ISO 14001 Part 2
Chapter 8: Operation
The complying group must enforce activities under the operating criteria.
They must regulate intended changes. They have to review the results of unplanned events. The group has to perform actions to reduce negative effects.
The organization must have a life cycle perspective.
It shall establish controls. These controls are to address the design and development of products and services.
They must prepare for potential emergency incidents. They must respond to actual urgent cases.
Testing of planned response actions is a requirement. These actions shall be reviewed and revised.
Relevant knowledge and training is a must to all members of the organization.
Chapter 9: Performance Evaluation
The organization shall measure, check, analyse and test its environmental performance.
It shall ensure valid results.
It must determine the criteria to test its environmental performance.
The group shall schedule the date and time when the monitoring and measuring will be. It shall assess the strength of the environmental management system.
The consenting party must supply information on whether the environmental management system is implemented and upheld.
It shall conduct internal audits and planned intervals. It shall conform to the standards of this International Standard.
The party must produce an internal audit program. It shall involve methods and actions. It must select qualified auditors to handle the analyses.
The top management is assigned to review the organization’s environmental management system.
It shall ensure improving ability, adequacy, and actions.
The following are the outputs of the review:
- Conclusions of the environmental management system
- Decisions on outcomes and changes
- Essential tasks
- Opportunities of progress
- Implications for strategic command
Record all these data as necessary.
Chapter 10: Improvement
The organization must realize chances for progress.
They must test the need for action to end all causes of conflicts. This way, it will not occur again.
The group shall deal with corrective actions.
They must aim for continual developments of the environmental management system to enhance environmental performance.
Annex A : Guidance on the Use of this International Standard
- 1: General
This informative annex prevents errors in acquiring the demands of this International Standard.
This International Standard needs to be seen from a system or holistic perspective.
There exists an interrelationship of the terms in the clauses.
Change in authority is important in preserving the environmental management system.
It will assure the group can still do the intended outcomes.
The complying group should address planned and unplanned changes. This way, the changes won’t have any negative effects.
- 2: Clarification of Structure and Terminology
It is unnecessary to apply documented information for establishing environmental management systems.
Organizations may apply their own terms that will suit their company type, records,files or protocols.
- 3: Clarification of Concepts
In this International Standard, the words below possesses specific meaning:
- Use signifies options or choice.
- Appropriate implies some degree of freedom.
- Applicable suggests potential to apply or something relevant.
- Consider specifies as necessary to the topic.
- Take into account indicates something important but not essential.
- Continual refers to progress from time to time.
- Effect describes the result of a change.
- Environmental impact relates to effects in the environment.
- Ensure pertains that duties are allocated among the group.
- Interested party corresponds to stakeholder and represents the same idea.
- Compliance obligations replace legal requirements but retain the same meaning.
- Documented information represents a collective word for records, files, and protocols.
- External provider involves outside the company supplier.
- Determine implies a process resulting to knowledge.
- Intended outcome relates to what the company wishes to do.
- Persons doing work refers to people in the complying group.
- Environmental objective captures the concept of target for the environmental management system.
- 4: Context of the Organization
There are important issues that the organization must address.
It’s necessary that problems are up for talks and debate to mitigate its negative effects on the group. In this way, harmful impacts are controlled.
Being aware of the internal and external issues will cause either risk or chances to the complying company.
Understanding the context of the company can contribute to continual progress of the environmental management system.
An organization should gain a general knowledge and understanding of the stated needs and hopes of interested parties.
These needs and hopes will develop as one demand for the complying group.
Most of these have been incorporated into laws, procedures, permits, and licenses.
These must be taken into account when planning the environmental management system.
The aim of the environmental management system is to set the physical and organizational boundaries.
A group has the freedom and flexibility to define its limits.
It may or may not admit the complete International Standard.
In establishing the scope, the credibility of the environmental management system depends upon the chosen organizational boundaries.
The complying group maintains control of duties and tasks on how to meet the rules and terms of this International Standard.
They should establish processes to carry desired outcomes and should have faith in it.
They must integrate the requirements of the environmental management system into various business tasks.
- 5: Leadership
It is necessary for the top management to be involved in specific duties and tasks to exhibit leadership and pledge.
An environmental policy is a set of intents and promises produced by the top management to support and enhance environmental performance.
This enables the complying group to establish environmental objectives, produce necessary actions, and meet constant progress.
