Alignment of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to ISO 14001:2015

Alignment of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to ISO 14001:2015 involves ensuring that the EMS conforms to the requirements and principles outlined in the ISO 14001:2015 standard.

Vysus supports our clients wishing to be certified to ISO14001:2015 by assessing the alignment and readiness for ISO certification.

The key assessment stages are:

Understanding ISO 14001 requirements: Reviewing the EMS against the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard, including its structure, key concepts, and core elements. This includes reviewing the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, environmental policy, environmental aspects and impacts, legal and other requirements, objectives and targets, environmental management programs, monitoring and measurement, and management review.

Gap analysis: Conduct a gap analysis to assess the current state of the organisation's EMS against the requirements of ISO 14001. Identify any areas where the EMS may not fully meet the standard's requirements or where improvements are needed to achieve alignment.

Developing an implementation plan: Develop a detailed implementation plan outlining the steps and actions needed to align the EMS with ISO 14001 requirements. This plan includes timelines, responsibilities, resources, and milestones for each phase of the implementation process.

Documenting EMS processes and procedures: Drafting revised documents as necessary for the processes, procedures, and documentation required by ISO 14001, such as the environmental policy, environmental aspects and impacts assessment, legal and regulatory compliance procedures, objectives and targets, operational controls, training programs, emergency preparedness and response procedures, and record-keeping requirements.

Implementing EMS improvements: Supporting the implementation of any necessary changes or improvements to the EMS to ensure alignment with ISO 14001 requirements.

Internal auditing: Conduct internal audits of the EMS on behalf of the client to assess its conformity with ISO 14001 requirements and identify any non-conformities or areas for improvement. This helps ensure that the EMS is effectively implemented and maintained in accordance with the standard.

Management review: Ensure the management review process is established and aligns with ISO 14001 requirements. This includes reviewing progress towards environmental objectives and targets, assessing compliance with legal and other requirements, and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Continual improvement: Establish processes for continual improvement of the EMS based on audit findings, management review outcomes, corrective actions, preventive actions, and changes in internal and external factors affecting environmental performance. This involves setting new objectives and targets, implementing action plans, monitoring progress, and revising strategies as needed to achieve environmental sustainability goals.