The newest International Standards Organization (ISO) standards revisions are restructured to have the same 10 clauses as other management systems, making it simpler for manufacturers and other organizations to integrate their standards and certification efforts (Video enhanced).

In September, the universally recognized global standards body International Standards Organization (ISO) released its revised environmental management systems (EMS). Sustainable manufacturers now can begin updating their EMS to ISO 14001:2015.

“ISO 14001:2015 maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system,” ISO stated on its website.

Key changes are that it is structured to be common with other standards bodies; requires a greater commitment from leadership and alignment with a company’s strategic direction; and requires proactive initiatives, including risk planning and life-cycle thinking.

Something in Common

Manufacturers familiar with previous versions and also with other standards-issuing organizations likely are to recognize that the ISO structure has been reorganized to integrate with other standards with a common structure and 10 clauses:

1. Introduction
2. Scope
3. Normative references
4. Terms and definitions
5. Context of organization
6. Leadership
7. Planning
8. Support
9. Operations
10. Performance evaluation
11. Improvement

The common structure may make it easier for manufacturers to certify for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 simultaneously, said Chuck Jenrich, an ISO consultant at a seminar at Rock Valley College Business & Professional Institute, Rockford, Ill., recently. “A common structure should make it easier for organizations to implement multiple standards because they will all share the same basic language and the same basic requirements.”

Context of the Organization (4.0) This is a new requirement. The company now must understand its context before establishing its management system. That means it must consider issues that are relevant to the company’s purpose, strategic direction, and how they influence them—and are influenced by them.

“Context” already is very germane to 14001 environmental standards, considering that a company must consider its impact on water, air, energy, material resources, emissions, ground contamination, and, generally, its effects on its community. However, it now also means that the organization must consider not only the impact of its activities on the environment, but the impact of the environment on its activities, such as anticipated impacts from climate change, raw material scarcities, energy management, and so forth.

“ISO 14001:2015 responds to the latest trends, such as an increasing recognition by companies of the need to factor in both external and internal elements that influence their impact, including climate volatility,” said Clare Naden, Digital Communications Specialist for ISO.

Under clause (4.4), manufacturers also must assess risks and opportunities, and assign authority for them in their environmental management systems.

More Leadership Involvement The new version’s clause (5.1.1) requires top management to become more accountable for the environmental management system’s effectiveness than before. Its objective is system decentralization and sharing of the responsibilities throughout the company, Jenrich said. No longer will management be able to remain uninvolved in the standards, leaving all of the tasks and accountability to one person or a small group.

The greater emphasis on leadership involvement is intended to ensure that the environmental management system is embedded at the strategic level, and that it is consistent with the organization’s strategic direction and processes, said ISO spokesperson Anne-Marie Warris, chair of ISO/TC 207/SC1, the technical committee that developed the standard and undertook the revision. “The new version will help with a stronger integration between environmental issues and an organization’s strategic action planning and thinking.”

“This will enable better integration into an organization’s overall strategy, rather than management of a series of ‘bolt-on’ systems,” said Karen Lutz, senior program manager, EHS Compliance and Sustainability for TRC in her article, “Update: Environmental Management Systems Standard ISO 14001-2015.”

Risk Planning (6.1) The new ISO 14001:2015 standard expects manufacturers to establish a risk-planning process–identifying and addressing the risks and opportunities that could influence the performance of their environmental management systems and defining actions to address them in their management systems.

“Risk-based thinking has always been implicit. Now it is explicit,” added Jenrich.

Monitoring Suppliers, Lifecycle Thinking

The new version emphasizes monitoring and controlling external providers (8.4.3), especially relevant in material selection, energy sourcing, and waste management. Manufacturers must pay closer attention to upstream and downstream processes, to consider their environmental impacts, Lutz said.

It also requires lifecycle thinking, meaning that manufacturers must consider each stage of a product or service, from development to end-of-life. “I foresee the life-cycle perspective and supply chain issues embedded in ISO 14001 becoming stronger in the future,” Warris projected.

Transition Period

Companies can certify the 2015 revision right now, though Jenrich and Lutz advise companies to jump in with only one foot for now. They advise manufacturers seeking ISO 14001:2015 certification to begin with a gap analysis—a comparison of where the company is now against what it needs to do to satisfy certification requirements. Identify necessary changes in your organization. Is training required? Does your company need to make adjustments to its documentation or existing management system?

“Immediately intensify consideration of the environmental impacts of the value chain of your products, processes, and services regarding raw materials, suppliers, customer use, and waste management,” Lutz advises.

Stay up to date on the public debate regarding the standard and interpretation of its requirements, she added.

Fortunately, ISO plans to maintain the 2015 standards for 10 years, so certifying manufacturers can be assured that they won’t need to make changes again for about a decade.

ISO 14001:2015 is available from a national ISO member or the ISO Store.