WHAT IS THE ISO 14001 STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS?
ISO 14001 is an international standard that sets out requirements for businesses looking to implement an environmental management system. An organisation’s efforts are recognised through formal assessment, and accreditation is a form of third-party certification, showing a company meets a widely-accepted and independent benchmark.
At the time of writing, the current version of the standard is ISO 14001:2015.
It is possible to have an environmental management system, or EMS, in place and not be certified. However, in many sectors, formal ISO 14001 certification is a requirement for doing business. Construction industry specifications often state that a product manufacturer should have an ISO 14001-certified EMS – often in conjunction with ISO 9001 certification.
What is an environmental management system?
Generally speaking, implementing an EMS means having documented policies and processes in place to support a more efficient use of resources and align business operations with better environmental performance.
Among a range of potential advantages, a certified system helps organisations to meet regulatory requirements, serve customer needs and, internally, raise the environmental awareness among staff.
All of this contributes to lowering overall environmental impact, and improving overall business performance. As such, ISO 14001 can be used by any business, of any size, in any sector – including construction.
Implementation of an EMS can be aligned with other management standards. For example, ISO 14001 can be used to enhance elements of an ISO 9001 quality management system, as the two share common elements.
What are the seven sections of ISO 14001:2015?
ISO 14001:2015, like similar standards, encourages organisations to make positive process changes through a cycle of planning, doing, checking and acting. Ongoing improvement and evaluation should then follow.
To achieve this cycle, ISO 14001 features requirements across seven main areas, each covered by a different section of the standard. Together, they ensure that the adoption of an EMS is management-led, and that there is adequate monitoring and support in place to ensure that the system delivers the expected performance benefits.
The seven different areas of requirements are as follows:
– Context of the organisation.
– Leadership.
– Planning.
– Support.
– Operation.
– Performance evaluation.
– Improvement.
This structure was implemented as part of the 2015 revision of the standard, which aligned ISO 14001 more closely with other ISO standards – including incorporating common requirements and clauses.
Communication is an important part of a successful EMS. With the right communication, everyone in an organisation should be aware of the system, understand why it is important, and be invested in contributing to its success.
Polyfoam XPS and ISO 14001
Environmental management systems, alongside other types of management system, are an important and familiar aspect of construction product manufacturing.
In addition to ISO 14001 certification, Polyfoam XPS has certification for quality, health and safety, and energy management systems (ISO 9001, 45001 and 50001 respectively). All of the certificates can be downloaded from the technical support section of the Polyfoam XPS website, or you can contact us to find out more about our certification.