new ISO 14001:2015 standardThe Technical Director of Bureau Veritas Certification, Pedro González, speaks to us, on the occasion of our New ISO 14001:2015 Standard Course , in two posts about the changes planned in the standard. In this first post he deals with the review process and the changes in the High Level Structure.
Nowadays, the environmental impact generated by companies is considered one of the biggest problems worldwide . Pressures to minimize this impact are increasing, from the different agents that act in a society , Governments, Regulatory Bodies, Markets (companies, shareholders, clients...), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other interest groups (sectoral associations, universities, etc.)
ISO 14001 (International Organization for part time data Standardization – ISO) is a voluntary standard that specifies the requirements for the implementation of an effective Environmental Management System (EMS) , in order to enable an organization to develop a policy and objectives regarding its significant environmental aspects. An EMS provides an organization with, among other advantages :
Reduce the negative environmental impacts of its activities , as well as the risks of environmental accidents.
Continuous evaluation of legal requirements and, therefore, minimizing the possibility of non-compliance resulting in sanctions or fines.
Improve environmental performance : saving resources (water, energy, etc.), reducing waste generation and emissions, etc., which translates into a reduction in costs.
Possibilities of obtaining economic or financial aid , such as access to subsidies or lower insurance premiums.
Competitive advantage over new clients or markets that require certification.
Improve the company's image.
Review of ISO 14001 standard
The international standard ISO 14001 is currently being revised and the new version is expected to come into effect during the last quarter of 2015, replacing the current version from 2004.
Once ISO 14001:2015 is published, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) will jointly determine the transition period.
Certified companies will presumably have three years to update their EMS to the new requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard . Therefore, all certificates in accordance with the ISO 14001:2004 standard will be valid until the first half of 2018. During the first two years of validity, organizations will have the option of choosing to audit their EMS based on the 2014 version or the 2015 version.
Expected changes in the High Level Structure
The structure of ISO 14001 has been modified to follow the so-called "High Level Structure" . ISO Annex SL (formerly known as Guide 83) outlines the common structure and format for all new ISO management system standards and revisions of existing standards.