ISO 14001 is a family of standards related to environmental management developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) . The ISO 14001 standard specifies the requirements for an environmental management system (EMS) that an organization can use to enhance its environmental performance. It provides a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system. The standard is designed for any type of organization, regardless of its activity or sector, and it can provide assurance to company management and employees as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved.
The ISO 14001 standard can be used in whole or in part to help an organization better manage its relationship with the environment. If all the elements of ISO 14001 are incorporated into the management process, the organization can reap a number of economic benefits, including higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements by adopting the ISO standard. The standard requires that an organization considers all environmental issues relevant to its operations, such as air pollution, water and sewage issues, waste management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and resource use and efficiency.
ISO 14001 is suitable for organizations of all types and sizes, be they private, not-for-profit or governmental. The standard includes the need for continual improvement of an organization’s systems and approach to environmental concerns. The latest version of the standard, ISO 14001:2015, responds to the latest trends, including the increasing recognition by companies of the need to factor in both external and internal elements that influence their environmental impact, such as climate volatility and the competitive context in which they work.
