ISO 14001 Changes update – Free Seminar – Friday 16th May 2014

On the 3^rd May last year in our web article ‘ISO 14001 Changes due will affect all organisations’ we updated you on the proposed changes to the internationally recognised environmental management system standard.
The revised version of ISO 14001 has now received overwhelming support from ISO members, ensuring the draft international environmental management system standard will progress to the next step. More than 80 percent of ISO members who were balloted voted to move the revision of ISO 14001 to a draft international standard, or DIS.
CRS’S Head of Environment, Richard Ball commented ‘It is vital that at the heart of the EMS is a competent influencer, with the environmental knowledge and communication skills to ensure the new standard is integrated throughout the organisation. The current draft will require organisations to consider environmental issues as strategic risk and opportunities, requiring all managers to have a clearer understanding of sustainability issues.’
Martin Baxter executive director of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment and the UK’s appointed expert on the revision to ISO 14001, says the changes being proposed are significant, integrating environmental management into organization strategy and decision-making and adding more emphasis on improving environmental performance. According to an IEMA member survey, more than 90 percent supported proposals for aligning environmental management systems with an organization’s strategy.
A growing number of organizations are pursuing ISO 14001 certification. In its annual survey of certifications, the International Organization for Standardization said the number of ISO 14001 environmental management system certificates at the end of 2012 was up 9 percent to 285,844 over the previous year.
The current draft includes changes from two key sources, the first aligns the standard to the new ISO high level structure, the first of the main standards to do so. The new high level structure is a departure from the existing, policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action and management review model, replacing it with Leadership, Planning, support and operation, performance evaluation and improvement. This new structure will be used in all future ISO management standards e.g. ISO 9001.
 
In addition to the significant change of the new high level structure, the key new proposed alterations from these two sources of change include:

• A stronger integration of environmental management into the strategic planning of the organisation.
• Evaluation of Business Risk and Opportunities in an environmental context
• Life Cycle approach and Value Chain planning and Control
• Indicators and Communication

Corporate Risk Systems are running a FREE Seminar on Friday 16^th May 2014  at Sahara Force India Formula 1, Silverstone where you can find out more about the changes and the range of courses to support workforce development in environmental issues, and our IEMA - Full membership (MIEMA) to IEMA (incorporating Associate Certificate in Environmental Management) by Applied Learning which supports the development of environmental practitioners. A guest speaker from IEMA will also be giving a short presentation . If you are interested in finding our more come along on 16^th May and see how we can help you. To get on the guest list and for more information about the event contact Ros Stacey rs@crsrisk.com 01283 509175