ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems
ISO14001:2015 environmental management systems are the most common EMS (Environmental Management System) the standard started life in 1993 and was previously known as BS7750, the standard saw a relatively modest uptake until the mid-2000’s, there are now more than 11000 organisations certified in the UK with more than 220000 worldwide covering 159 Countries.
The ISO14001:2015 standard is an excellent business tool to ensure that your organisation has effective measures to:
- prevent pollution
- ensure legislative and regulatory compliance
- reduce environmental impacts
- waste and energy reduction
- cost savings in utilities and waste disposal
The standard is applicable to any type of business and is widely used to demonstrate good governance in terms of corporate and social responsibility. Many Local Authorities are moving towards sourcing goods and services from ISO14001:2015 certified suppliers. Many blue chip organisations also see certification as a prerequisite for supply.
There is a good synergy with ISO9001 and OHSAS18001 and can also be combined with other standards such as ISO27001 information security and ISO22000 food safety standards.
There are several common elements in all management standards as they are all based on the Plan Do Check Act or Deming cycle.
Certain industries require environmental permitting and an effective EMS provides a level of assurance that the permit is being adhered to.
Assessment to the standard should be undertaken via UKAS accredited Certification Body. Be warned that if you have your system assessed by an organisation that is not UKAS accredited you may well find you have wasted your money as it is likely that Local Authorities will not recognise the system.
Certification to ISO 14001:2015 demonstrates to customers that you take a serious commitment to protecting the environment. ISO 14001:2015 is the international standard for Environmental Management Systems;
ISO14001:2015 is a fast growing standard with many Public sector organisations requiring certification as a pre-requisite to provide goods and services to demonstrate their commitment to corporate and social responsibility.
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