The Benefits of ISO 14001 Framework for Environmental Management
The ISO 14001 framework and family of standards include a collection of environmental guidelines with the focus on general principles (ISO 14004), environmental assessments (ISO 14015), environmental performance evaluation (ISO 14031), environmental communication (ISO 14063), and greenhouse gases (ISO 14064) to name just a few.
Specifically, the ISO 14001 framework represents the international standard that provides the requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS) and stipulates the guidelines for the organisation to follow in establishing good environmental practices.
The International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) defines an environmental management system as “part of the management system used to manage environmental aspects, fulfil compliance obligations, and address risks and opportunities.”
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) is principally a tool to monitor the effects of an organization on the environment. ISO 14001 offers an organized method to understand the impact and to develop controls and processes to accomplish the impacts.
The ISO 14001 environmental framework is completely voluntary for organisations to adopt, and often it is integrated with other management system standards that assist organisations to achieve their compliance goals.
The framework integrates well with the quality management standard ISO 9001, and organisations usually opt for either one of these standards, or both.
Adhering to the ISO 14001 standard has many benefits for organisations relying on environmental management systems, including the ability to effectively measure the environmental impact of business operations and a visible improvement in resource utilisation and efficiency and waste reduction.
The standard proposes a complete and dynamic framework to measure, trend and report on the impact of materials, water, energy, biodiversity, effluents and emissions among others. Energy monitoring allows for the monitoring and measurement of all energy items used to determine an enterprise’s carbon footprint.
Compliance with global environmental guidelines assist enterprises with meeting and managing environmental obligations consistently to increase consumer and stakeholder trust. The result is improved overall environmental impact and competitive advantage in the marketplace, specifically in supply chain design and green business opportunities.
