ISO 9001 Standard / ISO 9001 Standards – ISO 9000 Standard / ISO 9000 Standards Certification & Implementation

Firstly ISO 14000 environment system standards was prepared in June of 1992 year in Rio at world apex and this standard brooks decisions of this world apex and Rio contract principles. After 1 year, ISO established one technique committee which is yielded by 50 different country representatives to prepare international environment management system in 1993 year. ISO 14001 environment management system standard was issued in September of 1996 year with works of this committee. ISO 14001 standard is used as voluntary now but ISO 14001 will be burden by coercions of societies, international organizations, states in the future. Levels which environment management system passed are the following briefly:

= Europe community countries issued I action plan in 1973 year (to practice protecting preventions of environment )
= BS 7750 Standard in 1992
= Rio Declaration in 1992 year
= ISO/TC 207. Environmental management technique committee was established in 1993 year to develop ISO 14000 family standards
= TS 9719 standard (environment management system – General features) in 1994 year
= ISO 14001 standard in 1996 year
= ISO 14001 current version in April of 2005 Nisan 2005

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ISO 14001 STANDARD

The ISO 14001 series emerged primarily as a result of the Uruguay round of the GATT negotiations and the Rio Summit on the Environment held in 1992. While GATT concentrates on the need to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade, the Rio Summit generated a commitment to protection of the environment across the world.

After the rapid acceptance of ISO 9000, and the increase of environmental standards around the world, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) assessed the need for international environmental management standards. They formed the Strategic Advisory Group on the Environment (SAGE) in 1991, to consider whether such standards could serve to:

Promote a common approach to environmental management similar to quality management;
Enhance organizations’ ability to attain and measure improvements in environmental performance; and
Facilitate trade and remove trade barriers.
In 1992, SAGE’s recommendations created a new committee, TC 207, for international environmental management standards. This committee and its sub-committees included representatives from industry, standards organizations, government and environmental organizations from many countries. What developed was a series of ISO14000 standards designed to cover:

-environmental management systems
-environmental auditing
-environmental performance evaluation
-environmental labelling
-life-cycle assessment
-environmental aspects in product standards

ISO 14001 was first published as a standard in 1996 and it specifies the actual requirements for an environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects over which an organization has control and where it can be expected to have an influence.

ISO 14001 is often seen as the corner-stone standard of the ISO 14000 series. It specifies a framework of control for an Environmental Management System and is the only ISO 14000 standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external certification body. However, it does not in itself state specific environmental performance criteria.

An EMS can be described as a program of continuous environmental improvement that follows a defined sequence of steps drawn from established project management practice and routinely applied in business

management. In simple terms these steps are as follows:

 • Review the environmental consequences of the operations.

• Define a set of policies and objectives for environmental performance.

• Establish an action plan to achieve the objectives.

• Monitor performance against these objectives.

• Report the results appropriately.

• Review the system and the outcomes and strive for continuous improvement.

 Not every system will present these steps in exactly the same way, but the basic principles are clear and easily understandable.

 The ISO 14000 series is a series of standards for different aspects of environmental management. A number of these standards relating to environmental management systems have been adopted formally by

the members of the ISO, while others are in different stages of preparation.

 The standards that have been adopted are (as of early 1997):

ISO 14001-1996 Environmental management systems:

specification with guidance for use

 ISO 14004-1996 Environmental management systems:

general guidelines on principles, systems, and supporting techniques

 ISO 14010-1996 Guidelines for environmental auditing:

general principles of environmental auditing

 ISO 14011-1996 Guidelines for environmental auditing:

audit procedures; auditing of environmental management systems.

 ISO 14012-1996 Guidelines for environmental auditing:

qualification criteria for environmental auditors Standards currently available as draft international standards:

 ISO 14021 Environmental labels and declarations:

self-declaration environmental claims; guidelines and definition and usage of terms.

 ISO 14040 Environmental management: life cycle assessment; principles and framework

 ISO 14050 Environmental management: vocabulary More than half a dozen others in this series have been drafted and are under discussion.

