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ISO 14001:2015

▷ Development of the ISO 14000 series

The ISO 14000 family includes most notably the ISO 14001 standard, which represents the core set of standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective environmental management system. Other standards included in this series are ISO 14004, which gives additional guidelines for a good environmental management system, and more specialized standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental management. The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is "to promote more effective and efficient environmental management in organizations and to provide useful and usable tools - ones that are cost effective, system-based, flexible and reflect the best organizations and the best organizational practices available for gathering, interpreting and communicating environmentally relevant information".
Unlike previous environmental regulations, which began with command and control approaches, later replaced with ones based on market mechanisms, ISO 14000 was based on a voluntary approach to environmental regulation (Szymanski & Tiwari 2004). The series includes the ISO 14001 standard, which provides guidelines for the establishment or improvement of an EMS. The standard shares many common traits with its predecessor ISO 9000, the international standard of quality management (Jackson 1997), which served as a model for its internal structure (National Academy Press 1999) and both can be implemented side by side. As with ISO 9000, ISO 14000 acts both as an internal management tool and as a way of demonstrating a company’s environmental commitment to its customers and clients (Boiral 2007).
Prior to the development of the ISO 14000 series, organizations voluntarily constructed their own EMS systems, but this made comparisons of environmental effects between companies difficult and therefore the universal ISO 14000 series was developed. An EMS is defined by ISO as: “part of the overall management system, that includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving and maintaining the environmental policy’ (ISO 1996 cited in Federal Facilities Council Report 1999).

▷ ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems Background

Achieving a balance between the environment, society and the economy is considered essential to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable development as a goal is achieved by balancing the three pillars of sustainability. Societal expectations for sustainable development, transparency and accountability have evolved with increasingly stringent legislation, growing pressures on the environment from pollution, inefficient
use of resources, improper waste management, climate change, degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.

This has led organizations to adopt a systematic approach to environmental management by implementing environmental management systems with the aim of contributing to the environmental pillar of sustainability.



▷ Aim of an environmental management system

The purpose of this International Standard is to provide organizations with a framework to protect the environment and respond to changing environmental conditions in balance with socio-economic needs. It specifies requirements that enable an organization to achieve the intended outcomes it sets
for its environmental management system.

A systematic approach to environmental management can provide top management with information to build success over the long term and create options for contributing to sustainable development by:

  • protecting the environment by preventing or mitigating adverse environmental impacts;
  • mitigating the potential adverse effect of environmental conditions on the organization;
  • assisting the organization in the fulfilment of compliance obligations;
  • enhancing environmental performance;
  • controlling or influencing the way the organization’s products and services are designed, manufactured, distributed, consumed and disposed by using a life cycle perspective that can prevent environmental impacts from being unintentionally shifted elsewhere within the life cycle;
  • achieving financial and operational benefits that can result from implementing environmentally sound alternatives that strengthen the organization’s market position;
  • communicating environmental information to relevant interested parties.

This International Standard, like other International Standards, is not intended to increase or change an organization’s legal requirements.

▷ Success factors

The success of an environmental management system depends on commitment from all levels and functions of the organization, led by top management. Organizations can leverage opportunities to prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts and enhance beneficial environmental impacts, particularly those with strategic and competitive implications. Top management can effectively address its risks and opportunities by integrating environmental management into the organization’s business processes, strategic direction and decision making, aligning them with other business priorities, and incorporating environmental governance into its overall management system. Demonstration of successful implementation of this International Standard can be used to assure interested parties that an effective environmental management system is in place.

Adoption of this International Standard, however, will not in itself guarantee optimal environmental outcomes. Application of this International Standard can differ from one organization to another have different compliance obligations, commitments in their environmental policy, environmental technologies and environmental performance goals, yet both can conform to the requirements of this International Standard.

The level of detail and complexity of the environmental management system will vary depending on the context of the organization, the scope of its environmental management system, its compliance obligations, and the nature of its activities, products and services, including its environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts.

▷ Plan-Do-Check-Act model

The basis for the approach underlying an environmental management system is founded on the concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). The PDCA model provides an iterative process used by organizations to achieve continual improvement. It can be applied to an environmental management system and to each of its individual elements. It can be briefly described as follows.

  • Plan: establish environmental objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization’s environmental policy.
  • Do: implement the processes as planned.
  • Check: monitor and measure processes against the environmental policy, including its commitments, environmental objectives and operating criteria, and report the results.
  • Act: take actions to continually improve.

Figure 1 shows how the framework introduced in this International Standard could be integrated into a PDCA model, which can help new and existing users to understand the importance of a systems approach.

