Overview of EMS and ISO 14001

Environmental Management SystemsDevelopment Course

Raleigh, NCJuly 24, 2001

Beth Graves NC Division of Pollution Prevention

and Environmental Assistance

What is ISO?

• International Organization for Standardization - Not an acronym

• "ISO" is a word, derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal.”

• From "equal" to "standard”-- line of thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as the organization’s name.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• Worldwide federation of national standards bodies from over 100 countries, one representative from each country.

• Non-governmental organization(NGO) established in 1947,located in Switzerland.

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is US representative to ISO

ISO Organization

S C 1T e rm s & D e f.

T C 1 76IS O 90 00

Q M S

S C 6T e rm s & D e f.

T C 2 07IS O 1 40 00

E M S

O th e r T C s ...

IS O

T M B(T e ch n ica l M g m t. B o a rd )

History• 1987 - World Commission on Env. & Development

(WCED) published “Our Common Future”– first use of “sustainable development”

– called for the development of effective env. management systems by industries

• 1989 - Creation of Strategic Advisory Group on the Environment (SAGE)– Recommended that a new ISO Technical Committee

(TC) be formed to develop standards for EM

• January 1993 - ISO creates TC 207 (TC 176 over QMS standards - ISO 9000)

• Fall 1996 – ISO 14001 adopted

Structure of ISO’s TC 207

S M EW G

W G 2G e n. G u id e lin es

W G 1S p e c ifica tion

S C 1E n v iro n m e n ta lM a na ge m e nt

S ys te m s

W G 4O th er In ve s t.

W G 3A u d. Q u a l.

W G 2A u d. P roce du res

W G 1A u d . P rin c ip les

S C 2E n v iro n m e n ta l

A u d it ing

W G 3G u id ing P rin .

fo rE n v. L ab e ling P ro g .

S C 3E n v iro n m e n ta l

L a b e lling

W G 2In d u stry S e c to r

E P E

W G 1E P E

S C 4E n v iro n m e n ta lP e rfo rm a n ce

E va lu a tion

S C 5L ife C yc le

A sse ssm e nt

S C 6T e rm s a ndD e fin it io ns

W G o n F o re s try W G 1E n v . A spe c ts

in P rod u ctS tan d ards

IS O /TC 2 07E n v iro n m e n ta lM a na ge m e nt

Sub-Committees of TC 207

• SC 1: EMS - UK

• SC 2: Env. Auditing - Netherlands

• SC 3: Env. Labeling - Australia

• SC 4: Env. Performance Evaluation - US

• SC 5: Life Cycle Assessment - France

• SC 6: Terms and Definitions - Norway

ISO-related Acronyms• US TAG to TC 207, SC’s and WG’s

• St’s to the TAG

• NWIP, CD, DIS, and FDIS

• ISO specification standard/guidance or TR

• ANSI-RAB and the NAP

ISO 14000 Standards Family

• Management System standards– EMS, auditing, EPE (14030)

• Product standards– LCA (14040), labeling (14020)

ISO 14000 Family• A series of guidance documents and standards

to help organizations address environmental issues. – 14001: Environmental Management Systems

– 14004: EMS general guidelines

– 14010: Guidelines for Environmental Auditing

– 14011: Guidelines for Auditing of an EMS

– 14012: Auditing - Qualification criteria

– 14020: Environmental Labeling

– 14030: Env. Performance Evaluation (EPE)

– 14040: Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Environmental Management System (EMS)

• ISO 14001 is the specification standard that is a model for an environmental management system.

• ISO 14004 is the guidance for the EMS specification

• 14001 is the only specification standard in the ISO series.

Becoming ISO 14001 certified• Registration body examines EMS for conformity

to the ISO 14001 standard• Not a compliance audit, an EMS audit• Facility awarded registration• Does NOT mean that products are more

environmentally friendly• Does mean have a documented EMS that is fully

implemented and consistently followed

Registration• Terms “certification” and “registration” are

synonymous

• May self-declare or self-certify

• Accredited registrars

3rd Party Certification• Accreditation Body

– Ex. RAB

• Registrar– Ex. Underwriters Laboratory

• Auditors – Ex. John Doe, certifies the EMS of an

organization meets requirements of ISO 14001

AccreditationBody

Registrar

Auditors

To Whom Do the Standards Apply?

• Standard is Voluntary

• Large and Small Businesses & Industry

• Service Sectors (hospitals, hotels, etc.)

• City and County Government

• Applicable to all types of organizations, of all sizes anywhere in the world

What is an EMS?• Systematic way of managing an organization’s

environmental affairs• Based on Plan-Do-Check-Act Model (PDCA)• Focused on Continual Improvement of System• Addresses immediate and long-term impact of an

organization’s products, services and processes on the environment.

• A tool to improve environmental performance

EMS• Focus not only on what but also why

• Top management priority

• Dynamic

• Flexible, simple

• Employee involvement

• Endorses continual improvement

EMS• Much of an EMS may already be in place

• Key is to use a systematic approach to planning, controlling and improving environmental efforts

• Can be a vehicle for positive change

17 Requirements in ISO 14001Env. Policy 4.2 Document control 4.4.5

Env. Aspects 4.3.1 Operational control 4.4.6

Legal and other req. 4.3.2 Emergency preparedness and response 4.4.7

Obj. and targets 4.3.3 Monitoring and measurement 4.5.1

Env. Mgmt. Program 4.3.4 Corrective/preventive action 4.5.2

Structure and Responsibility 4.4.1 Records 4.5.3

Training, awareness, and competence 4.4.2

EMS audit 4.5.4

Communication 4.4.3 Management Review 4.6

EMS documentation 4.4.4

EMS ModelPolicy

Planning

Implementation

CheckingCorrective Action

ManagementReview

EMS Key Elements Policy Statement/Commitment Identification of Significant Environmental

Impacts Development of Objectives and Targets Implementation Plan to Meet Obj. and Targets Checking and Follow-up Training Management Review

Some EMS Models• Metal Finishers• National Biosolids Partnership• Project XL with the United Egg Producers• Agriculture EMS models (livestock, soybean)• SGIA model• Federal facility models (CEMP, DOE guide)• Compliance-focused EMS (CFEMS)• Commission for Env. Cooperation (CEC guide)

EPA Position• published in Federal Register 3/12/98

• “Implementation of an EMS has the potential to improve an organization’s environmental performance and compliance with regulatory requirements. EPA supports and will help promote the development and use of EMSs, including those based on the ISO 14001 standard...”

US EPA and EMSs• Office of Water funded pilot efforts in 10

states, municipality pilots – 1st project complete; beginning second pilot; new pilot with Biosolids Assoc.

• Region I Star Track program; Region IX EMS template for metal finishers

• EMS and Enforcement (CFEMS)• EPA “Aiming for Excellence” Report Sept.

99 • Performance Track