ISO 14001 - Environmental Management Standard

What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is the internationally recognised standard for the environmental management of businesses. It prescribes controls for those activities that have an effect on the environment. These include the use of natural resources, handling and treatment of waste and energy consumption.

The Benefits of implementing ISO 14001

Implementing an Environmental Management System is a systematic way to discover and control the effects your company has on the environment. Cost savings can be made through improved efficiency and productivity. These are achieved by detecting ways to minimise waste and dispose of it more effectively and by learning how to use energy more efficiently. It verifies compliance with current legislation and makes insurance cover more accessible.

How do you start to implement ISO 14001? What is involved?

Firstly, you need to evaluate the effect your organisation has on the environment. You then need to prioritise ways in which you might reduce them. Next, identify the boundaries of your management system and document your procedures for implementing the requirements of ISO 14001. You will need to ensure these procedures are implemented and then audited. If you have ISO 9000 systems in place, many of the requirements of ISO 14001 will already be covered, or can be easily incorporated into them.

Once developed, internal audits are needed to ensure the system carries on working. The setting of targets for the environmental policy and continual measuring against it ensures the system is maintained.

Why seek certification to ISO 14001?

Once you have an environmental management system in place, you may choose to have it externally audited. Following a successful audit by an accredited certification body, you will be issued with a certificate of registration to ISO 14001. This demonstrates that your organisation is committed to environmental issues and is prepared to work towards improving the environment. It also gives a competitive edge to the company's marketing and enhances its image in the eyes of customers, employees and shareholders.

Assessment to ISO 14001

Having chosen a third party accredited certification body for your assessment, it will review your documentation and carry out an initial audit of your site (often called 'stage 1'). This will look at the company's evaluation of environmental effects and ascertain if targets set for the management programme are measurable and achievable. This is followed at a later date by a full audit (stage 2) to ensure that records and working practices demonstrate that the company is following its procedures.

After a successful audit and the issue of a certificate, there will then be surveillance visits (usually once or twice a year) to ensure that the system continues to work.

Why choose ISOQAR for your assessment?

ISOQAR has an enviable record for customer satisfaction with its certification services. Our environmental audits focus on environmental issues, rather than written documentation. Customers are given support and guidance between the two stages of the audit. ISOQAR's annual registration fees are amongst the lowest in the industry. In addition, we will provide you with a fixed quotation, free from any additional expenses or disguised costs.

ISOQAR only employs auditors that possess a friendly and down-to-earth style to audits. This approachable image has led to ISOQAR's continual growth through referrals from contented clients and management consultants. Our auditors are also carefully allocated by their experience in the industry they are assessing. This results in a practical, meaningful audit, carried out in an air of mutual understanding.

What is the cost of assessment to ISO 14001?

ISOQAR has produced a guidance price list for organisations seeking registration to ISO 14001. It is contained within our information pack (please contact us for a copy. However, there are many variables, such as an organisation's type and size, and the possible resultant effect it has on the environment. Consequently, we ask you to complete a short questionnaire to help us learn about your organisation. If you prefer, we will happily take these details over the telephone. Click here for contact details. From this, we can provide you with a fixed, written quotation of the fees involved. Organisations that are ISO 9001 registered with ISOQAR may benefit from reduced annual registration fees for ISO 14001 certification. This is because there are some common elements to the auditing process.

Joint ISO 14001 and ISO 9000 systems

There are several common elements between the two standards, such as management review, document control, corrective action and the requirement for trained personnel. These can be combined into a single, joint system (together with Health & Safety if desired). Assessment of joint systems is available and may be the most suitable and cost effective approach for some companies.

Where to obtain further information or help

The actual standard can be obtained from The Stationery Office. Visiting www.tsoshop.co.uk is the easiest way. Try searching for ISO 14001 requirements to reduce the quantity of search results you'll get from ISO 14001 alone.

The International Standards Organisation's (ISO) own website at www.iso.ch also has information about ISO 14001. Other sites that include general environmental issues include letsrecycle.com, environmental-agency.gov.uk, iema.net, defra.gov.uk and incpen.org. Netregs.gov.uk is a useful site that helps businesses understand their environmental obligations.

ISOQAR provides a comprehensive range of Training Courses relevant to the standards we offer. These range form awareness about the standards to knowledge about how to create an appropriate management system. Full and current information can be viewed at www.isoqar.com/training.

Additionally, we have set up a technical team that is available to help with any queries you may have. Please email us or call us on 0161 865 3699 so that one of our team can discuss a variety of solutions that are available to you.

We are just one click or call away from all the guidance you need.