The building blocks of an environmental management system is an understanding of aspects and impacts.

Implementing ISO 14001 begins with identifying how an organisation’s business activities impact on the

environment.

 Many organisations believe they are already aware of the significant aspects and impacts of their operations.

The process of implementing ISO 14001 may uncover significant impacts not previously identified and allows

for a consistent approach to analysis.

 Generally this analysis is done department by department or centre by centre.

 It is best if it is a team approach that involves the employees who do the activity. An employee’s

familiarity with a task is essential for both the identification of the environmental impacts of business

activities and the determination or implementation of control measures.

 An aspect is any element of an organisation’s activities, products or services that can interact with the

environment.

 An impact is the change caused to the environment.

 Impacts may occur during normal and abnormal operating conditions, such as accidents and

emergencies.

 Aspects can often be isolated by analysing the inputs and outputs of an activity.

EVALUATION OF IMPACTS

Once the impacts have been determined they have to be evaluated.

Criteria for evaluation include environmental concerns such as the severity of the impact, and business

concerns such as potential regulatory and legal exposure, the probability of the impact occurring, the

cost of changing the impact and effect on public image.

This type of evaluation highlights the significant  impacts. These, in turn, determine the significant

aspects. Once the significant aspects have been determined, targets and objectives can be set.

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognised standard that provides a framework for a strategic approach to corporate environmental management. This standard gives organisations the means to identify and control their environmental impacts, improve performance and achieve their objectives and targets. The standard is independently audited, giving it great strength and integrity.

Due to its widespread adoption (e.g. Barclays, Credit Suisse and UBS in the financial sector), it now acts as a common reference for communication about environmental issues. ISO 14001 provides assurance to stakeholders on environmental claims and helps organisations meet requirements laid down by clients and investors.

Adoption of ISO 14001 is being driven by stakeholder concerns as well as the significant benefits on offer to adopters. Few companies are now exempt from government, client and investor demands for accountability and improved environmental performance. With brand and reputation on the line, it is a risky strategy to ignore these concerns.

However, choosing how to act is not a straightforward decision. Companies that rushed to announce their green credentials without independent verification and transparency fell foul of greenwash accusations and suffered perhaps more damage to their reputation than had they not acted in the first place. In response to this, many companies are now choosing to implement internationally recognised and independently audited environmental management systems such as ISO 14001.

 The benefits of implementing ISO 14001 are extensive:

It immediately enhances corporate reputation and sends a clear signal of commitment to corporate responsibility. Accusations of greenwash are prevented by the transparent and robust approach of the standard.

 Proactive environmental management increases attractiveness to investors, especially for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), an area already accounting for £9 billion investment per year in the UK alone.

 ISO 14001 accreditation may also bring financial benefits through increased market share. Firms can differentiate themselves from competitors as responsible companies as well as securing the rewards of first mover advantage in new markets. In addition, many buyers are now implementing sustainable procurement codes and stipulating conditions in Requests for Information (RFIs) where suppliers are required to have environmental credentials. Gaining ISO 14001 accreditation ensures access to environmentally demanding but high reward markets.

 Financial benefits are not limited to increased investment and sales. Implementation of an EMS may produce significant cost savings that actually negate the initial outlay. With energy and waste prices rising sharply, environmental responsibility can produce a win:win opportunity.

Perhaps the most significant benefit for many will be the positive effect on attracting and retaining staff. With intense competition for the best staff, corporate responsibility is becoming a key criterion against which employers are judged.

Finally, responsible environmental management is quickly becoming a necessary condition for business, a socially accepted norm of behaviour. Those who fail to follow these norms risk damage to their reputation and the possibility of their social licence to operate being revoked.

 A standard as thorough and robust as ISO 14001 has an equally thorough implementation process with extensive requirements for procedures and auditable document trails. Implementation follows the Plan-Do-Check-Review cycle and key required procedures are detailed in the diagram below. Implementation will entail the creation of at least 20 procedures and supporting documents. The procedures are all company-specific and must be tailored to suit individual operations. It is this level of detail that gives the standard such strength and integrity.

