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What is an ISO 14001 EMS?
An environmental management system
based on the ISO 14000 standards is a management tool enabling an organization
of any size or type to control the impact of its activities, products or
services on the environment. An environmental management system makes possible
a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to
achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved.
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How does it work?
The standards do not specify levels of environmental performance – so
how, you ask yourself, can they
improve things? Well, if they specified levels of environmental performance
they would obviously have to be specific to your business activity – and that’s
not the intention. In addition to ISO 14000, ISO also has a wide portfolio of
standards that is specific to, for example, air, water, or soil pollution.
ISO 14000 was developed with another aim: that of providing a framework
for an overall, strategic approach to your organization’s environmental
policy, plans and actions. The underlying philosophy is that the requirements
of an effective EMS are the same, whatever your business.
Another point is that because ISO 14000 does not lay down levels of
environmental performance, the standards can to be implemented by a
wide variety of organizations, whatever their current level of
environmental maturity. However, a commitment to compliance with
applicable environmental legislation and regulations is required,
along with a commitment to continuous improvement – for which the
environmental management system provides the framework.
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What’s in the EMS standards?
ISO 14001 specifies the requirements for such an environmental
management system. Fulfilling these requirements demands objective
evidence which can be audited to demonstrate that the environmental
management system is operating effectively in conformance with the
standard. ISO 14001 provides guidelines on the elements
of an environmental management system and its implementation, and discusses principal
issues involved.
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What if my business implemented an ISO14001 EMS?
ISO 14001 is a tool that can be used for internal purposes: to provide assurance to management that
you are in control of your processes and activities having an impact on the environment. Employees, in
turn, may be happier if assured that they are working for an environmentally responsible organization.
ISO 14001 can also be used for external purposes: to provide assurance to interested parties –
stakeholders – such as customers, the community and regulatory agencies.
In other words, conformance to ISO 14001 can be used to support what your organization claims about
its own environmental policies, plans and actions. It is suitable for both suppliers’ declarations of
conformity, assessment of conformity by an external stakeholder – such as a business client – and for
certification of conformity by an independent certification body.
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What is the difference between registration, certification and accreditation?
The assessment of an environmental management system against the requirements of the ISO14001
standards and the subsequent issuing of a certificate to confirm that it is in conformance with
the standard’s requirements is variously referred to in different countries as certification or registration.
Accreditation is another term which, in the ISO14001 context, is also sometimes used – wrongly – as a
synonym for "certification" or "registration". "Accreditation" is the procedure by which an authoritative
body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks. In the ISO14000
context, it relates to the work of national accreditation bodies which have been set up in a number of
countries to provide some measure of control over the activities of quality system or environmental management
system certification bodies. An accreditation body will accredit – or, in simpler language, approve – a
certification body as competent to carry out ISO 14000 certification of environmental management systems,
in specified business sectors.
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What is ISO?
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation
of national standards bodies, at present comprising 127 members, one in each country.
The object of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related
activities in the world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods
and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual,
scientific, technological and economic activity. The results of ISO technical
work are published as International Standards. (Source: ISO, ISO Memento 1998. France: 1998)
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What is ISO14000?
ISO 14000 is a series of international, voluntary environmental management
standards. Developed under ISO Technical Committee 207, the 14000 series of
standards address the following aspects of environmental management:
The ISO series of standards effectively address the needs
of organizations worldwide by providing a common framework for managing
environmental issues; They promise to effect a broadly based improvement
in environmental management, which in turn can facilitate trade and improve
environmental performance worldwide.
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What are the principles behind the ISO 14001 Standards?
The ISO14000 standards are being developed with the following key principles in mind:
- They must result in better environmental management
- They must be applicable in all nations
- They should promote the broad interests of the public and the users of the standards
- They should be cost effective, non-prescriptive, and flexible, to allow them to meet the
differing needs of organizations of any size worldwide
- As part of their flexibility, they should be suitable for internal or external verification
- They should be scientifically based
- And above all, they should be practical, useful and useable
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How do I obtain copies of the ISO14001 standards?