 

 

▷ ISO14001:2015 Requirements

4 Context of the organization
4.1 Understanding the organization and its context
4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
4.3 Determining the scope of the environmental management system
4.4 Environmental management system

 

5 Leadership
5.1 Leadership and commitment
5.2 Environmental policy
5.3 Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities

 

6 Planning
6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities
6.1.1 General
6.1.2 Environmental aspects
6.1.3 Compliance obligations
6.1.4 Planning action
6.2 Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them
6.2.1 Environmental objectives
6.2.2 Planning actions to achieve environmental objectives

 

7 Support
7.1 Resources
7.2 Competence
7.3 Awareness
7.4 Communication
7.4.1 General
7.4.2 Internal communication
7.4.3 External communication
7.5 Documented information
7.5.1 General
7.5.2 Creating and updating
7.5.3 Control of documented information

 

8. Operation
8.1 Operational planning and control
8.2 Emergency preparedness and response

 

9 Performance evaluation
9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
9.1.1 General
9.1.2 Evaluation of compliance
9.2 Internal audit
9.2.1 General
9.2.2 Internal audit programme
9.3 Management review

 

10 Improvement
10.1 General
10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action
10.3 Continual improvement

4 조직 상황
4.1 조직과 조직 상황의 이해
4.2 이해관계자의 니즈(needs)와 기대 이해
4.3 환경경영시스템의 적용범위 결정
4.4 환경경영시스템

 

 

5 리더십
5.1 리더십과 의지표명
5.2 환경방침
5.3 조직의 역할, 책임 및 권한

 

6 기획
6.1 리스크와 기회를 다루는 조치
6.1.1 일반사항
6.1.2 환경측면
6.1.3 준수의무사항
6.1.4 조치 계획
6.2 환경목표와 이를 달성하기 위한 기획
6.2.1 환경목표
6.2.2 환경목표 달성을 위한 조치 기획

7 지원(support)
7.1 자원(resource)
7.2 역량(competence)
7.3 인식
7.4 의사소통
7.4.1 일반사항
7.4.2 내부 의사소통
7.4.3 외부 의사소통
7.5 문서화된 정보
7.5.1 일반사항
7.5.2 작성(creating) 및 갱신
7.5.3 문서화된 정보의 관리

 

8 운용
8.1 운용기획 및 관리(control)
8.2 비상사태 대비 및 대응

 

9 성과평가
9.1 모니터링, 측정, 분석 및 평가 .
9.1.1 일반사항
9.1.2 준수평가
9.2 내부심사
9.2.1 일반사항
9.2.2 내부심사 프로그램
9.3 경영검토

 

10 개선
10.1 일반사항
10.2 부적합 및 시정조치
10.3 지속적 개선



 

▷ Factors for adjustments of audit time of management systems (QMS and EMS)

1. Increase in audit time of management systems
  1. Increase in audit time of management systems
    a. Complicated logistics involving more than on building or location where work is carried out.
       Eg., a separarte Design Centre must be audited
    b. Staff speaking in more than one language (requiring interpreter(s) or preventing individual auditors from    working independently)
    c. Very large site for the number of personnel (eg., a forest)
    d. High degree of regulation (eg., food, drug, aerospace, nuclear power, etc)
    e. Systems covers highly complex processes or relatively high number of unique activities
    f. Activities that require visiting temporary sites to confirm the activities of the permanent sites(s) whose   management system is subject to certification
    g. Outsourced functions or process
  2. Increase in audit time of management systems for QMS only
    a. Activities considered to be of high systems for EMS only
  3. Increase in audit time of management environment compared to typical location for the industry sector
    a. Higher sensitivity of receiving environment compared to typical location for the industry sector
    b. Views of interested parties
    c. Indirect aspects necessitating increase in audit time
    d. Additional or unusual environmental aspects or regulated conditions for the sector
    e. Risks of environmental accidents and impacts arising, or likely to arise, as consequences of incidents and    potential emergency situations, previous environmental problems that the organization has contributed to

 

2. Decrease in audit time of management systems
  1. Client is not “design responsible” or other standard elements are not covered in the scope (QMS only)
  2. Very small site for number of personnel (eg, office complex only)
  3. Maturity of management systems
  4. Prior knowledge of the client management systems (eg. Already certified to another standard by the same CAB)
  5. Client preparedness for certification (eg. Already certified or recognized by another 3rd party scheme)
    Note) if audit is conducted in accordance with IAF MD 11 this justification is invalid as reduction will be calculated from the level of integration
  6. High level of automation
  7. Where staff include a number of people who work “off location” eg. Salespersons, drivers, service personnel, etc. and it is possible to substantially audit compliance of their activities with the system through review of records
  8. Activities considered to be of low risk, Low complexity activities (eg.
    * Processes involving similar and repetitive activities (eg. Service only)
    * Identical activities of low complexity performed on all shifts with appropriate evidence of equivalent   performance on all shifts
    * Where a significant proportion of staff carry out a similar simple function. Repetitive process within scope   (when employees perform repetitive activities)

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