ISO 14001
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. The
EMS standard ISO 14001 is the cornerstone document of the ISO 14000 series of
standards, and is modeled after the highly successful ISO 9000 quality
management system standards.
The key elements of an ISO 14001 EMS are:
Environmental Policy
- the environmental policy and the requirements to pursue this policy via
objectives, targets, and environmental programs
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)
Implementation and operation
- implementation and organization of processes to control and improve
operational activities that is critical from an environmental perspective
(including both products and services of an organization)
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 Review
- review of the EMS
by the
organization's top management to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and
effectiveness
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
The following two ISO documents have been developed to support the
implementation of the ISO 14001 standard:
- ISO 14001 Environmental management systems-
Specification with guidance for use, 1996-09-01
- ISO 14004 Environmental management systems-
General guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques,
1996-09-01
ISO 14001:1996
is going to be replaced by ISO 14001:2004 but the difference between the
two versions are minor and does not change how the
environmental management system is
implemented.
Changes in
ISO 14001:2004 are made to:
- clarify ambiguities of the old standard
- closer correspondence to ISO 9001 (quality control system)
The ISO 14001:2004 has a clearer focus on:
- significant environmental aspects
- outcome rather than the EMS system
Source:
http://www.tc207.org
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