Final published copies of ISO 14000 standards and related documents can be obtained
from your respective
National Standards Association (ISO Member Body). They are normally the primary
ISO sales agent in their country. For people in countries whose national standards
association is not an ISO member body, ISO 14000 documents can be obtained directly
from the ISO Central
Secretariat.
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What is an Environmental Management System?
An environmental management system (EMS) is a systematic approach to dealing
with the environmental aspects of an organization. It is a 'tool' that enables
an organization of any size or type to control the impact of its activities,
products or services on the natural environment. The ISO 14001 standard
"Environmental management systems--Specification with guidance for use"
is the standard within the ISO 14000 series that specifies the requirements
of an environmental management system.
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What are the benefits of an EMS?
- Assuring customers of commitment to demonstrable environmental management
- Maintaining good public/community relations
- Satisfying investor criteria and improving access to capital
- Obtaining insurance at reasonable cost
- Enhancing image and market share
- Meeting vendor certification criteria
- Improving cost control
- Reducing incidents that result in liability
- Demonstrating reasonable care
- Conserving input materials and energy
- Facilitating the attainment of permits and authorizations
- Fostering development and sharing environmental solutions
- Improving industry-government relations
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What are the key elements of an ISO14001 EMS?
The key elements of an ISO 14001 EMS are:
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Environmental Policy
the environmental policy and the requirements to pursue this policy via
objectives, targets, and environmental programs
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Planning
the analysis of the environmental aspects of the organization (including
its processes, products and services as well as the goods and services used
by the organization);
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Implementation and operation
implementation and organization of processes to control and improve
operational activities that are critical from an environmental perspective
(including both products and services of an organization)
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Checking and corrective action
checking and corrective action including the monitoring, measurement, and
recording of the characteristics and activities that can have a significant
impact on the environment Management
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Review
review of the EMS by the organization's top management to ensure its continuing
suitability, adequacy and effectiveness
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Continual improvement
the concept of continual improvement is a key component of the
environmental management system; it completes the cyclical process of
plan, implement, check, review and continually improve.
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Are the ISO14001 standards 'organisation' or 'product'
oriented?
The standards in the ISO 14000 series fall into two major groups:
organization-oriented standards, and product-oriented standards.
The organization-oriented standards provide comprehensive guidance for establishing,
maintaining and evaluating an environmental management system (EMS). They are also
concerned with other organization-wide environmental systems and functions.
The product-oriented standards are concerned with determining the environmental
impacts of products and services over their life cycles, and with environmental
labels and declarations. These standards will help an organization gather
information it needs in order to support its planning and decisions, and to
communicate specific environmental information to consumers and other interested parties.
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What is the difference between EMAS and the ISO14001
standards?
The ISO 14000 standards are voluntary instruments, reflecting input from a
variety of interested parties worldwide, which are intended for use in countries
at all stages of economic development, under a wide range of governmental
systems. The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a regulation, developed
to meet the needs and expectations of governments, citizens and consumers in the
EU Member States. Because EMAS has legal status within Member States, it can take
a more prescriptive approach to environmental management issues; the ISO 14000
standards, by contrast, rely on voluntary acceptance by all interested parties,
and therefore must maintain a balance between the needs and expectations of each
of these parties. Another important difference is that EMAS currently applies
primarily to manufacturing industries. The ISO standards apply to all types of
organizations - even those not considered to be "businesses", for example,
government offices.
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What is the scope of each of TC207's Subcommittees and
working groups?
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SC1: Environmental Management Systems
Standardization in the field of environmental management systems.
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SC2: Environmental Auditing and Related Environmental Investigations
Standardization in the field of environmental auditing and related environmental investigations.
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SC3: Environmental Labelling
Standardization in the field of environmental labelling, including first-party
practices (self-declaration/claims), and guiding principles for third party
certification programs (private and government).
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SC4: Environmental Performance Evaluation
Standardization in the field of environmental performance evaluation for use
by organizations to measure, assess and communicate their environmental
performance for appropriate management purposes.
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SC5: Life Cycle Assessment
Standardization in the field of life cycle assessment as a tool for
environmental management of product and service systems. It encompasses the
assessment of impacts on the environment from the extraction of raw materials
to the final disposal of waste.
