Organizations in all industry spheres have so far realized the essence of environmental management. It is necessary to prevent or reduce the impacts of their day-to-day business activities on the environment. Our environment comprises natural resources, living beings, and their habitats like soil, forests, and water bodies. Businesses should realize that their operations rely on natural resources and so they must pay attention to controlling their impacts on the environment. When it comes to controlling environmental impacts, there is no better way than implementing the ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS).
ISO 14001 is the international standard that defines the key requirements for designing and establishing an EMS in businesses. Hundreds of organizations have implemented an EMS agreeing to the standard and have derived measurable benefits. They experience a reduction in waste, process efficiency, cost savings, energy efficiency, and so on! If you are eager to get this standardized EMS implemented, here this guide below will help you. Take a look.
5 Easy Steps to Get the ISO 14001 Environment Management System Implemented in Your Business
- Get Information on the ISO 14001 Standard
To have the EMS implemented according to the ISO 14001 standard, acquiring sufficient knowledge about the standard is necessary. To start with, you need to know what an EMS is and how it works in a business.
Having knowledge about the EMS will help you to grasp the information provided by the standard. It basically underlines the criteria for implementing and documenting the EMS. You need to learn them so that you can apply them.
- Initial Review and Analysis of Environmental Management Practices
It is then necessary to perform an initial review of your organization’s current environmental practices. This will help you understand the present position of your business against the ISO 14001 standard. Thus, you can estimate the work that needs to be done to implement the ISO-compliant EMS. Therefore, this step will assist you to determine a roadmap for your EMS implementation.
- Buy-in the Support of Employees and Management Members
The implementation of the EMS needs lots of tasks including documentation, introduction of new practices, improvement of processes, and reviews. Thus, it needs the participation of the whole organization, from the top management team to employees at all levels. Every individual or team has a role to play.
While the employees should make sure the EMS is implemented well with new procedures and practices, the management team should ensure their effectiveness. The latter should perform regular reviews and internal audits to ensure that the EMS is making progress towards the predetermined environmental goals of your organization.
- Assort and Maintain the Necessary Documents
Documentation that involves creating an EMS manual is a mandatory requirement underlined by the ISO 14001 standard. Preparing all the necessary documents, filing them, and maintaining them are extensive processes. To begin the step, you must have a look and in-depth understanding of your EMS procedures and practices.
Some of the crucial things to document are EMS scope, environmental policy, methods of identification and evaluation of hazards, objectives, list of interested parties, communication channels, methods of performance monitoring, compliance evaluation record, and corrective actions.
- Implement the EMS
This last step is of course about implementing the EMS. It follows just after the documentation. The management team needs to hold training sessions and educate the employees regarding the EMS implementation. They must be trained to follow the documented procedures appropriately.
When the employees do as they are instructed and you see certain progress in your environmental performance, it is time to thoroughly audit the EMS. It is necessary to confirm its ISO 14001 compliance. If you find any noncompliance issues, implement corrective actions to resolve them. This would result in certain improvements in your QMS.
When the implementation is done and you are confidant in the effectiveness or performance of your EMS, it is presumed to be certification ready. However, take at least 3 months’ time to ensure the success of the ISO 14001 environmental management system. Evaluate its performance by conducting management reviews, collect records, and analyze the progress made. Thereafter, you can decide to get it certified by applying to a registrar.
