The ISO:14001:2015 revision of the environmental management standard ISO 14001 introduced a number of changes from previous versions, specifically the ISO:14001:2004. What is the expected impact of the new revisions on organisations where environmental management is fast becoming a priority?
Compared to previous versions, the updated standard has aligned its structure to other ISO revisions, adopting high-level guidelines, mandatory definitions and common clauses to all the ISO family of standards. As a result, integration with other standards such as ISO 9001 for quality management becomes easier.
The ISO 14001:2015 standard can be used by any business, regardless of size, location and industry, that implements and maintains an environmental management system (EMS) to conform to its established environmental policy and requirements.
The environmental standard defines current topics relating to the EMS, assisting leadership with environmental planning and evaluation in the specific context of the organisation, analysing the impact of business operations, and identifying areas of improvement.
The revised edition ISO 14001:2015 further identifies major areas of policy impact and expands the coverage and the scope of the EMS to include new legal compliance requirements, expanded operational control, and changes in competence and environmental awareness.
ENVIRX enables organisations to manage their risk based material environmental impacts in an integrated manner, enabling GRI G4 en standard management and reporting requirements according to the processes defined in the ISO 14001: 2015 standard. ENVIRX uses the same dynamic framework to measure, trend and report on their impact area, i.e. materials, water, energy, biodiversity, effluents and emissions amongst others.
An increased business need for risk-based planning, monitoring and management ensures that the updated standard covers a wide range of environmental scenarios and focuses on preventive actionable insights to minimise damage and business footprint.
For companies looking to update their environmental certification, the latest standard updates and changes have a strong impact on internal audit programs and can make a substantial difference to the company’s bottom line.
Finally, an important factor in updating the standard is the enforcement of an improved interaction with external parties and industry stakeholders and new requirements for leadership engagement and involvement.
ENVIRX, part of the XGRC Software product range, enables organisations to manage their risk-based material environmental impacts in an integrated manner. ENVIRX is built on GRI G4 standard management and the ISO 14001: 2015 standard framework.
ENVIRX uses the same dynamic framework to measure, trend and report on their impact area, i.e., materials, water, energy, biodiversity, effluents and emissions among others.
ENVIRX’s Energy Monitoring module allows for the monitoring and measurement of all energy items that are material in the determination of the enterprise’s carbon footprint.