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SC6: Terms and Definitions
Coordination of terms and definitions between ISO/TC 207 subcommittees and
other committees and relevant organizations. Development of a comprehensive
International Standard on terms and definitions within Environmental Management.
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WG1: Environmental aspects of product standards
Development of an ISO guide on the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards.
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WG2: Forestry
To prepare a report describing informative reference material for the
implementation of ISO 14001 and the use of ISO 14004 by forest organizations.
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What is the Chair's Advisory
Group (CAG)?
The operation of TC 207 is guided by the ISO Directives, a set of three books
covering different aspects of standards development. In addition to the structure
laid out in the directives, TC 207 has chosen to establish a Chair's Advisory
Group. This group does not make decisions for the TC, but rather identifies
issues, holds preliminary discussions on how to address them, and through the
Chair, makes recommendations to the TC.
The membership of the CAG includes:
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TC 207 Chair & Secretary
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All TC 207/SC Chairs and Secretaries
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The ISO/TC 207/WG 1 & WG 2 Convenors
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10 Rotating member countries with two year terms
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What are the main implementation issues for the
ISO14001
standards?
Although TC 207 was created to develop standards, it would be remiss if it did
not look beyond the published standards to their use and influence in the marketplace.
TC 207 has taken several initiatives to help ensure that the standards do
what they were designed to do, and that they meet the needs of all of
their intended users, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
and businesses in developing countries. In fact, TC 207 is placing increasing
emphasis meeting the needs of these organizations. These make up the vast
majority of businesses in the world, and their use of the ISO 14000 standards
is essential to the success of the series.
Effective implementation of the standards will depend on a number of factors, among them:
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clear communication of the purpose and scope of the documents to users and the public;
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acceptance and use of the standards in developing countries;
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creating a mechanism for improving trade; and;
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consistent and reliable conformity assessment mechanisms to support ISO 14001 certification
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How does TC207 communicate the purpose & scope of
the ISO14001 standards to users and the public?
Communication has always been a part of the TC's work, but now, with the
first standards published and being used, this function is becoming even
more important. Many of the ISO 14000 Series standards are at the cutting
edge of environmental management, and there is a potential for misunderstanding
of the TC's role and products - by the public, and by potential users of
the standards. Interested parties of all types - businesses, governments,
and members of the public, among others - may need help in understanding
the management standards approach, especially if they are familiar only
with traditional safety, performance and technical specification standards.
While the ISO member bodies are ultimately responsible for communication
in their respective countries, the TC is also working to facilitate
communication of its work and its standards.
The TC207 Draft Communication Plan, presented in Kyoto, covers three important points:
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ensuring that a consistent message on ISO 14000 is disseminated effectively;
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educating users and the public on the ISO 14000 standards, and
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managing the interaction of TC 207 with the media.
The first two points are being addressed through several projects, including:
articles for the ISO Bulletin, prepared by the secretariat; a periodic
newsletter produced in collaboration with the ISO Central Secretariat;
and collaboration with the ISO Committee on Developing Country Matters (DEVCO)
to produce a manual and seminars for developing countries. The third point,
with respect to media access to TC 207 meetings, has been the topic of much
discussion, and the TC is currently guided by the Technical Management Board's
policy in this area.
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How are Small & Medium Sized
Enterprises (SME's) and Developing Countries affected by the ISO14001
standards?
ISO member bodies in many developing countries recognized early on the
potential significance of the ISO 14000 series, and have been active participants
in the standards development process. This participation, combined with TC 207's
efforts to meet the similar concerns of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs),
has had important effects on the overall shape and focus of the core EMS standards
in the ISO 14000 series.
By encouraging participation in TC 207 and its subcommittees by representatives
of these groups, and through consultation with other experts, TC 207 has
considered the particular requirements of these groups and incorporated
them into the core EMS documents. However, to be truly responsive to the
needs of SMEs and developing countries, TC 207 will continue to listen, and
to encourage participation by those who may not have the resources to otherwise
have their voices heard. This is particularly important in the current
implementation phase of the ISO 14000 EMS and environmental auditing standards.
