Public consultation on the Draft International Standard (ISO 14001 DIS) between July and October 2014 has now been completed. As a member of the IEMA I was lucky enough to be able to see both Committee Drafts and comment on the standards before they became public. I’m looking forward to seeing the Final Draft in February 2015. Interesting times ahead…

Catch you soon!

The draft version of ISO 14001:2015 is now available for purchase – click here to purchase a copy.

Catch you soon!

P.S. Word on the grapevine is that there will be a 2 year transition period.

In early 2014 the second committee draft (CD2) of the revised ISO 14001 standard was formally adopted. In it, the section on ‘organisational risks and opportunities’ has been completely reworked. For many organisations, the changes around environmental aspects and impacts and ‘organisational risks and opportunities’ will provide a timely opportunity to overhaul the way they approach environmental risk management. But will they take it? In the June 2014 edition of WME Magazine I explored what organisations will need to do to adapt to the changes to EMS scope and boundaries. Click here to read the article.

Keep your eye out for the Draft International Standard (DIS) due out July/August 2014 where the guidance will appear. This will be the first chance organisations outside the initial review and consultation process will get to see the revised standard. The proactive users will then start assessing gaps, planning changes and training internal auditors to begin the change process.

Catch you soon!

In March 2013 the Committee Draft 1 (CD1) of the new standard was prepared for feedback. I’ve included a quick summary of the main changes below. See my whole article on the changes in the October 2013 edition of WME Magazine here.

• Content and Structure: A full restructure to align with ISO’s new high-level clause structure (like 9001), with the Annex revised to provide interpretation of the requirements rather than guidance as it does currently.
• Top Management: A definition of top management has been added and top management’s involvement is more defined, with more detail around the role of leaders in the implementation and review of the EMS.
• EMS and the Value Chain: Arguably the changes with the broadest impact on the EMS, the scope of the EMS is expanded to apply to aspects across an organisation’s value chain. The introduction of a life cycle perspective and control or influence of upstream/downstream aspects add to the complexity of this change.
• Performance Indicators: Strengthened requirements for objectives and targets through the introduction of performance indicators (at least one indicator for each objective, with performance evaluated and demonstrated for each indicator).

What Next? A second committee draft of the revised standard is due out at the end of 2014, with the Draft International Standard (DIS) due out in April 2015. The final revised standard should be available in May 2015. The transition period will be announced prior to release of the final standard. Judging by the scope of this revision, organisations will be provided with at least the 18 month transition period granted for the previous revision in 2004.

Catch you soon!

Nearly 10 years after its last revision, members of ISO Technical Committee 207 have gathered to start on the next version of ISO 14001 the environmental management systems standard. It will be the most comprehensive revision yet. The planned timetable for the new standard is included below. Timeline courtesy of IEMA (www.iema.net).

• May 2015: The revised ISO 14001 will be adopted and published, and the transitional period for organisations with certifications will begin.
• Feb 2015: Final Draft International Standard (FDIS).
• Jul 2014: Draft International Standard (DIS).
• Mid 2014: Final Ballot takes place for adoption of the new 14001 standard.
• October 2013: Second Committee Draft (CD2) released for consultation.
• March 2013: First Committee Draft 1 (CD1) prepared for feedback.

In this blog we’ll also be helping you to keep an eye on updates to:

• ISO 45001 (safety): replaces AS/NZS4801 and OHSAS 18001.
• ISO 9001 (quality): update to existing 9001:2008.

Catch you soon!