ISO 14001:2004 requires an organization to make a “commitment” in its environmental policy to comply with applicable legal requirements that relate to its environmental aspects. The organization shall establish, implement and maintain a procedure(s) for periodically evaluating compliance with applicable legal requirements that is consistent with realising this commitment.

The specific clauses of ISO 14001:2004, which are most important with respect to legal compliance are the following EMS elements:

 1) public environmental policy commitment to legal compliance (sub-clause 4.2);

2) identification and having access to applicable legal requirements and other requirements related to its environmental aspects (sub-clause 4.3.2 a));

 3) how those legal requirements apply to the organisation’s environmental aspects (sub-clause 4.3.2 b));

 4) objectives/targets/programs (sub-clause 4.3.3)

 5) how legal obligations are routinely managed and monitored (sub-clauses 4.4.6 and 4.5.1);

 6) evaluation of legal compliance (sub-clause 4.5.2);

 7) corrective and preventive actions where necessary (sub-clause 4.5.3);

 8) internal audit (sub-clause 4.5.5); and

9) management review (sub-clause 4.6).

The organization shall establish and maintain procedures for controlling all documents and data required by ISO 9000 & ISO 14001

a) they can be located;

b) they are periodically reviewed, revised as necessary, and approved for adequacy by authorized personnel;

c) current versions of relevant documents and data are available at all locations where operations essential to the effective functioning of the OH&S system are performed;

d) obsolete documents and data are promptly removed from all points of issue and points of use, or otherwise assured against unintended use;

e) archival documents and data retained for legal or knowledge preservation purposes, are suitably identified.

Accidents, incidents, non-conformances and corrective and preventive action

The organization shall implement and record any changes in the documented procedures resulting from corrective and preventive action.

Documents required by the ISO 9000 & ISO 14001 shall be controlled. Records are a special type of document and shall be controlled in accordance with the requirements.

The organization shall establish, implement and maintain procedure[s] to:

a) approve documents for adequacy prior to use;

b) review and update as necessary and re-approve documents;

c) ensure that changes and the current revisions status of documents are identified;

d.) ensure that relevant versions of applicable documents are available at points of use;

e.) ensure that documents remain legible and readily identifiable;

f.) ensure that documents of external origin determined by the organization to be necessary for the planning and operation of the ISO 9000 & ISO 14001 management system are identified and their distribution controlled, and

g.) prevent the unintended use of obsolete documents and apply suitable identification to them if they are retained for any purpose.

Documents required by the environmental management system and by this international standard shall be controlled. Records are a special type of document and shall be controlled in accordance with the requirements given in 4.5.4 (Control of Records).

 The organization shall establish, implement, and maintain a procedure(s) to

 a) approve documents for adequacy prior to issue;

 b) review and update as necessary and re-approve documents;

 c) ensure that changes and the current revision status of documents are identified;

 d) ensure that relevant versions of applicable documents are available at points of use;

 e) ensure that documents remain legible and readily identifiable;

 f) ensure that documents of external origin determined by the organization to be necessary for the planning and operation of the environmental management system are identified and their distribution controlled; and

 g) prevent the unintended use of obsolete documents and apply suitable identification to them if they are retained for any purpose. [ISO 14001, 4.4.5]

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It depends on you and your company. The very fastest is 2-3 months because most ISO 9001 registrars require at least 2 months ISO 9001 track record before the certification audit.

More realistically: if you have a relatively small company (say, less than 20 employees), if your employees are motivated and if they don’t oppose change, if you have the backing of all senior executives, if you and other managers are ready to put some significant time and efforts into this endeavor, and if you use a really good ISO 9001 quality manual template (a sample ISO 9000 quality manual that you can modify to make it your own ISO 9000 quality manual), then you may be able to get certified in as short as 3-4 months; templates for ISO 9000 forms are an additional time-saver. Some companies are significantly slower, with 6-12 months not being unusual.

 However, companies that write their ISO 9001 quality manual and their ISO 9001 quality procedures from scratch, rather than base them on a proven sample ISO 9001 quality manual, often take up to 2 years or longer.