Overview of EMS and ISO 14001

Environmental Management Systems

Development Course
Raleigh, NC
July 24, 2001

Beth Graves
NC Division of Pollution Prevention
and Environmental Assistance
 What is ISO?
• International Organization for
Standardization - Not an acronym
• "ISO" is a word, derived from the Greek
isos, meaning "equal.”
• From "equal" to "standard”-- line of
thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as
the organization’s name.
 International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
• Worldwide federation of national standards
bodies from over 100 countries, one
representative from each country.
• Non-governmental organization
(NGO) established in 1947,
located in Switzerland.
• American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) is US representative to ISO
 ISO Organization
TM B
(T e c h n ic a l M g m t. B o a rd )

IS O

TC 1 76 TC 2 07 O th e r T C s ...
IS O 9 0 0 0 IS O 1 4 0 0 0
QMS EMS

SC1 SC6
T e rm s & D e f. T e rm s & D e f.
 History
• 1987 - World Commission on Env. & Development
(WCED) published “Our Common Future”
– first use of “sustainable development”
– called for the development of effective env. management
systems by industries
• 1989 - Creation of Strategic Advisory Group on the
Environment (SAGE)
– Recommended that a new ISO Technical Committee
(TC) be formed to develop standards for EM
• January 1993 - ISO creates TC 207
(TC 176 over QMS standards - ISO 9000)
• Fall 1996 – ISO 14001 adopted
 Structure of ISO’s TC 207
IS O /TC 2 07
E n viro n m e n tal
M a na ge m e nt

SC 1 SC 2 SC 3 SC 4 SC 5 SC 6 W G o n F o re stry WG 1
E n viro n m e n tal E n viro n m e n tal E n viro n m e n tal E n viro n m e n tal L ife C ycle T e rm s a nd E n v. A spe cts
M a na ge m e nt A u diting L a b elling P e rfo rm a n ce A sse ssm e nt D e fin itio ns in P rod u ct
S yste m s E valu ation S tan d ards

W G1 WG 1 W G1
S p e cifica tion A u d . P rin cip les E PE

WG 2 WG 2 W G2
G e n. G uid elin es A u d. P roce du res In d u stry S e ctor
E PE

SME WG 3 WG 3
WG A u d. Q u a l. G u id ing P rin.
fo r
E n v. L ab e ling P ro g.

WG 4
O th er In ve st.
 Sub-Committees of TC 207
• SC 1: EMS - UK
• SC 2: Env. Auditing - Netherlands
• SC 3: Env. Labeling - Australia
• SC 4: Env. Performance Evaluation - US
• SC 5: Life Cycle Assessment - France
• SC 6: Terms and Definitions - Norway
 ISO-related Acronyms
• US TAG to TC 207, SC’s and WG’s
• St’s to the TAG
• NWIP, CD, DIS, and FDIS
• ISO specification standard/guidance or TR
• ANSI-RAB and the NAP
 ISO 14000 Standards Family
• Management System standards
– EMS, auditing, EPE (14030)
• Product standards
– LCA (14040), labeling (14020)
 ISO 14000 Family
• A series of guidance documents and standards
to help organizations address environmental
issues.
– 14001: Environmental Management Systems
– 14004: EMS general guidelines
– 14010: Guidelines for Environmental Auditing
– 14011: Guidelines for Auditing of an EMS
– 14012: Auditing - Qualification criteria
– 14020: Environmental Labeling
– 14030: Env. Performance Evaluation (EPE)
– 14040: Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Environmental Management System (EMS)

• ISO 14001 is the specification standard that

is a model for an environmental
management system.
• ISO 14004 is the guidance for the EMS
specification
• 14001 is the only specification standard in
the ISO series.
 Becoming ISO 14001 certified
• Registration body examines EMS for conformity
to the ISO 14001 standard
• Not a compliance audit, an EMS audit
• Facility awarded registration
• Does NOT mean that products are more
environmentally friendly
• Does mean have a documented EMS that is fully
implemented and consistently followed
 Registration
• Terms “certification” and “registration” are
synonymous
• May self-declare or self-certify
• Accredited registrars
3rd Party Certification
Accreditation
• Accreditation Body Body
– Ex. RAB
• Registrar
– Ex. Underwriters Laboratory
Registrar
• Auditors
– Ex. John Doe, certifies the EMS of an
organization meets requirements of
ISO 14001
Auditors
 To Whom Do the Standards
Apply?
• Standard is Voluntary
• Large and Small Businesses & Industry
• Service Sectors (hospitals, hotels, etc.)
• City and County Government
• Applicable to all types of organizations, of
all sizes anywhere in the world
 What is an EMS?
• Systematic way of managing an organization’s
environmental affairs
• Based on Plan-Do-Check-Act Model (PDCA)
• Focused on Continual Improvement of System
• Addresses immediate and long-term impact of an
organization’s products, services and processes
on the environment.
• A tool to improve environmental performance
 EMS
• Focus not only on what but also why
• Top management priority
• Dynamic
• Flexible, simple
• Employee involvement
• Endorses continual improvement
 EMS
• Much of an EMS may already be in place
• Key is to use a systematic approach to
planning, controlling and improving
environmental efforts
• Can be a vehicle for positive change
 17 Requirements in ISO 14001
Env. Policy 4.2
Env. Aspects 4.3.1
Legal and other req. 4.3.2
Obj. and targets 4.3.3
Env. Mgmt. Program 4.3.4
Structure and Responsibility 4.4.1
Training, awareness, and competence
4.4.2
Communication 4.4.3
EMS documentation 4.4.4
Document control 4.4.5
Operational control 4.4.6
Emergency preparedness and response
4.4.7
Monitoring and measurement 4.5.1
Corrective/preventive action 4.5.2
Records 4.5.3
EMS audit 4.5.4
Management Review 4.6
 EMS Model
Policy

Management Planning
Review

Implementation

Checking
Corrective Action
EMS Key Elements
 Policy Statement/Commitment
 Identification of Significant Environmental
Impacts
 Development of Objectives and Targets
 Implementation Plan to Meet Obj. and Targets
 Checking and Follow-up
 Training
 Management Review
 Some EMS Models
• Metal Finishers
• National Biosolids Partnership
• Project XL with the United Egg Producers
• Agriculture EMS models (livestock, soybean)
• SGIA model
• Federal facility models (CEMP, DOE guide)
• Compliance-focused EMS (CFEMS)
• Commission for Env. Cooperation (CEC guide)
 EPA Position
• published in Federal Register 3/12/98
• “Implementation of an EMS has the
potential to improve an organization’s
environmental performance and compliance
with regulatory requirements. EPA
supports and will help promote the
development and use of EMSs, including
those based on the ISO 14001 standard...”
 US EPA and EMSs
• Office of Water funded pilot efforts in 10
states, municipality pilots – 1st project
complete; beginning second pilot; new
pilot with Biosolids Assoc.
• Region I Star Track program; Region IX
EMS template for metal finishers
• EMS and Enforcement (CFEMS)
• EPA “Aiming for Excellence” Report Sept.
99
• Performance Track