them, as well as provide added value and
differentiated management tools to facilitate the process of ongoing compliance.