ISO 14001:2015 - Environmental Management Systems

What is an Environmental Management System?

An Environmental Management System or EMS is a structured system which enables an organisation to manage their environmental aspects and impacts and improve their environmental performance and operational efficiency.

Through the identification of environmental aspects, relevant processes can be implemented to mitigate the severity of the associated impacts and improve environmental performance. A robust and effective Environmental Management System will ensure your employees are educated, protected against environmental risk and constantly striving to increase environmental performance in the context of your organisation. Put simply, an Environmental Management System involves documenting and implementing how the principles of the environmental management standard (ISO 14001:2015) are to be addressed.

JLB can offer implementation, assistance and review of your Environmental Management System to ensure you are up to speed with the latest legal, regulatory and international environmental guidelines. Whether you are at the start of your environmental journey or wishing to integrate an EMS with your current systems, JLB focuses on customising the experience to fit your organisation.

What are the Benefits of an Environmental Management System?

An EMS focuses on minimising negative impacts on the environment, complying with relevant environmental laws and regulations, and recognising potential environmental hazards to your business.

An effective environmental management system allows organisations to continually ensure that issues or factors pertinent to the environment aren’t overlooked whilst also remaining commercially successful by reducing unnecessary costs through increased waste management performance. Furthermore, by ensuring you are complying with the relevant environmental regulations and legislation, you can decrease the risk of any fines resulting from non-compliance.

What is ISO 14001:2015?

ISO 14001:2015 is the International Standard which details the requirements and guidance for best practice of an Environmental Management System, which is applicable to any organisation, regardless of size, type and industry. By ensuring your EMS is ISO 14001 certified, you can prove that you meet the requirements of an Internationally recognised standard.

The ISO 14001 standard adopts a risk-based approach to the management of the environment with the aim of ensuring environmental sustainability and continually improving environmental performance, where possible. The Standard has been based on proven methods of business process management and optimisation.

ISO 14001 works to help organisations improve their environmental performance in a systematic manner and address the economic, social and environment pillars of sustainability. Through analysing the interested parties, establishing environmental goals and objectives and recognising the economic impact involved, an organisation which adheres to the requirements of ISO 14001 can gain a competitive advantage in any industry and gain the trust of key stakeholders.

The ISO 14001 Standard follows the same Annex SL High-Level structure of many other international Standards including ISO 9001 Quality and ISO 45001 Safety. With an initial focus on understanding the environmental context of the organisation and establishing an environmental policy, topics such as leadership, planning, support and performance evaluation are considered. Continual improvement remains a prominent theme with the view to improve environmental performance and efficiency at the forefront of the standards objective.

Why Certify Your EMS to the ISO 14001 Standard?

A certified system proves that you have considered all environmental issues relevant to your organisations operations, such as air pollution, water and sewage issues, waste management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and resource use and efficiency.

Demonstrating compliance to ISO 14001 can strongly enhance your corporate image through the strengthening of your environmental reputation. Clear and documented environmental objectives which are continually monitored and reported on allow for employees at all levels to engage with the EMS and increase the sense of both environmental and social responsibility within an organisation.

A ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System can also give an organisation a competitive advantage as many corporations and government-based companies require certification as pre-requisite of trading or engaging in tenders and contracts.

How We Can Help With Your Environmental Management System

JLB can assist your organisation at any stage of your environmental journey. Our experienced and professional ISO 14001 consultants will begin by assessing your current Environmental Management System through a Gap Analysis to ascertain its respective strengths and weaknesses. From there, our team tailors a system to suit your needs.

From the Initial Environmental Review, the creation of an Aspects and Impacts Register and even the creation of an Emergency Plan we develop your documentation and associated management system manual to meet the requirements of the international Standard whilst also adding value to your business.

We can also provide Environmental Specific Training which covers all clauses of the ISO 14001 Standard including, context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and continual improvement:

What to Expect When You Work with JLB

With over 30 years of experience with the implementation and maintenance of Environmental Management Systems, JLB are perfectly placed to assist with driving your business forward and improving your environmental performance. Our consultants offer a hands-on approach to guiding you through the process in a straightforward and stress-free manner. With a full time support team working simultaneously with our experienced consultants, you can rest assured your environmental management system is in safe hands.

Whether you are just starting out or wanting to integrate your management system to include other international Standards, such as 9001 Quality or 45001 Safety, our team will tailor make a package to suit your organisation, ensuring you reach third party certification first time round.

The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Process

Implementing and maintaining an environmental management system with JLB follows a step-by-step process starting with education around the standard and giving your team the tools, they need to succeed. Our consultants will then assist with the implementation process taking you all the way through to third-party certification of your ISO 14001 environmental management system!

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Documentation

Like any management system, documentation is a key component of your environmental management system. JLB will work with you to coordinate your documentation to ensure it meets the requirements of the ISO 14001 Standard. This includes ensuring your environmental policy statement, management manual, work instructions, forms and emergency plans are formulated in line with the standard.

Why Choose JLB for the Development of your Environmental Management System?

JLB are environmental management system experts with proven success in helping organisations reach third party certification to ISO 14001:2015.

Call us to find out how an ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System can specifically benefit your business.