The 14001 certification is an internationally recognized environmental management standard that outlines best practices for companies to follow. It focuses on an organization’s ability to minimize its impact on the environment through the use of an Environmental Management System (EMS). The process for setting up an EMS is extensive and can take time, but in the end it will benefit your company by improving the public image of the business, creating efficiency in business operations, reducing costs, lowering environmental risk, and saving on resources and energy.
Having an EMS in place will allow your company to monitor your environmental aspects and performance, identify opportunities for improvement and set goals for compliance with regulatory requirements. Your employees can get involved with a culture of continuous improvement, helping to lower your carbon footprint and improve overall performance of your company.
ISO 14001 Explained: The What, Why, and How of Environmental Management
Once your EMS is in place, you will need to conduct internal audits and a Management Review to help you see how your processes are working. This will allow you to find and address issues before they become a non-conformance that could impact your registration with the Registrar.
Once the Registrar has verified your documentation and confirmed that you have met all of the requirements for the ISO 14001 standard, they will give you your certificate. After a period of time, your EMS will need to be re-certified by the Registrar to ensure that you continue to meet the standards. Keeping up with these requirements is vital to maintaining your registration and continued environmental management.
