What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 Overview

​ISO 14001:2015 is an international standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 162 national standards bodies.

​Revised in the year 2015 (hence the designation ISO 14001:2015), the intent of this standard is to provide organizations with the elements of an effective Environmental Management System (EMS) that can be integrated with other requirements and help organizations achieve their environmental and economic objectives.
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Environmental Management System Principles

​The ISO 14001:2015 standard is based on the methodology known as Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), which is a four-step model for continuous improvement:​
  • Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization’s EMS policy.
  • Do: implement the processes.
  • Check: monitor and measure processes against EMS policy, objectives, compliance obligations, and report the results.
  • Act: take actions to continually improve EMS performance.
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Intended Benefits of ISO 14001

The benefits of adopting ISO 14001 are considered to include:​
  • Increased emphasis on Environmental Management, including resource conservation and the prevention of pollution;
  • Improved identification and control of environmental aspects, and their related impacts;
  • improved environmental performance​ through emphasis on continual improvement; 
  • With ISO 14001 certification, demonstrated compliance with legal and other environmental compliance obligations.
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ISO 14001 - Getting Started