ISO 14001 is the umbrella standard for all standards related to environmental management, which is why it is called the environmental management standard. An environmental management system itself is a tool that organizations can use to work with continuous improvements in the environmental field. In this blog post, we go deeper into ISO 14001 and what the certification means.
ISO 14001 - the environmental management standard
An environmental management system facilitates active environmental management, which in turn comes with a variety of benefits. It can lead to positive effects for the business through streamlined, reduced use of resources and lower waste management costs - but also for the environment and the world at large.
The benefits of an environmental management system:
- Reduced use of resources
- Reduced waste generation and waste management costs
- Goodwill and increased confidence in the environmental performance of the business (internal and external)
- More renewable resources
- Better communication between the business and partners
What is required to be certified with ISO 14001?
To become certified, an organization needs to meet the requirements of the environmental management standard. For this to be possible, there needs to be a functioning quality management system and an environmental policy in place.
The environmental policy should form the basis of your environmental work and steer it in the right direction. It is therefore important that you design it to suit your business - and take into account the environmental aspects that are relevant to you.
In order to be able to work continuously with environmental work, it is important that the system is documented continuously and that it is done in a transparent way - for example with a digital tool. The documentation should make it easier to follow up and check that you maintain a continued high level of environmental work.
To consider when you are going to certify with ISO 14001:
- Make sure you have a quality management system that supports environmental work
- Have an environmental policy that is adapted to your business
- Document environmental work in a clear way, preferably with a digital tool
