ISO has released Draft Amendment 2 to ISO 14001 and this post gives you the details on where you can find the information you need to be aware of if your company is planning to become certified or even already at that level.
ISO 14001 specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organisation can use to enhance its environmental performance. It can be used by businesses of any size but tends to be larger organisations who can apply the capacity to this standard.
Some of the main points are…
1. New focus on Climate and Biodiversity – Organisations must now consider environmental conditions like climate change, ecosystem health, and pollution levels in their planning.
2. Language is much more exact. To achieve the standards, vague wording is superseded as the language now uses “meet compliance obligations” signaling less wriggle room and a more precise expectation.
3. Life Cycle reporting made central: From raw material sourcing to end-of-life disposal, life cycle perspective must be clearly integrated into decisions.
4. Environmental information must be available to interested parties. Transparency is a must.
5. Risk-based planning expanded so companies must now link risks and opportunities directly to internal decision-making and external environmental changes.
It must be noted that these revisions are still in draft and more is expected before the end of the year. But with the ISO 14001 being so widely used it is worth knowing all about it even if it doesn’t apply directly to your business.
The ISO website has all the information about this HERE