TC 207 has encouraged developing country participation; but lacking its own
financial resources, it has had to rely on the assistance of several countries
that, beyond recognizing the importance of broad participation of developing
countries in the TC, have donated funds to support this participation. These
donations have been coordinated by ISO/DEVCO (Policy Development Committee).
DEVCO is also working to facilitate implementation of the standards in
developing countries. It recognizes that countries need to have a
standardization infrastructure in place, and clear, accurate information
should be available for potential users. DEVCO has worked with TC 207 to
develop a manual on environmental management, and has initiated a seminar
program to build the capacity of developing countries to use and support the standards.
Meanwhile, TC 207's SC 1 has undertaken an initiative to help the TC to better
meet the needs of SMEs worldwide, as they implement and use the ISO 14001 and
ISO 14004 standards. SC 1 has assigned a project team to gather information
on the needs of SMEs in this area.
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What are the trade issues associated
with the ISO14001 standards?
The intent of environmental management standards has been to develop a common
language for environmental issues, so that customers, manufacturers, governments
and other organizations can be assured that environmental issues have been
taken into account in the activities and products of their trading partners.
However, TC 207 is also aware that standards can be used to limit trade - a
fact recognized by the World Trade Organization when it set limits on the
use of "non-tariff barriers" to trade. Environmental issues are
highly regulated in many countries, and there are pressures in some areas
to use regulations, as well as national and regional standards, to exclude
goods and services on environmental grounds. On the commercial level,
environmentally-related expectations and requirements of purchasers can have
a significant effect on purchasing decisions, and can also affect trade.
By concentrating on management standards, and by emphasizing guidance over
strict specifications in its documents, TC 207 has tried to create a positive
mechanism for improving trade, while encouraging improvements in environmental
performance. Its challenge now is to help ensure that the standards are used
as intended, and not as a barrier to trade.
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What is Conformity Assessment and How
does it relate to the ISO14001 standards?
Conformity assessment is a general term that covers any situation in which
a person or an organization tries to determine if the requirements of a
standard are being met. In the case of a management system standard such
as the ISO 14001 EMS specification, conformity assessment by an accredited
third party is the basis for the "certification" or "registration"
of an organization to the standard.
As with the ISO 9000 standards, the value of an ISO 14001 certification
depends on the confidence that others have in the body that performs the
certification, and in the process it uses. There must be some assurance
that the certification was performed rigorously and fairly. This confidence
is provided through the process of accreditation - that is, the recognition
that a certifying body is qualified to do the work.
Although TC 207 is not directly responsible for establishing a conformity
assessment system to support certification to its ISO 14001 standard, we are
both monitoring and participating in international efforts in this area.
Much of this work is taking place through CASCO, the ISO Committee on
Conformity Assessment. In 1996, CASCO formed an EMS working group, whose
mandate includes developing general requirements for bodies operating
assessment and certification/registration for environmental management
systems. At present, the group is working on a guide that will lay out
requirements for certification bodies and for the certification process.
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What is the relationship between Conformity
Assessment for Environmental Management Standards and Government
Regulation?
Many governments are beginning to recognize the limits to "command and control"
environmental regulation, and some have expressed interest in environmental
management standards as a complement to regulation. While some governments
have taken a "hands off" approach, and have let the marketplace
itself promote the use of these standards, other governmental bodies have tried
to form links between voluntary standards and mandatory regulation.
ISO14001 requires organizations to establish and maintain procedures to:
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identify and have access to relevant legislation and regulations.
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ensure that its legislative records are applicable to its business activities.
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ISO14001 also provides the ideal management structure to centrally
store and maintain permits, licenses, authorizations, etc.
Voluntary Environmental Standards will provide a basis for governments to
meet international obligations through forums of environmental protection and
management that are alternatives to the traditional command and control model.
They do so without infringing on national sovereignty or inhibiting the
ability to compete. Standards have the potential to reduce regulation-making
and enforcement burden on governments, as the cost of both development and
conformity assessment is borne by the private sector.
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