ISO 14001 Certification - What does it mean?

An organisation obtaining an ISO 14001 certificate means that the organisation has voluntarily established the procedures and guidelines for Environment Management System and these have been audited and certified by an independent agency called a certifying body or third party.

What is Environmental Management System (EMS)?

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of policy measures, management actions, operating procedures, documentation and record keeping with defined responsibilities and accountability of personnel within an organisation to address its environmental issues. It is a problem identification and problem-solving tool, which can be implemented in an organisation in different ways depending upon the needs and objectives of an organisation. It provides a framework through which an organisation can minimise the harmful effects of its activities on the environment. An EMS is a programme of continuous environmental improvement following a defined sequence of steps drawn from established project management practice and routinely applied in business management. In simple terms, these steps can be outlined as follows:

• review the environmental consequences of the operations;
• define a set of policies and objectives for environmental performance;
• establish an action plan to achieve the objectives;
• monitor performance against these objectives;
• report the results appropriately; and
• review the system, and strive for continuous improvement.

What is ISO?

ISO stands for International Standards Organisation which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The short form "ISO" is not an acronym, but instead is derived from the Greek "isos", meaning "equal" (implying "standard"). ISO was founded in 1947. It promotes the international harmonisation and development of manufacturing, product and communications standards. ISO has laid down more than 8000 standards ranging from paper sizes to film speeds. More than 120 countries are full ISO voting members, while several other countries serve as observer members. India is a founder and a full voting member of ISO and is officially represented by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). ISO produces internationally harmonised standards through various Technical Committees.

What ISO 14001 stands for?

ISO 14001 specifies the standard for establishment and maintenance of an environmental management system (EMS). It belongs to the ISO-14000 series of standards relating to environmental management including eco-labelling and environmental audit etc.

Which Organisations can adopt ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is applicable to any organisation that is defined as a "Company, Corporation, Firm, Enterprise, Authority or Institution or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or private, that has its own functions and administration". Therefore, any organisation, small or big, manufacturing industry or business house can get ISO 14001 certification by establishing and maintaining EMS as per ISO 14001 specifications.

What is the Validity of ISO 14001 Certificate?

Though ISO 14001 Standard does not specify the validity period of certification but normally it is valid for 3 years, and the certification needs to be renewed after every three years. During the currency of certificate, internal audit and surveillance audits are conducted to ensure that EMS is maintained as per environmental management plan.

What is Environmental Management System Audit?

It is a systematic, periodic, independent and documented verification process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether an organisation’s EMS conforms to the EMS audit criteria set by the organisation, and for communication of the results of this process to management.

What is meant by 1^st party, 2^nd party and 3^rd party audits?

1^st Party or Internal Audit is carried out within the Company so that the business can maintain control of the environmental performance and the EMS.

2^nd Party audit is one where a purchasing Company audits a supplier to be satisfied that the product is being manufactured according to specifications.

3^rd Party audit is defined as the one where an independent certification body audits an organisation in order to issue a certificate of approval that the system meets the specification of the standard (ISO 14001).

What is meant by Self-declaration and third party certification?

ISO 14001 standard allows an enterprise to self certify that it has established and it is maintaining an EMS as per ISO 14001 after carrying internal audit. Third party certification is the certification which is issued by an independent agency after satisfying that the organisation’s EMS conforms to ISO 14001 standard.