ISO 14001 Certification is a set of guidelines for implementing Environmental Management System (EMS) in your organization. It is the most widely used standard for EMS in the world with more than 4 lacs ISO 14001 certificates issued worldwide.
ISO 14001 is a management system standard that enlists the requirements for the establishment and maintenance of an EMS. This helps in improving the interaction of your business activities with the environment by reducing the impacts and creating awareness among your workforce regarding the same.
ISO 14001 Certification is accompanied by ISO 14004 Environmental Management Systems – General Guidelines on principles, systems, and support techniques. This standard covers the details about the establishment, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of EMS.
Why is Environmental Management important for you?
For an organization of any size or any area of operation, Environmental Management is extremely important, particularly in today’s world when there has been a constant rise in awareness about the deteriorating environment. Climate change, atmospheric pollution, soil pollution, groundwater pollution, ozone layer depletion, ill-management of hazardous waste are some of the major environmental concerns in the world. With the help of ISO 14001, an organization can establish certain processes that can check the harmful effect of your activities on the environment and make you compliant with all the legal obligations that are related to environmental protection.
ISO 14001 certification acts as proof of your commitment to a better environment. This builds a level of confidence among your customers, clients, and other stakeholders that you are aware of your environmental obligations. ISO 14001 certification not only helps you in reducing environmental impact but also reduces costs and improves the efficiency of your processes. Since ISO 14001 Certification is an internationally accepted standard, certification to it opens up huge opportunities for your business on the global platform.
Benefits of ISO 14001 Certification (EMS):
There are various benefits of having ISO 14001 certification. These are:
– Improvement of career opportunities in the environmental industry
– Reduction of the impact on the environment
– Increase in awareness regarding environmental issues
– Reduction of waste generation, as well as reduced costs
– Boost in the image of the organization about its commitments
– Enhanced profits
ISO 14001 Certification Requirements:
The High-Level Structure (HLS) of ISO 14001 Certification provides certain requirements that are essential for the implementation of an effective and efficient environmental management system (EMS). These requirements are designed in such a way that they can be applied to organizations of any size, sector, location, or even the level of maturity. The requirements list all the elements of EMS that need to be covered.
There are ten sections, called clauses, in the ISO 14001:2015 standard. The first three sections are a basic introduction, which deals with scope, normative references for a better understanding of the standard, and terms and definitions. The last seven sections give the actual requirements of the EMS.
(Clause 4) Context of the organization
(Clause 5) Leadership
(Clause 6) Planning
(Clause 7) Support
(Clause 8) Operation
(Clause 9) Performance evaluation
(Clause 10) Improvement.
How can we help you?
Once you have implemented the EMS in your organization, it becomes necessary for you to get yourself audited to achieve ISO 14001 certification. When you choose Al Tawakkal Management Consultancy to perform the audits, you need to first fill up the application form. Once you have reviewed all the requirements of the certification, you may plan your audits accordingly.
There are some mandatory steps to obtain ISO 14001 certification. Once the formality of documentation has been taken care of, the following steps should be followed to acquire the certification:
Internal Audit – this is done to verify the data provided by you in the form.
Management Audit – the administration of your organization conducts a survey to understand the practical realities.
Corrective activities – After the internal and management audits, you are required to analyze and close the gaps that are observed. Make sure to archive information about the actions that were taken to fill those gaps.
The process of obtaining ISO 14001 certification comprises of two stages:
Stage one (documentation survey) – the reviewers from Al Tawakkal Management Consultancy will thoroughly verify if the documentation meets the prerequisites of ISO 14001 certification.
Stage two (Primary audit) – Here, the consistency between your documentation and the requirements of ISO 14001 certification are verified. This is done by a thorough investigation of reports, records, and company practices.
If you want to know more about ISO 14001 certification or you want to apply for it, get in touch with Al Tawakkal Management Consultancy. With more than 16,000 satisfied clients spread across more than 55 countries, we stand to be among one of the best certification bodies in the world. Our integrity is our pride and our timely operation is our commitment. Al Tawakkal Management Consultancy takes pride in our vast pool of experienced auditors who aim at thoroughly assessing your management system, identify gaps, and award you the certification at the end of successful completion of the audit.
