ISO 14001 - ISO's global standard for environmental management systems - was revised earlier this month. The updated version of the standard, dubbed ISO 14001:2015, places more emphasis on 'life cycle' thinking and company-wide communication whilst putting the onus on top-level managers to ensure that their EMS is properly implemented throughout the organisation.
But why were these changes necessary? What factors drove ISO to revise this (already highly successful) family of standards? This official video clip, starring ISO secretary-general Kevin McKinley, has the answer:
Here, in case you're unable to watch that video, are Mr McKinley's main points in summary:
- Oraganisations are under increasing pressure to meet the environmental requirements put in place by policymakers
- They also come under a lot of scrutiny from stakeholders who expect a certain degree of environmental consciousness from modern businesses
- 11 years have passed since the last ISO 14001 revision, and topics such as climate change and water/energy usage now form a far larger part of overall discourse
These were some of the changes that spurred ISO into action and necessitated a new version of the ISO 14001 standard.
To learn more about the ISO 14001 standard (and, more importantly, to find out how your business can get ISO 14001 certified), please visit our ISO 14001 page or click here to contact the NPT Management Systems team.
