The International Standards Organization (ISO) has revised their Environmental Management Systems Standard, effective this past September. Standards are reviewed every five years to provide upgrades, so this new version is per standard protocol. It does not mean that previous versions of ISO 14001 are in any way harmful to your company. Compliance with the revised standard is not mandatory, but it is recommended.
According to the ISO’s official statement, the new version of ISO 14001, the Standard on Environmental Management Systems, includes the following:
- Increased prominence of environmental management within the organization’s strategic planning processes
- Greater focus on leadership
- Addition of proactive initiatives to protect the environment from harm and degradation, such as sustainable resource use and climate change mitigation
- Improving environmental performance added
- Lifecycle thinking when considering environmental aspects
- Addition of a communications strategy
The updated 14001:2015 can be found on the ISO website. Full compliance and conformity are recommended, but not required. However, any claims as to either are not valid unless the system is followed fully with no exclusions.
