Introduction

Around the world, there is growing concern about climate change, sustainability, and other environmental issues. The community at large is paying increasing attention to how business activities impact the environment. In fact, some customers are now specifying environmental management requirements for their suppliers to meet.

Perhaps the most tangible proof of an organization’s environmental commitment is that its management system is certified to ISO 14001.

While thousands of organizations have already achieved that distinction, more than 5 times as many have management systems certified to the ISO 9001 quality standard. Many thousands more have management systems but have not yet applied for certification. For them, a logical progression might be to expand their existing Quality Management System to an Integrated Management System that also meets ISO 14001 requirements. This article briefly looks at the issues involved in doing just that. Before continuing, let’s clarify what the series or families of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards are about.

The ISO 9000 family addresses quality management. This means what the organization does to meet customer quality requirements, while also addressing the needs and expectations of other interested parties.

The ISO 14000 family addresses environmental management. This means what the organization does to eliminate or reduce harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities.

In both cases, an organization must maintain compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and work towards continual performance improvement.

The good news

You know those conversations where they ask you “Do you want good news or bad news?” Well, in this case, there’s really no bad news, just some extra activities and controls that need to be implemented. We’ll get to that in a moment, but the good news is that if you have an ISO 9001-compliant management system, you ALREADY comply with most of ISO 14001. The reason is that many of the requirements are very similar. . It is mainly a question of focus: on the quality of the product/service OR on the environment.

What are the similarities and differences?

-Similarities

The following list, while not exhaustive, indicates some key areas where the 2 standards have at least broadly similar philosophy and requirements:

• Based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
• Objectives to achieve continuous improvement
• Set the general policy
• Set measurable goals
• Assign responsibilities/authorities
• Make sure people have been trained, are competent and aware of their role.
• document the system
• Manage those documents
• Manage activities
• deal with exceptions
• Manage Records
• Plan and perform internal audits
• Management review

differences

Well apart from them focusing on different compliance issues, there are also some practical differences between the requirements of the 2 standards. These include:

ISO 9001 is more prescriptive in its documentation requirements

For example, there are requirements for you to have a “Quality Manual” and documented procedures for at least 6 clauses:

• Documents control
• record control
• Internal audits
• Control of nonconforming product
• corrective action
• preventive action

While ISO 14001 DOES have similar clauses and requires procedures to manage those activities, they do NOT need to be documented. However, if you have already documented them in order to comply with ISO 9001, those existing documented procedures can also be applied to your environmental management activities. They just need to be reviewed and adjusted to suit both purposes.

ISO 14001 does not include a requirement for something similar to a Quality manual. However, if you already have one, it could be expanded to include relevant information such as the environmental policy, information on environmental responsibilities and authorities, and a table indicating how the system addresses the various ISO 14001 clauses. In such cases, it is quite common to change the name of the Quality Manual to Business Manual or Compliance Manual.

Consideration of environmental aspects and impacts

For those who have only been exposed to quality management, one of the key differences in ISO 14001 will be found in Clause 4.3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS.

Certain aspects of an organization’s activities, products or services will have an impact on the environment. For your organization, you need to identify what those aspects are, what impacts they have, and assess their importance. This could be considered a risk assessment activity. You should then implement controls to manage those that are considered significant. At this point, it might be useful to offer a definition of the terms ‘environmental aspect’ and ‘environmental impact’:

• Environmental aspect An element of an activity, product or service that has an impact on the environment.
• Environmental impact A change made to the environment as a result of an environmental aspect.

You can think of them simply in terms of cause and effect. Here are some examples of environmental aspects:

• Cardboard consumption for product packaging
• Fuel consumption for delivery vehicles
• Energy use for office lighting.

The following are examples of environmental impacts:

• Annoying noise for the local community.
• Depletion of non-renewable energy resource
• Water Pollution
• the air pollution
• Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

To address this element of the standard, an initial environmental review is needed to identify its aspects and impacts, assess their significance, and plan a hierarchy of controls to manage them appropriately.

external communications

While both standards require organizations to establish methods of internal communication about the management system, ISO 14001 also requires procedures for handling communications with external stakeholders, such as customers, regulators, and the community at large.

What are the key challenges?

We asked some representatives of certification bodies: What do you consider to be the number 1 challenge for an organization moving from a QMS to an IMS that incorporates the requirements of ISO 14001?

In the opinion of Scott Walker, Queensland Operations Support Manager for SAI Global:

The biggest challenge for a QMS changing to an IMS incorporating the requirements of ISO 14001 is the shift in focus from product risks to those associated with the environment and human health, and from consumer protection to consumer protection. environment.

Garry Allan, Senior Environmental Auditor also with SAI Global comments:

Many IMSs struggle to adequately focus on the specific requirements of each area.

Ian White, Senior Quality and Environmental Auditor at Sci-Qual suggests:

An Organization must define the EMS framework related to both the system requirements of the 14001 standard and the significant environmental aspects linked to its activities. Ideally, the Organization will carry out an environmental audit of its operations to establish the environmental aspects associated with its operations. From a commercial viability perspective, the Company must then assess the risks of its significant environmental aspects to minimize potential and/or actual significant environmental impacts that may/occur as a result of its activities. The number one challenge is to include those significant environmental aspects, their impacts and controls in the organization’s operating procedures.

So how do you go from a QMS to an IMS that incorporates the requirements of ISO 14001? The first step is to perform a gap analysis.

gap analysis

A gap analysis is a study to compare a current situation with a desired situation. There are two key questions:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to go?

To answer those questions in the context of environmental management, prepare a table listing the requirements of ISO 14001 (or at least a summary or interpretation of them). The ISO 14001 standard can be obtained from your local standards association and other approved sources. For each clause, you can note the current arrangements (if any) that are in place, and the gaps between them, and how to achieve compliance.

The gap analysis can be done in-house or by a consultant or in-house, perhaps using a commercially available planning tool. The choice of which path to take can be determined by a number of factors, including the level of internal expertise, the complexity of the business, and its environmental aspects/impacts. Regardless of how it is done, the gap analysis provides the cornerstone on which to plan and develop the broader IMS.

As mentioned above, you will also need to perform an initial environmental review.

Certificate

Many certification bodies that audit and certify to ISO 9001 will perform the same service for ISO 14001. The cost of certifying an integrated management system that addresses both standards should also be less than simply doubling the price of a single certification. There may be reductions in administration costs and audit time. Contact your certification body to discuss your combined certification options.

conclusion

Concern for the environment is likely to increase further. Having a management system certified to ISO 14001 is perhaps the most tangible proof of an organization’s environmental commitment.

For those with an existing Quality Management System, moving to an IMS that is also ISO 14001 compliant could be more than you imagined. It is certainly worth considering on many levels. Much of the necessary work can usually be done in-house. This can be assisted by consulting services, training and guidance software, to save time and administrative effort.

Expressions of gratitude:

Many thanks for valuable input from: Scott Walker and Garry Allan of SAI Global, Ben White and Ian White of Sci-Qual International, and Steve Keeling of JAS-ANZ.