Every member of the organization should comprehend their role, tasks and duties according to the requirements of this International Standard.
A.6: Planning
The aim of the established processes are:
- Meet desired results of the environmental management system
- Prevent or reduce unwanted effects
- Meet continual progress
A chance occurs if the group complies with the requirements, and a gamble happens if the group cannot follow the requirements.
Other issues such as environmental conditions and needs and expectations of interested parties can peril the success of the company in accomplishing positive outputs.
The complying company determines its environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts that demand to be addressed by its environmental management system.
Environmental impacts may pass at local, regional and global scales, likewise direct, indirect or cumulative by nature.
There prevails a relationship between environmental aspects and environmental impacts.
In the acknowledgement of environmental aspects, a life perspective is examined.
Typical stages of a product (or service) life course involves:
- Acquiring raw materials
- Design
- Manufacture
- Delivery
- Use
- End of usage
- Final disposal
Environmental aspects that can assist a verdict should be deemed too.
The complying group determines the extent of control it can exercise, the environmental aspects it can influence, and the intensity to which it exercises such influence.
Environmental criteria are the primary and least principles for assessing environmental aspects.
The following are the mandatory legal requirements of the company:
- Necessary documents from relevant persons
- International, national and local laws and terms;
- Permits, licenses and other forms of approval
- Orders, rules or procedures from regulatory agencies;
- Judgments of courts or administrative tribunals.
Given technological options, it is best to review techniques that are viable, affordable and judged appropriate.
Employing environmental cost accounting methodologies isn’t vital but encouraged.
Top management may establish environmental objectives at the strategic, the tactical or operational levels.
Members of the group should have the control and ability to do the environmental objectives.
Selected indicators test the effort of measurable environmental objectives.
A. 7: Support
The leaders of the complying group should ensure that the group has the necessary resources.
The group involves sources for effective and efficient functioning and for continuous progress.
The competency requirements of this International Standard apply to all the members of the organization whose work affects environmental performance.
Those under the company should recognize the company’s environmental management system and the wanted outcomes.
When establishing the communication processes, the company must regard its internal structure to ensure a smooth flow of data exchange.
Qualities of a good communication process:
- Transparency, implying that there’s a recognized source of data
- Appropriate, thus satisfying the demands of external parties
- Truthful and not misleading
- Factual and accurate
- Has all relevant data
- Understandable to all interested parties
It is best to produce and preserve documented information in a sufficient manner which focuses on the actions made about the environmental management system.
If necessary, the firm may produce other documented information not stated in this International Standard.
A.8: Operation
The type and extent of controls for operation depends on:
- Nature of the controls
- Risks and chances
- Environmental aspects
- Compliance obligations
The decision on to what extent of control for business processes relies on:
- Knowledge
- Competence
- Resources
- Potential effect of a product or service
- Extent of shared control
- How to meet necessary control
- Opportunities for progress
When external providers supply a product or service, the group doesn’t have the direct control.
An outsourced process fulfills:
- Within the environmental management system
- Integral to the duties and tasks of the group
- Essential to meet desired results
- Relationship between the two
By presenting enough data, a company can prevent or mitigate negative environmental impacts during any of the life cycle stages.
When planning for essential actions and response activities, the firm should regard:
- The most appropriate methods
- Communication process
- Post emergency evaluation
- Periodic testing
- Training
- Important contact details
- Evacuation routes
- Assembly points
- Mutual help
- Actions to prevent negative environmental effects
A.9: Performance Evaluation
The methods defined in the environmental management system that are for monitoring and measuring, analyzing and testing ensures:
- Coordination with the timing and the need
- Results are reliable, reproducible and traceable
- Enables the group to report trends
The company may utilise a variety of procedures to preserve its knowledge and understanding of its compliance status.
Compliance obligations require to be evaluated from time to time.
Noncompliance implies nonconformity unless identified and corrected by the complying group.
Auditors are independent of their audited tasks and processes. These tasks should be free from bias and interest of conflict.
The scheduled management review may not have detailed data. It can be top level.
Suitability entails how the group produces its environmental management system.
Adequacy refers to the sufficiency of implementing essential files and records.
Effectiveness pertains to the success of the environmental management system.
- 10: Improvement
The complying group must regard the results of the analysis and rating of all essential factors when planning and directing actions to improve.
The environmental management system acts as a preventive tool.
Environmental performance can be enhanced by applying the environmental management system either as a whole or improving one or more of its factors.