ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System (EMS) helps to manage the short-term and long-term environmental impacts of an organization’s product, services, and processes.
The EMS is a framework developed for organizations using the best practices indicated in ISO 14001:2015 Standard documentation.
The EMS framework helps an organization to achieve the following objectives:
- Minimize the environmental footprint
- Eliminate the risk of pollution incidents
- Provide operational improvements
- Ensure compliance with best practices of environmental protection
- Sustainable business development by not hindering the environment
Key Benefits of ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Certification
- Cost savings and reduce resource usage, waste & energy management
- Develop a corporate image and credibility
- Compliance to the ISO 14001:2015 Standards and other environmental laws
- Be known as a green company and reduce the carbon footprints
- Enhance operational performance, secure company assets from the risk of polluting environment
ISO 14001:2015 Coverage
At the high level the ISO 14001:2015 covers the following areas with regards to Environmental Management Systems:
- Context of the organization
- Leadership roles
- Planning
- Support
- Operations
- Performance evaluation
- Process Improvement
Which Industries Implement ISO 14001:2015?
All companies large and small can go for ISO 14001:2015 Standard certification. The best fit for ISO 14001:2015 Standards are large manufacturing plants, chemical plants, hotels, hospitals, other small scale factories, etc.
ISO 14001:2015 Training and Certifications – For Individuals
Training on the basic concepts of ISO 14001:2015 is available globally, and there is a range of course options for individuals to choose from.
The training has to be taken from any of the ISO training institutes by registering for the training online through the respective training websites and by paying the registration fees. The training typically ranges from 2 days to 5 days depending on the training type.
Here is the list of available training for the ISO 14001:2015 Standard:
ISO 14001:2015 lead Auditor Course
It is a 4-5-day training course focused on understanding the ISO 14001:2015 EMS Standards. It can be used for auditing Management System against the ISO requirements.
The course has an exam at the end to verify the knowledge and competence of the individual. It is only through an accredited course the individual can become approved to audit for a certification body.
ISO 14001:2015 Internal Auditor Course
It is generally a 2-3-day course based on the lead auditor course structure, there is no test for competence here and it’s a beginners course to perform an internal audit within a company.
ISO 14001:2015 Awareness and Implementation Course
This course can be from 2-5 days and include online e-learning sessions as a method of teaching material. This course provides an overview of the ISO 14001 standard and covers the basics of the implementation steps etc. It is beneficial or organizations to get a basic understanding of the whole certification and implementation process.
Aurion ISO Consultants will assist you in the ISO 14001:2015 training that covers the fundamentals of the Environmental Management System standards and will guide you through the implementation of the ISO 14001:2015 Standard in the most effective way.
What are the Practical Steps for getting ISO 14001: 2015 Certified?
There are two types of Certifications for the ISO 14001: 2015 Standard:
- Certification of a company’s Environmental Management System compliant with the ISO 14001 requirements
- Certification of individuals to be able to audit against the ISO 14001 requirements.
Steps Involved in getting ISO 14001:2015 Certified
- Implementing an EMS based on the ISO 14001 requirements
- Hiring a recognized certification body to audit and approve the EMS as meeting the requirements of ISO 14001 standard.
There are few detailed steps included in the Certification Process
- Management support and identifying legal requirement for the EMS
- Defining environmental policy, aspects, objectives, and targets
- Create the overall scope and implementation of the environmental management system
There is also mandatory and additional process & procedure to be set up for the smooth operation of your organization complying to the environmental standards.
The document preparation can be done internally by the organization or hiring ISO consultants like Aurion who will do the documentation for you effortlessly and quickly, complying to the ISO requirements.
Once the process and procedure are in place, operate the EMS for a period of time, it will help to collect records to proceed to the next step of auditing, reviewing your system and becoming certified.
Mandatory Steps for the ISO 14001: 2015 Standard Implementation and getting your Company Certified
There few mandatory steps to be performed to ensure a successful certification:
Internal Audit
The internal audit is for checking the functioning of the EMS processes. It is to confirm the compliance and identify the problems & weakness to rectify them before the certification.
Management Review
A formal review by the management is performed to evaluate the relevant fact about the management system in place. It is to make decisions for resource allocation and team management
Corrective Action
Following the internal audit and management review, the corrective actions have to be incorporated. The problems and root causes identified are to be assessed and required alterations are to be made. Also, the steps performed to resolve the problem is to be documented.
Company Certification Process has Two Stages
Stage One (Documentation Review)
The auditors from the chosen certification body will check and ensure your documentation meets the requirement of ISO 14001:2015 Standards.
Stage Two (Main Audit)
The certification body auditors will check whether your actual activities are compliant with both ISO 14001:2015 and your own documentation by reviewing documents, records, and company practices.
Aurion ISO Consultants are pioneers in ISO Certification Consulting. We provide you with competent ISO Lead Auditors for all your ISO training, documentation and implementation requirements.
We also work with global ISO Certification bodies to offer you with best-in-class certifications for various ISO Standards based on your requirements.
For any queries on ISO Certification, Training and Consulting, feel free to give a call right away!
Contact: Aurion ISO Consultants
